Connect with us

Technology

Realtor.com® November Rental Report: Even with Rent Declines, Minimum Wage Earners Need Extended Hours to Afford Rents

Published

on

To afford the median rent, two minimum wage earners would have to each work 82 hours per week in Nashville, Tenn., 79 hours in Austin, Texas and 77 hours in Dallas, three metros that saw the largest decline in rent prices

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Rents declined in November, falling by -1.1% year over year to a median of $1,703, according to the Realtor.com® November Rental Report released today. Despite the dip in rents, affordability remains a concern, with minimum wage earners requiring extended working hours to afford a typical rental unit in 44 of the top 50 metros in the United States.

“Lower rents, combined with stable or increased minimum wages, have offered a break to renters in some metro areas this year, though many minimum wage earners still struggle to find affordable rents,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com®. “With minimum wages set to increase in more than half of the top 50 markets next year, and a projected 0.1% annual decline in median asking rents in 2025, we expect some further relief in the coming year; however, more new construction is still one of the biggest levers we have to help with affordability.”

To better understand the hurdles faced by hourly workers in today’s rental market, this month, Realtor.com® analyzed how many hours per week a renter would need to work at local minimum wage rates to afford a typical 0-2 bedroom home. Among the top 10 markets with the largest year-over-year rent declines in November, fewer working hours were required to afford the median rent compared to the same time last year. Yet only in Denver and Phoenix could two minimum wage earners each work 40 hours or less per week and affordably split the median rent for a 0-2 bedroom unit.

Market

Median 
Asking
Rent,

Nov. 2024 

Y/Y Change 

Annual HH
Income Needed 
to Afford a 0-2
Bedroom, Nov
2024

Minimum 
Wage 2024 

Work Hours 
per Renter per 
Week at
Minimum
Wage, Nov.
2024

Diff. in Hours 
(Nov. 2024 vs. 
2023)

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

$1,808

-6.7 %

$72,320

$18.29

38

-5

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

$1,186

-6.2 %

$47,440

$7.25

63

-4

Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–
Franklin, TN

$1,542

-5.6 %

$61,680

$7.25

82

-5

Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX

$1,486

-4.7 %

$59,440

$7.25

79

-4

San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

$2,711

-4.5 %

$108,440

$16.00

65

-5

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

$1,453

-4.4 %

$58,120

$7.25

77

-4

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

$2,726

-4.3 %

$109,040

$16.85

62

-5

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

$1,503

-4.1 %

$60,120

$14.35

40

-4

Birmingham-Hoover, AL

$1,236

-3.6 %

$49,440

$7.25

66

-2

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

$1,242

-3.5 %

$49,680

$7.25

66

-2

Minimum wage earners need to work extended hours to afford rents
To keep their half of the rent at an affordable 30% of their budgets, two minimum wage earners would have to each work 82 hours per week in Nashville, Tenn., 79 hours in Austin,Texas and 77 hours in Dallas, despite large year-over-year rent declines. The affordability crunch is worst in markets that are subject to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. But in San Francisco, where the minimum wage is $16, and San Diego, where it’s $16.85, workers would still need to work 65 and 62 hours per week respectively to afford the median rent. By contrast, in Denver and Phoenix, two minimum wage earners would each need to work 38 and 40 hours per week respectively to afford the median rent.

Higher minimum wages and falling rents point to continued relief in 2025
Minimum wages will rise in 23 of the top 50 markets on Jan. 1, 2025, while additional markets will see increases later in 2025. If rents hold steady, eight of those markets are expected to see at least a two-hour reduction in weekly working hours at minimum wage needed to afford rent. In both St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., where the minimum wage is due to rise to $13.75 per hour from $12.30, two workers earning that wage will each need to work four hours less per week to afford the median rent. Minimum wage earners will need to work two hours less in six markets: Sacramento, Calif., Virginia Beach, Va., Riverside, Calif., San Francisco, New York, and San Jose, Calif.

Rents decline across all unit sizes
Rents for 0-2 bedroom units fell on a year-over-year basis for the 16th straight month in November, dropping by $19 (-1.1%) to $1,703. That’s $17 less than last month and $57 lower than its August 2022 peak. It’s still $261 (18.1%) higher than the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.

Units of all sizes saw rents fall in November, with smaller units continuing to show larger declines. The median rent for studios fell -1.6% year-over-year, to $1,423. That’s down -4.5% from its peak in October 2022 but 12% higher than five years ago. Rent for one-bedroom units dipped -1.2% to $1,585, representing a -4.4% decline from its August 2022 peak but still 16.4% higher than five years ago. And the median rent for two-bedroom units declined by -1.1% to $1,886, a drop of -3.8% from its August 2022 peak. That’s 20.2% higher than five years ago.

Despite sixteen months of declines, the U.S. median rent was just $57 (-3.2%) less than the peak seen in August 2022. Notably, it was still $261 (18.1%) higher than the same time in 2019 (pre-pandemic), but this increase is roughly on par with what has occurred in overall consumer prices (up 22.7% in the five years ending November 2024) and pales in comparison to the 49.7% increase in median price-per-square-foot of for-sale home listings in the five years ending November 2024.

National Rental Data – November 2024

Unit Size 

Median Rent 

Rent YoY 

Rent Change – 5 years 

Overall

$1,703

-1.1 %

18.1 %

Studio

$1,423

-1.6 %

12.0 %

1-bed

$1,585

-1.2 %

16.4 %

2-bed

$1,886

-1.1 %

20.2 %

50 Largest Metropolitan Areas – November 2024

Metro

Median 
Asking Rent 

YOY Change 

Minimum Wage 2024 

2024 Work Hours per Renter 
per Week at Minimum Wage

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-
Alpharetta, GA

$1,576

-3.1 %

$7.25

84

Austin-Round Rock-
Georgetown, TX

$1,486

-4.7 %

$7.25

79

Baltimore-Columbia-
Towson, MD

$1,812

-0.2 %

$15.00

46

Birmingham-Hoover, AL

$1,236

-3.6 %

$7.25

66

Boston-Cambridge-Newton,
MA-NH

$2,942

-1.0 %

$15.00

75

Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

NA

NA

NA

NA

Charlotte-Concord-
Gastonia, NC-SC

$1,519

-2.7 %

$7.25

81

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin,
IL-IN-WI

$1,793

-2.7 %

$16.20

43

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

$1,365

2.6 %

$10.45

50

Cleveland-Elyria, OH

$1,193

-3.0 %

$10.45

44

Columbus, OH

$1,190

0.2 %

$10.45

44

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington,
TX

$1,453

-4.4 %

$7.25

77

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood,
CO

$1,808

-6.7 %

$18.29

38

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn,
MI

$1,316

-0.8 %

$10.33

49

Hartford-East Hartford-
Middletown, CT

NA

NA

NA

NA

Houston-The Woodlands-
Sugar Land, TX

$1,375

-1.4 %

$7.25

73

Indianapolis-Carmel-
Anderson, IN

$1,288

-0.8 %

$7.25

68

Jacksonville, FL

$1,523

-1.1 %

$13.00

45

Kansas City, MO-KS

$1,342

1.1 %

$12.30

42

Las Vegas-Henderson-
Paradise, NV

$1,479

-0.8 %

$12.00

47

Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Anaheim, CA

$2,789

-1.4 %

$17.28

62

Louisville/Jefferson County,
KY-IN

$1,245

0.6 %

$7.25

66

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

$1,186

-6.2 %

$7.25

63

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-
Pompano Beach, FL

$2,353

-1.1 %

$13.00

70

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

$1,613

-0.2 %

$7.25

86

Minneapolis-St. Paul-
Bloomington, MN-WI

$1,516

0.1 %

$15.57

37

Nashville-Davidson–
Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN

$1,542

-5.6 %

$7.25

82

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

NA

NA

NA

NA

New York-Newark-Jersey
City, NY-NJ-PA

$2,905

2.0 %

$16.00

70

Oklahoma City, OK

$1,023

1.6 %

$7.25

54

Orlando-Kissimmee-
Sanford, FL

$1,680

-0.9 %

$13.00

50

Philadelphia-Camden-
Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

$1,761

-1.1 %

$7.25

93

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler,
AZ

$1,503

-4.1 %

$14.35

40

Pittsburgh, PA

$1,440

-0.9 %

$7.25

76

Portland-Vancouver-
Hillsboro, OR-WA

$1,687

1.6 %

$15.00

43

Providence-Warwick,
RI-MA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Raleigh-Cary, NC

$1,512

-1.4 %

$7.25

80

Richmond, VA

$1,478

-1.3 %

$12.00

47

Riverside-San Bernardino-
Ontario, CA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Rochester, NY

$1,319

4.3 %

$15.00

34

Sacramento-Roseville-
Folsom, CA

$1,902

1.7 %

$16.00

46

San Antonio-New Braunfels,
TX

$1,242

-3.5 %

$7.25

66

San Diego-Chula Vista-
Carlsbad, CA

$2,726

-4.3 %

$16.85

62

San Francisco-Oakland-
Berkeley, CA

$2,711

-4.5 %

$16.00

65

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa
Clara, CA

$3,314

2.6 %

$17.55

73

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue,
WA

$1,971

-2.3 %

$19.97

38

St. Louis, MO-IL

$1,323

1.1 %

$12.30

41

Tampa-St. Petersburg-
Clearwater, FL

$1,713

-1.7 %

$13.00

51

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-
Newport News, VA-NC

$1,500

-0.6 %

$12.00

48

Washington-Arlington-
Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

$2,255

2.0 %

$17.50

50

Methodology
Rental data as of November 2024 for studio, 1-bedroom, or 2-bedroom units advertised as for-rent on Realtor.com®. Rental units include apartments as well as private rentals (condos, townhomes, single-family homes). We use rental sources that reliably report data each month within the top 50 largest metropolitan areas. Realtor.com began publishing regular monthly rental trends reports in October 2020 with data history stretching back to March 2019.

To determine the minimum wage at the metro level, we use the minimum wage of the principal city as a representative figure for the metro area. If the principal city does not have a local minimum wage policy, the state-level minimum wage is applied. In cases where the state does not have a minimum wage regulation, the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is used. Minimum wage data is sourced from ADP.

About Realtor.com®
Realtor.com® is an open real estate marketplace built for everyone. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real estate more than 25 years ago. Today, through its website and mobile apps, Realtor.com® is a trusted guide for consumers, empowering more people to find their way home by breaking down barriers, helping them make the right connections, and creating confidence through expert insights and guidance. For professionals, Realtor.com® is a trusted partner for business growth, offering consumer connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in today’s on-demand world. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. For more information, visit Realtor.com®.

Media Contact: Mallory Micetich, press@realtor.com 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-november-rental-report-even-with-rent-declines-minimum-wage-earners-need-extended-hours-to-afford-rents-302332033.html

SOURCE Realtor.com

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

Published

on

By

SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

Continue Reading

Technology

Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

Published

on

By

SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

Continue Reading

Technology

Air Products to Expand Industrial Gas Supply for Samsung Electronics’ Next-Generation Semiconductor Fab in South Korea

Published

on

By

New investment underscores the company’s long-term commitment to Korea and its leading role in the global semiconductor industry 

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Air Products (NYSE:APD), a world-leading industrial gases company and serving Samsung globally, today announced it has been selected by Samsung to supply industrial gases for its new advanced semiconductor fab in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

Under the agreement, Air Products will build, own and operate multiple state-of-the-art production facilities and a bulk specialty gas supply system to supply nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and hydrogen for Samsung’s new semiconductor fab. The new facilities are expected to come onstream in multiple phases from 2028 through 2030.

Air Products has a long track record of executing multiple phase expansions in Pyeongtaek to support Samsung’s growing manufacturing needs. This latest project represents Air Products’ largest investment to date in the semiconductor industry and will establish Pyeongtaek as the company’s single largest operations site globally supporting the electronics industry. 

“Air Products is honored to be selected once again by Samsung and to have their continued confidence as a trusted partner supporting their strategic growth plans,” said SR Kim, President, Air Products Korea. “This significant investment reinforces Air Products’ role as a leading global supplier to the semiconductor industry and underscores our long-standing commitment to supporting our strategic customers with safety, reliability, efficiency and excellent service.”

Air Products has served the global electronics industry for more than 40 years, supplying industrial gases safely and reliably to many of the world’s leading technology companies. The company has operated in Korea for more than 50 years and has established a strong position in electronics and manufacturing sectors.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE: APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 85 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets and generating a cleaner future. The Company supplies essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, medical and food. As the leading global supplier of hydrogen, Air Products also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world’s largest clean hydrogen projects, supporting the transition to low- and zero-carbon energy in the industrial and heavy-duty transportation sectors. Through its sale of equipment businesses, the Company also provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers globally.

Air Products had fiscal 2025 sales of $12 billion from operations in approximately 50 countries. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedInXFacebook or Instagram.

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/air-products-to-expand-industrial-gas-supply-for-samsung-electronics-next-generation-semiconductor-fab-in-south-korea-302757497.html

SOURCE Air Products

Continue Reading

Trending