More and more people from neighboring states are moving to Arizona in hopes of finding affordable housing. Those looking in downtown Phoenix may be out of luck, as housing prices have risen as wages remain stagnant.
Some apartment complexes in downtown such as Cortland Fillmore offer one bedroom one bathroom apartments starting at $1,280 to $1,991 per month according to apartments.com.
Similar apartment complexes such as Skyline Lofts offer studio apartments from $1,315 to $1,750 per month, ReNue Downtown Apartments offers similar studio apartments for $1,052, and The Met at 3rd and Fillmore has one bedroom one bathroom apartments from $1,145 to $1,400, according to apartments.com.
Looking at the current minimum wage in Arizona, $12 an hour, affordable rent would be $600 per month, according to myfirstapartment.com (assuming a 40 hour work week). This means that many downtown apartments are not affordable for those making minimum wage.
The average rent in downtown Phoenix is $1,717 a month, making it one of the most expensive areas in Arizona, according to Yardi Matrix, a Phoenix-based company that researches commercial real-estate rates nationwide.
With the 2019 minimum wage in Arizona at $11 an hour, affordable rent would be $572 per month, far below the average rent price, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
“It’s important to know what is ‘affordable housing,’ and it’s generally considered 30% of your monthly income,” said Sheree Bouchee, an affordable housing advocate for the City of Phoenix. “We found that the primary reason there is not enough affordable housing in the city of Phoenix … is there’s a lack of supply.”
Bouchee and the department found that in Phoenix alone there was a need for more than 163,000 housing units.
“It is really very difficult right now to build housing for people that are just above the affordable housing level and below the market rate level,” said Dan Klocke, Executive Director and Vice President of Economic Development at Downtown Phoenix Inc.
Klocke works with Jon Brodsky, the Executive Director of Phoenix Community Alliance, an affiliate of Downtown Phoenix Inc., on advancements in housing.
Brodsky and his team created Phoenix’s Social & Housing Advancement Committee last year with the intention to expand affordable housing. They are currently working closely with the city to draft plans for more housing.
Increasing housing costs have not gone unnoticed by Phoenix residents.
“Personally, I believe with the growing population in Arizona, with people moving here from places like California, the cost of housing has gone up significantly in recent years,” said Autumn Martin, an Arizona State University student.
Maricopa County has become one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, according to census data. The city’s population was 1.4 million as of 2010, but as of 2018, the population had grown to 1.6 million.
This population boom, along with stagnant wages, makes finding affordable housing harder than ever. In order to afford a one-bedroom apartment at the minimum wage, one would have to work 57 hours a week and earn an average of $32,000 a year.
Maria Harris, another ASU student, moved from Los Angeles in 2016 to attend college.
“I’m from Los Angeles so compared to back home, the prices are great!” Harris said.
While new residents experienced lower housing costs in Arizona, natives are looking to split the expense of rent with others.
“It really depends on where you are looking for housing,” Martin said, noting that housing overall is expensive if you don’t have outside assistance.
In order to combat the lack of affordable housing, the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act was set into place in 2017 by Arizona voters.
This act has allowed for the minimum wage to increase to $12 an hour this year and sets in place a motion for the wage to continue increasing in 2021 in relation to living expenses.
Contact the reporter at stlee9@asu.edu.
