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The minimum wage has been $7.25 in North Carolina since 2009, but a new report by The National Low Income Housing Coalition shows a Wake County resident would need to earn anywhere from four to six times more, depending on the area, to afford renting a two-bedroom home.
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The Coalition measures the cost of rent compared to minimum wages. North Carolina has the 30th highest housing wage out of all 50 states, according to the group.
Costs also vary within cities and counties. Within Wake County, the wages needed to afford a two-bedroom home range from around $25 to $45 — which is roughly in line with homes in the Charlotte area, comparatively.
Here are a few of the estimated wages needed to sustain a two-bedroom home in the Raleigh area, according to the report, by ZIP code:
Apex and Cary were recently named some of the best places in the country to live, according to U.S. News and World Report. Here are some of the ZIP codes and hourly wages needed, according to the report, in those areas:
The Coalition says the average worker in North Carolina earning minimum wage would have to work 132 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom rental home. The average affordable monthly rent for someone earning $7.25 an hour would be $377.
Across the state, two-bedroom housing wage is $27.11 — meaning the Raleigh area’s two-bedroom rent prices are often higher than the state average, according to the coalition data.
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To make a living wage, a single North Carolina adult should make $22.47 an hour or $46,745 a year, or two working adults should make $15.26 an hour or $63,464 a year, The News & Observer reported in March.
In North Carolina, the group identifies these income levels as annually necessary to afford the following homes:
The group uses the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Small Area Fair Market Rents for Zip Code Tabulation Areas from the U.S. Census Bureau. These differ slightly from post office zip codes.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition offers a searchable database showing the hourly pay required to afford a two-bedroom home by zip code. Check out the cost in your zip code at nlihc.org.
Portions of this story were previously published in the Charlotte Observer. David Raynor contributed reporting.
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This story was originally published August 20, 2026 at 2:32 PM.