The Four Times Rent Report · data 2026-Q4

In no U.S. county does a full-time minimum-wage job take home four times the rent

Four Times Rent sets a simple test: a month of full-time work should take home at least four times the typical studio rent in the county where the work is done. We applied it to all 3,145 counties, using HUD's HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents and 2026 tax rules. Not one passes at the minimum wage.

0 / 3,145counties where a full-time minimum-wage job meets the standard
$25.07/hrpay needed before taxes in the typical county
3.1×the standard compared with the minimum wage in the typical county
113hours a week at the minimum wage it would take to meet the standard in the typical county

What we found

A minimum-wage worker would need more hours than a week has

At the minimum wage, it would take 113 hours of work a week in the typical county to take home four times the studio rent. In 2,306 counties it would take more than 80 hours a week, and in 235 counties more than 168, the number of hours in a week.

In some counties, rent alone is more than a minimum-wage paycheck

In 166 counties, the typical studio rent is more than a full-time minimum-wage job takes home in a month. In 2,218 of the 3,145 counties, it is more than half.

Where the federal $7.25 minimum wage applies

The 20 states that use the federal minimum wage of $7.25 hold 1,658 counties. Even the least expensive of them, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, needs $18.63 an hour, 2.6 times the federal minimum.

Even the closest county falls well short

The minimum wage comes closest in Ferry County, Washington, where it is $17.13 an hour and the standard is $21.99, 1.3 times as much.

The range

Pay needed ranges from $18.63 an hour in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana to $132.88 in New York County, New York. It is $30 or more in 869 counties, $50 or more in 178, and under $20 in only 107. The standard is at least three times the minimum wage in 1,667 counties and at least four times in 446.

Widest gap with the minimum wage

  1. Williamson County, Tennessee 9.0×
  2. Forsyth County, Georgia 8.7×
  3. Summit County, Utah 8.6×
  4. Rockwall County, Texas 8.3×
  5. Collin County, Texas 8.3×
  6. Gwinnett County, Georgia 8.2×
  7. Mecklenburg County, North Carolina 7.8×
  8. New York County, New York 7.8×
  9. Charleston County, South Carolina 7.8×
  10. Cobb County, Georgia 7.8×

Highest standards

  1. New York County, New York $132.88/hr
  2. Santa Cruz County, California $130.88/hr
  3. Queens County, New York $112.31/hr
  4. Westchester County, New York $107.95/hr
  5. Kings County, New York $104.54/hr
  6. Santa Barbara County, California $103.33/hr
  7. San Mateo County, California $102.16/hr
  8. Orange County, California $100.59/hr
  9. Richmond County, New York $99.43/hr
  10. Suffolk County, Massachusetts $96.86/hr

State by state

The middle county in each state, the minimum wage there, and how many hours a week a minimum-wage job would take to meet the standard.

StateMinimum wageMiddle countyStandard vs. minimumHours a week at minimum wage
New Hampshire$7.25$38.77 5.3×198
Massachusetts$15.00$64.16 4.3×158
District of Columbia$18.40$74.56 4.0×150
North Carolina$7.25$28.29 3.9×144
Idaho$7.25$28.01 3.9×143
Utah$7.25$27.80 3.8×142
Hawaii$16.00$59.50 3.7×137
New Jersey$15.92$59.02 3.7×137
Georgia$7.25$26.51 3.7×135
Pennsylvania$7.25$26.05 3.6×133
South Carolina$7.25$25.31 3.5×129
Indiana$7.25$25.16 3.5×128
Texas$7.25$25.03 3.5×127
North Dakota$7.25$24.78 3.4×126
Wisconsin$7.25$24.73 3.4×126
Tennessee$7.25$23.79 3.3×121
Alabama$7.25$23.73 3.3×121
Mississippi$7.25$23.54 3.3×120
Wyoming$7.25$23.48 3.2×120
Rhode Island$16.00$51.27 3.2×118
Kansas$7.25$22.50 3.1×115
Louisiana$7.25$22.51 3.1×115
Oklahoma$7.25$21.86 3.0×111
Iowa$7.25$21.59 3.0×110
Kentucky$7.25$21.54 3.0×110
Montana$10.85$32.19 3.0×110
Maryland$15.00$43.62 2.9×108
Delaware$15.00$42.35 2.8×104
Vermont$14.42$39.63 2.8×102
Connecticut$16.94$44.43 2.6×97
Virginia$12.77$32.86 2.6×95
California$16.90$43.02 2.5×94
Nevada$12.00$30.29 2.5×93
West Virginia$8.75$22.03 2.5×93
Maine$15.10$36.50 2.4×89
Alaska$14.00$32.58 2.3×86
Florida$15.00$34.74 2.3×86
Ohio$11.00$24.33 2.2×82
Oregon$14.55–$16.80$33.75 2.2×81
Minnesota$11.41$24.40 2.1×79
Colorado$15.16$32.42 2.1×79
New Mexico$12.00$24.47 2.0×75
Arizona$15.15$30.39 2.0×74
New York$16.00–$17.00$31.47 2.0×73
South Dakota$11.85$22.31 1.9×70
Arkansas$11.00$20.37 1.9×68
Washington$17.13$31.49 1.8×68
Michigan$13.73$24.94 1.8×67
Nebraska$15.00$22.80 1.5×56
Missouri$15.00$22.62 1.5×56
Illinois$15.00$22.27 1.5×55

About these numbers

Using these findings

You're welcome to quote, chart and republish these figures with credit to Four Times Rent (fourtimesrent.org). For example:

According to Four Times Rent, there is no U.S. county among all 3,145 where a full-time minimum-wage job takes home four times the typical studio rent.
In the typical U.S. county, a full-time worker needs to earn $25.07 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent, 3.1 times the minimum wage, according to Four Times Rent.

Download all 3,145 counties (CSV) Look up any state, county or city

Questions, interviews or corrections: support@fourtimesrent.org. Four Times Rent was created by Mark Jainchell.

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