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Clark County renters would need to earn $32.25 an hour — or work 75 hours a week at minimum wage — to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment, according to an annual report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Fair market rent for such a unit is $1,677 per month in the Portland-Vancouver metro area, according to the 2026 Out of Reach report, which assumes rent should account for no more than 30 percent of gross income.

Last year’s report found renters needed to earn $33.65 an hour to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment with a fair market rent of $1,750 per month.

Vancouver ranked fifth for Washington’s most expensive rental markets.

Family-size problem

Population growth, limited housing inventory and rising rents are leading factors making it increasingly difficult for renters to find homes that meet the 30 percent affordability standard, according to the report.

For the lowest-income renters, housing is even further out of reach.

A household earning 30 percent of the area median income ($38,490 annually for a one-person household) could afford no more than $962 per month in rent under the report’s affordability standard.

A household earning 50 percent of area median income ($64,150 for one person) could afford $1,604 per month.

The median renter household in Clark County earns $72,518 annually, or roughly $6,000 per month before taxes, according to the report. That income is enough to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment but not enough to meet the affordability standard for larger units.

That creates a challenge for larger families. A household looking for a four-bedroom rental would need to earn nearly $60 an hour to afford the unit without spending more than 30 percent of its income on housing, according to the report.

For families already struggling, the shortage of available units can have grave consequences, according to the report. Recent data from Clark County’s Council for the Homeless showed that families with children make up a significant share of people experiencing homelessness — with children accounting for about one-third of the county’s homeless population.

Working yet struggling

The report also highlights that having a full-time job is no longer enough to afford market-rate housing. The data show that many common occupations in the Vancouver-Portland area pay less than the wages needed to afford a modest apartment.

According to the report, Washington’s most common occupation — home health and personal care aide — has a median wage of $23.59 an hour. That’s nearly $9 less than the $32.25 hourly wage needed to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment.

Even occupations that typically pay above minimum wage — including tractor-trailer truck drivers, bookkeepers, maintenance workers and retail supervisors — can fall short of the wage needed to afford a modest apartment in the Vancouver-Portland metro area, according to the report.

Someone living on Social Security or disability benefits making the state’s average of $1,030 a month could afford rent of no more than $309.

The local gap

The report also breaks down housing costs by ZIP code within Clark County. In downtown Vancouver and Washougal, a renter would need to earn about $30 an hour to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment at the area’s fair market rent of $1,580 per month. In other parts of the county, the required income is higher.

A renter in Salmon Creek would need to earn about $36 an hour to afford a one-bedroom apartment with a fair market rent of $1,890 per month, while a renter in Camas would need about $35 an hour for a one-bedroom unit renting for $1,840 per month.

Washington overall ranked seventh in the nation for the highest housing wage, according to the report.

According to statewide figures, a renter would need to earn nearly $40 an hour — or work about 93 hours per week at minimum wage — to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.

Mia Ryder-Marks; 360-735-4547; mia.ryder-marks@columbian.com

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