Retail workers earn $37,000 less annually than needed to afford typical apartments
American retail workers fell further behind on rental costs in October 2025, with the typical cashier or sales associate earning barely half what they would need for a standard apartment.
According to an analysis from real estate giant Redfin, a typical retail worker earned $34,436 annually, placing them 51.6% below the $71,172 needed to comfortably rent a $1,779-per-month apartment. The gap represents a $36,736 annual earnings shortfall.
"Since most retail workers don't earn enough to afford the typical apartment, many are opting to share rent with a family member or friend, move far away from their job, or live in a very small space," said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin chief economist.
"As the cost of living has increased, so have the sacrifices renters must make to afford a place to live."
Geographic disparities
Affordability varied dramatically across major metros. Cleveland offered the best conditions for retail workers, with a 32.9% earnings shortfall, followed by St. Louis (34.6%) and San Antonio (35.2%).
New York represented the steepest challenge at 71%, trailed by Boston (66.5%) and San Jose (65.7%).
Redfin analyzed 40 of the 50 most populous metro areas; in every single market examined, retail workers fell short of affordability benchmarks.
Broader workforce pressures mounting
The rental crisis compounds mounting pressure on retail workers already facing record job cuts. The sector shed 88,664 positions in 2025, a 145% increase year-over-year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The National Retail Federation expects seasonal hiring to fall to a 15-year low in 2026, with retailers anticipated to hire between 265,000 and 365,000 seasonal workers, down from 442,000 last year.
Nearly one in four US renters (23%) regularly or greatly struggle to afford housing costs, a May 2025 Redfin-Ipsos survey of 1,600 renters found. When facing affordability pressures, renters reported reducing restaurant visits, cutting vacations, and borrowing from friends and family to cover rent.
That trend arrives with other signs showing Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the economic outlook. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 88.7 in November, its lowest level since April, with job-related anxieties intensifying.
The share of workers describing jobs as "plentiful" plummeted to 6% from 28.6% in October. Such weakness threatens to further cool buyer or rental demand.
The silver lining
One bright spot: affordability improved modestly from 2024. The 51.6% gap in October 2025 compared favorably to 52.2% in October 2024 and 56.8% in October 2022.
Wage growth at roughly 3% annually has outpaced rent growth at approximately 2%, reversing pandemic-era trends when rents surged faster than wages.
Moreover, financial confidence among renters remains strong, with 95% expecting their situation to improve or stay the same in 2026, according to the Knightvest Capital’s latest Multifamily Renter Sentiment Report.
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