SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A new report shows lower-wage workers have an easier time making rent in Sioux Falls than in other metro areas in the Dakotas, Iowa and Minnesota.
The Argus Leader (https://argusne.ws/2pxuPOP ) reported the National Low Income Housing Coalition said a full-time minimum-wage worker spending 30 percent of their income on rent would fall $20 short of the average studio apartment rate in Sioux Falls. Residents in Rapid City and Fargo would fall about $100 short.
Calli Johnson works as a cook in downtown Sioux Falls. Even with a roommate, the 31-year-old said finances still get tight.
“I do live paycheck-to-paycheck,” Johnson said. “But it’s still affordable.”
Sioux Falls Housing and Redevelopment Commission executive director Karl Fulmer said the gap between paychecks and bills is growing because older, more affordable housing in Sioux Falls is disappearing as developers renovate buildings and raise rent prices.
“We’re fortunate that the gap isn’t as large,” Fulmer said. “But the future doesn’t indicate that the gap will be closing. It will be widening.”
Fulmer said the study doesn’t take into consideration the quality of the unit or the neighborhood.
“One of the things those studies don’t take into effect is the quality of the housing stock,” Fulmer said. “We do have a lot of older, aging housing.”
The analysis includes units with cheaper rents in rural communities around Sioux Falls, which brings down the area’s cost of living.
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Information from: Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com
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