Earn $33 Per Hour to Afford Average Apartment Rent in L.A.

According to Matt Schwartz, president and chief executive of the California Housing Partnership, you must earn at least $68,640 (or $33 an hour) to afford the average apartment in Los Angeles County.

The figure is calculated by defining “affordable” as spending no more than 30 percent of your paycheck on rent, and is based on an average monthly rent of $1,716.

UCLA’s Ziman Center for Real Estate estimates that L.A. residents spend the highest percentage of their income on rent  in the country , at an average of 47 percent.

Both Harvard and UCLA have rated Los Angeles as the most unaffordable city to live in, which warrants arguments on raising the minimum wage to keep up with the high cost of living.