Trump Receives Strange New Data
As Americans head into what is expected to be a record-shattering holiday shopping season, a troubling reality is emerging: the very retail workers powering the economy can no longer afford even a modest apartment in Biden’s inflation-driven housing market.
According to a new Redfin analysis, the typical retail worker earns $34,436 a year, barely half the $71,000 income now required to rent an average apartment. With the national median rent at $1,779 per month, retail workers must work 83 hours a week just to keep housing expenses under the traditional 30 percent affordability standard.
These numbers highlight a growing crisis that many Americans feel every single day: wages are not keeping up with runaway housing costs, particularly under the economic policies of Democrat-led states and big-city liberal leadership.
“They Simply Can’t Afford It”: How Workers Are Forced Into Hard Choices
Redfin’s chief economist Daryl Fairweather says retail workers are being pushed into difficult and often unhealthy living situations:
- sharing tight apartments with multiple family members
- relocating far from their jobs to find cheaper rent
- sacrificing space and privacy just to make ends meet
This is the reality for millions of Americans, even as corporations rely on retail workers to keep shelves stocked during the busiest shopping period of the year.
Blue-State Housing Markets Hit Workers the Hardest
Not surprisingly, Democrat-controlled states with the strictest regulations and the highest taxes have the widest affordability gaps.
New York City: The Worst in America
Retail workers fall nearly $96,000 short of the income needed to rent a typical unit — the largest affordability deficit of all 50 metro areas analyzed.
Boston: A Housing Crisis on Steroids
Renters in the Boston area must earn nearly $115,000 a year to afford an average apartment — more than $76,000 above what retail workers actually make.
Other Major Gap Cities
- Miami
- San Diego
- San Jose
Even cities traditionally considered “affordable,” such as Cleveland, St. Louis, and San Antonio, still fail the basic affordability test. Not a single major metro in the Redfin study meets the 30 percent rent-to-income standard for retail workers.
Even the top 25 percent of retail earners still make 44 percent less than what is needed to rent a typical apartment in today’s economy.
Holiday Hiring Slows as the Economy Softens
Adding to the financial strain is the weakest holiday hiring season in more than a decade. The National Retail Federation expects retailers to hire only 265,000 to 365,000 seasonal workers — a dramatic slowdown driven by:
- increased online shopping
- a cooling U.S. economy
- slowing consumer demand
- labor market uncertainty
Despite these warnings, the NRF still predicts that holiday sales will exceed $1 trillion for the first time ever — even as the workers making the season possible face the toughest financial pressures in years.
A Slight Improvement, but Nowhere Near Enough
Redfin notes a modest improvement in affordability. Retail wages have grown at around 3 percent year over year, while rents have increased at roughly 2 percent. The current wage-to-rent gap is 52 percent, down from 57 percent in late 2022.
This slight easing is largely thanks to the surge in apartment construction during the pandemic, which temporarily added supply and slowed rent increases.
But the overall picture remains bleak: housing costs are still rising faster than paychecks, and millions of workers continue to fall further behind.
The Bottom Line: Hardworking Americans Deserve Better
Retail workers are the backbone of the U.S. economy — especially during the holidays — yet they are among the hardest hit by today’s crushing housing market and cost-of-living crisis. While politicians in Washington argue and blue-state leaders impose more regulations, the people who stock shelves, ring up purchases, and keep America moving are being priced out of basic housing.
