When hard-working Minnesotans are struggling to keep up with rising housing costs in our community, you know there’s a problem. Today, many Minnesotans know all too well the struggle of paying more than they can afford for housing. Out of Reach is released annually by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and provides rental affordability data for every state, metro area, and county in the US. You can read the full 2026 report now.

MHP’s Minnesota Snapshot of the 2026 Out of Reach report highlights state and county trends that reveal that households in every corner of Minnesota are spending thousands of dollars more than they can afford each year just to pay the rent for a modest apartment.

Some Minnesota highlights from the 2026 report include:

• The Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment in Minnesota is $1,504. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income on housing — a household must earn more than $60,159 annually. 

• Minnesota ranks #27 in the nation for the highest wages required to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. The hourly wage required to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in Minnesota is the most expensive in the Upper Midwest, including $4.16 higher than the Wisconsin housing wage, $7.60 higher than Iowa’s, $7.89 higher than South Dakota’s, and $8.00 higher than North Dakota’s.  

Hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment 

• To afford rent without paying more than 30% of their income on housing, Minnesotans would need to earn $60,159 to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. However, the average Minnesota worker earns an estimated $21.51 per hour, or the equivalent of $44,740 annually. 

• Compared to the state housing wage of $28.92, non-metro area workers would need to earn $19.86 hourly to afford a two-bedroom apartment, or the equivalent of earning $41,318 annually. 

• The Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area has the highest housing wage in the state, with a worker needing to earn $32.87 per hour — or earning an annual salary of $68,370 — to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in the region. 

Rent affordable to median-income renter 

• Median-income renters in Carver County can afford the highest rent in the state at $1,807 per month. 

• Median-income renters in Traverse County can only afford $539 per month, the lowest amount in the state. 

• In contrast to a median-income renter being able to afford $1,370 at the statewide level, the median-income renter household in non-metro Minnesota can afford far less — at $1,035 per month. 

Hours at minimum wage to afford 1 bedroom apartment: 

• Minimum wage workers in Minnesota must work 83 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment and 101 hours per week for a modest two-bedroom. This is the equivalent of working 2.1 or 2.5 full time jobs to afford a one and two-bedroom apartment, respectively. 

• Workers earning minimum wage in Minnesota must work at least 50 hours per week in every county in the state to be able to afford rent for a one-bedroom apartment. Statewide, a one-bedroom apartment costs $614 more per month, or $7,368 annually, than a full-time minimum wage earner can afford. 

• In non-metro areas, minimum wage workers must work 55 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment, and 70 hours for a two-bedroom apartment. 

• In the 7-County Metro*, minimum wage workers must work 95 hours per week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment, and 115 hours for a two-bedroom apartment. 

*Excluding Minneapolis and Saint Paul 

Many of the most in demand jobs earn less than the housing wage, including critically needed healthcare jobs:

• Home health and personal care aides, Minnesota’s most in-demand occupation, do not earn enough to afford a one-bedroom at fair market rent. The median hourly wage for over 128,000 people working in this field falls short by $10,380 annually to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment. 

• Seven of the top ten in demand jobs in Minnesota do not pay enough to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment, and eight of the top ten occupations do not pay enough to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. 

Out of Reach data is available for every county and metro area in the country. Click here to see how Minnesota counties compare to each other.