Survey shows Minnesota rent is least affordable in Midwest

St. Paul, Minn. — A national advocacy group says Minnesota's rental housing costs are the least affordable among Midwestern states.

Minnesota Housing Partnership executive director Chip Halbach says a survey shows Minnesota's average rental housing costs are well above what many low and minimum wage earning workers can afford.

Halbach says the foreclosure crisis is pushing more people in the rental housing and driving up competition, and thus rental costs for the units.

Halbach says the average rents for St. Paul and Minneapolis rental housing are $1,000 to $1,100 a month.

"A thousand dollars and more per month is very unaffordable for people who make minimum wage. or even eight, nine, 10, 11 dollars an hour. You just cannot afford apartments at that rate," said Halbach.

Congress has more than half a dozen initiatives before it to address housing affordability, but Halbach says their price tag has delayed approval.