What you need to earn hourly just for a 2-bedroom apartment in NJ

A thing that always makes me angry is when Baby Boomers put down young people under 35 for still living at home (or moving back home) with parents. As the world gets more expensive, pay scales don’t always keep up.

New Jersey ranks No. 1 for adults under 35 living with parents

New Jersey happens to be the No. 1 state for the largest number of people under 35 still living in their family home.

It’s not because they’re lazy. It’s not because they’re soft, or bubble-wrapped, or any of the other insults hurled their way. It’s because they legitimately cannot survive on what they earn when corrupt politicians have allowed New Jersey to become so ungodly expensive.

Study shows the shocking salary needed to rent in New Jersey

I saw a study that proves the point. It shows how much you would need to earn hourly to afford a two-bedroom apartment in each state.

Done by Bluefield Realty Group, and using rent data from Rent Cafe, they calculated hourly salaries based on the 30% rule.

That rule states you should never have housing costs be more than 30% of your gross income. Monthly rents were annualized, divided by 0.3 to determine the minimum annual income needed, and then converted into an hourly wage assuming a standard 40-hour workweek.

New Jersey placed fourth-worst in the nation for how much you would need to earn for just a modest two-bedroom apartment. The places where it’s even more expensive to rent a two-bedroom apartment are Massachusetts, California, and the District of Columbia in first, second, and third place, respectively.

SEE ALSO: The painful truth about why NJ families can’t escape credit card bills

NJ salaries can’t keep up with housing costs

New Jersey’s average two-bedroom apartment is now $2,425. How much do you need to earn per hour?

$46.63.

That’s $1,865.20 per week. Annually, that’s $96,990.40.

In the 2023-2024 school year, a teacher in New Jersey made an average of $82,877. According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a New Jersey police officer is $63,095.

These two very important jobs don’t even pay on average enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Let that sink in. And don’t be a jerk when a younger person is still living at home.