Most of State College is in Centre County, where a full-time job needs to pay at least $33.18 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent.
Across the 3 ZIP codes in State College with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $1,280 to $1,430 a month. At the middle rent, $1,380, a full-time job would need to pay $44.49 an hour before taxes.
What the standard would be at each ZIP code's own studio rent. The calculator and the official standard use the county figure.
| ZIP | County | Studio rent | Pay needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16801 | Centre County | $1,380/mo | $44.49/hr |
| 16803 | Centre County | $1,430/mo | $46.35/hr |
| 16804 | Centre County | $1,280/mo | $40.77/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in State College needs to pay at least $33.18 an hour before taxes, about $69,005 a year. That is the figure for Centre County, where the typical studio rent is $1,070 a month.
Yes. Across the 3 ZIP codes in State College with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $1,280 to $1,430 a month. At the middle rent of $1,380, the pay needed would be $44.49 an hour.
The minimum wage in Centre County is $7.25 an hour. The Four Times Rent standard there is 4.6 times that.
The Four Times Rent standard: a month of full-time work (160 hours) should take home at least four times the typical rent on a studio apartment in the county where the work is done. Rents: HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents. Taxes: 2026 federal and state income taxes plus Social Security and Medicare, for a single filer. Why four times rent? · Method and data downloads