If there is one thing that every honest living person
deserves in their life, it is a place to live. To me, one of the biggest issues
in the entire city of Portland is the excruciatingly high cost of renting an
apartment. While there are some who can afford the cost of living in the city,
most do not have that luxury, especially if they want to live close to their
place of work.
Over the past decade, the cost of living in an apartment has
fluctuated from being decently affordable to the average worker to the point
where half of their entire monthly paycheck goes towards rent if said worker is
on minimum wage in an urban growth boundary, according to Oregon.gov, which is
$13.25 an hour as of December 2020.
Today, according to Rent Jungle, the average rent for an
apartment within Portland is a staggering $1531, again, only half of a monthly
paycheck. In comparison, the rent between January and December of 2011 ranged
from $941 to $1092. While the minimum wage has slightly risen during the past
ten years, the rent price has risen by around $500. For a lot of people who
want to live in Portland, especially if they work within or nearby city limits,
$1500+ seems to be too much of a steep price for just a room in an apartment
complex. As a result, people are often forced to live with family or friends
for extended periods of time in order to keep a roof over their heads.
As concerned citizens, this is a problem that should be brought
to the attention of many a landlord, as this not only contributes to people not
being able to afford necessities or means of transportation, but also to the
issue of homelessness within the city. We understand that utilities must be
paid for, but does it really cost over a grand to cover it all from each tenant?
Sources for more information:
Average rent in Portland: https://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-portland-or-rent-trends/
Minimum wage in Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/Pages/minimum-wage.aspx
Post by Tom Newton
Senior, PSU
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