As Housing Costs Skyrocket, Voters and Advocates Demand Action to Keep Families Housed
Advocates are calling on municipal leaders in Los Angeles to adopt a living wage of $30 an hour for some workers to help fight the rising tide of housing instability and homelessness.
Affordability and the cost of living have been two of Americans’ greatest concerns for the past several years, yet lawmakers have seemingly done little to address the issue. States like California have attempted to surge housing production in hopes of providing more affordable options, but those policies have not yet borne fruit.
Meanwhile, many hourly workers are struggling to make ends meet. Estimates from Harvard University show that about half of renters across the U.S. are rent burdened, meaning they pay more than the recommended 30% of their income on rent and utilities. That puts them at heightened risk of becoming homeless as they have fewer dollars budgeted to cover necessities like food and medicine, or an emergency doctor’s visit.
To Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, these issues are especially prescient for restaurant workers. Many restaurant workers are paid hourly, and some rely heavily on tips to make ends meet.
A recent report from One Fair Wage found that restaurant workers in Los Angeles earn a median income of $22,700, which is about $11,000 less than the annual cost to rent an average apartment. In turn, about 92% of restaurant workers who live alone reported being cost-burdened, and 75% reported spending more than half of their income on rent.
Workers who split rent with at least one roommate also reported high rent burden rates. About 65% of restaurant workers in LA living with a partner or roommate said they would be rent-burdened, and nearly 40% said they would be severely rent-burdened.
“Los Angeles has the opportunity to lead the nation by ensuring that all workers earn a living wage that better reflects the true cost of living,” Jayaraman said in a statement.
What’s Driving the Cost of Living?
Los Angeles is not alone in its fight against the rising cost of living. Even so, the city provides an example of how the rising cost of living is impacting low-income earning workers.
There are several reasons why the cost of living continues to creep up nationwide. Stubborn inflation and labor market disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and growing adoption of artificial intelligence continue to make life difficult for many. At the same time, the cost of housing, energy, health care, and food all continue to rise.
“California’s affordability crisis is about to become a catastrophe, with a majority of Los Angeles’s restaurant workers being severely rent-burdened and not currently earning enough to meet the cost of living,” One Fair Wage’s report reads in part.
The rising cost of living is one of the main contributing factors to the growing rates of homelessness among vulnerable populations like families with children and senior citizens, according to experts.
More than 3,400 households with at least one child reported experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles in 2024, which is up about 4% year-over-year. That increase occurred even though Los Angeles’ latest point-in-time count measured a slight reduction in total homelessness last year.
There are nearly 1,000 senior citizens over the age of 64 living in emergency shelters around Los Angeles as well, an increase of roughly 20% from the previous year, the data shows.
Raising Wages
Looking ahead to next year’s elections, the cost of living is shaping up to be one of the main issues voters in California and other states care about.
A recent poll of likely voters in the nation’s largest cities—such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco—found broad support for raising the minimum wage for all workers, including tipped workers, to $30 an hour.
Two-thirds of all voters said they support raising the minimum wage to $30 an hour. Support primarily came from people who identify as Democrats, women, Black voters, and Latinx voters, with at least 70% of voters in these groups supporting raising the minimum wage.
In Los Angeles, 58% of likely voters said they support raising the minimum wage. Another 64% said the issue is a “medium” or “high priority” to them.
“Championing a minimum wage increase has the potential to help candidates to mobilize key audiences and drive greater enthusiasm to vote,” the poll concluded.
Jayaraman added that increasing the minimum wage could set Los Angeles apart from other big cities in its efforts to support workers of all kinds.
“We are seeing airport and hospitality workers already win thirty dollars locally,” Jayaraman said. “Now it is time to extend that floor to everyone. If Los Angeles acts boldly now, we can create a model for the rest of the country. This is about setting a national standard and showing what leadership looks like.”
Talk to Your Legislators about Drafting Laws to Protect Homeless People’s Privacy
Los Angeles has a decision to make, one that will ripple far beyond its borders. A living wage is more than a policy proposal; it’s a lifeline for workers who keep the city running yet are being pushed closer to homelessness with every rent increase and every shift that doesn’t cover the bills. Whether LA chooses to lead could determine whether thousands more families, seniors, and workers fall into crisis or finally gain a foothold.