FARGO-MOORHEAD — 73 hours. That is how much a person would need to work per week in North Dakota on minimum wage to afford a modest one bedroom rental. This is according to new data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition , which also shows a person would need to work 69 hours per week on Minnesota's minimum wage to afford a similar rental.
As Dawn Bacon, executive director of Moorhead Public Housing Agency says, it has been an issue for a long time, and she sees it only getting worse.
"Minimum wage renters cannot literally afford an apartment, even a modest apartment across the country," Bacon said.
Recent data shows about half of Clay County renters are spending more than 30% of their income on rent.
"As housing costs increase, wages are not keeping up with that, and so there's a gap, and that gap continues to grow," Bacon explained. "So people can do things to try to close that gap, but that can only go so far."
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One thing Minnesotans do not have to worry about right now is eviction, since the state moratorium is still going on — bringing with it greater protections for renters.
"Minnesotans aren't really impacted by the CDC moratorium being lifted," Bacon clarified.
But evictions are back on over in North Dakota, where the Housing Authority of Cass County is building more affordable housing apartments in West Fargo. Even with this, throughout the last two years, their wait list is full — and it will not free up for at least another year. Executive Director of the Housing Authority Blake Strehlow said more affordable housing is key to solving the housing crisis, and programs are available for those facing eviction.
"We are hoping that this is the last resort," Strehlow said. "We prefer that they go through North Dakota Rent Help to take care of any past due rent."
It is a program they started a few months ago, to help anyone facing rent issues specifically caused by the COVID pandemic.
"We're going to be able to pay off your full rent for you, any owed rent you may have to your landlord," said Legonne Oriental Jr, application counselor with the Housing Authority of Cass County.
Strehlow said a living wage to afford a two bedroom apartment in North Dakota is around $16 per hour.
