Minimum Wage Workers Would Need Over 65 Years to Afford a Down Payment in These Cities

Half of the 2.6 million U.S. workers paid at or below federal minimum wage are over the age of 25. For many, high home values and low wages make buying a home an impossibility.

Comparing minimum wages and median home values, SmartAsset ranked the largest U.S. cities by how many years it would take the average minimum wage worker to save up for a down payment in that area. Their data revealed that California had six of the top 10 cities where workers need to save the longest to afford a down payment, despite having the highest statewide minimum wage.

Our data shows that the average Arlington, Virginia minimum wage worker would need to save for almost 90 years before they could afford a 20 percent down payment on the average Arlington home. (This is assuming workers save 10 percent of their annual income each year toward the down payment.) Given the high costs of living in Arlington, saving any more than 10 percent of annual income may be next to impossible for minimum wage earners.

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