Most of Brownsville is in Cameron County, where a full-time job needs to pay at least $24.41 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent.
Across the 5 ZIP codes in Brownsville with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $830 to $980 a month. At the middle rent, $830, a full-time job would need to pay $24.41 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 78520 | Cameron County | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78521 | Cameron County | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78522 | Cameron County | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78523 | Cameron County | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78526 | Cameron County | $980/mo | $29.08/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in Brownsville needs to pay at least $24.41 an hour before taxes, about $50,776 a year. That is the figure for Cameron County, where the typical studio rent is $830 a month.
Yes. Across the 5 ZIP codes in Brownsville with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $830 to $980 a month. At the middle rent of $830, the pay needed would be $24.41 an hour.
The minimum wage in Cameron County is $7.25 an hour. The Four Times Rent standard there is 3.4 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