To take home four times the typical rent here, a full-time job needs to pay at least $24.41 an hour before taxes, about $50,776 a year.
Rent is the middle of 13 ZIP-level HUD studio rents in the county. HUD's county-wide figure is $827 (Brownsville-Harlingen, TX MSA).
Rents vary within the county. This is what the standard would be at each ZIP code's own studio rent; the county figure above is what the calculator uses.
| ZIP | Place | Studio rent | Pay needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 78520 | Brownsville | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78521 | Brownsville | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78522 | Brownsville | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78523 | Brownsville | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78526 | Brownsville | $980/mo | $29.08/hr |
| 78535 | Combes | $930/mo | $27.52/hr |
| 78550 | Harlingen | $840/mo | $24.72/hr |
| 78551 | Harlingen | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78552 | Harlingen | $970/mo | $28.77/hr |
| 78553 | Harlingen | $830/mo | $24.41/hr |
| 78559 | La Feria | $900/mo | $26.59/hr |
| 78566 | Los Fresnos | $800/mo | $23.48/hr |
| 78567 | Los Indios | $800/mo | $23.48/hr |
| 78575 | Olmito | $970/mo | $28.77/hr |
| 78578 | Port Isabel | $800/mo | $23.48/hr |
| 78583 | Rio Hondo | $800/mo | $23.48/hr |
| 78586 | San Benito | $800/mo | $23.48/hr |
| 78592 | Santa Maria | $850/mo | $25.03/hr |
| 78593 | Santa Rosa | $810/mo | $23.79/hr |
| 78597 | South Padre Island | $1,180/mo | $35.40/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in Cameron County, Texas needs to pay at least $24.41 an hour before taxes, about $50,776 a year. That leaves $3,320 a month after taxes, four times the typical $830 rent on a studio apartment.
The minimum wage here is $7.25 an hour (federal minimum wage). The standard is 3.4 times that. A full-time minimum-wage job takes home about $1,161 a month, 35% of the standard.
Take the typical monthly cost of a studio apartment, multiply by four, and divide by 160 hours of work a month. That's the take-home pay needed per hour. The pay before taxes is what it takes to keep that much after federal, state and local income taxes and Social Security and Medicare.
The idea behind the standard is laid out in Chapter 1: The Living Wage Revolution.