OKPOLICY.ORG
It’s been 16 years since Congress raised the minimum wage. Since then, rents have risen by 60 percent. The predictable result of this mismatch is drastic increases in eviction filings and homelessness. [See Oklahoma specific homeless data] Low-wage workers – not just minimum wage workers – struggle to afford housing.
Since federal and state lawmakers have failed to ensure the minimum wage keeps pace with the actual cost of living, Oklahomans have utilized the initiative petition process to take matters into their own hands. State Question 832, which would gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2029, gathered enough signatures to be placed on the June 2026 ballot. The governor could have chosen several earlier election dates, but opted for one of the latest dates possible. The unprecedented delay on a vote means more hard-working Oklahomans will continue to face housing instability, eviction, and homelessness until Oklahoma voters are given the opportunity to take action and increase the minimum wage. Or Oklahoma lawmakers could choose to be proactive and address the issue before it comes to a vote.
The current minimum wage isn’t enough to afford even a modest rental
Oklahomans need to make $15.90/hour to afford a one-bedroom rental and $19.91/hour to afford a two-bedroom rental. Oklahomans working a minimum wage job must work 88 hours/week to afford a one-bedroom rental or 110 hours/week to afford a two-bedroom rental. That is the equivalent of more than two full-time jobs to afford a one-bedroom rental or nearly three full-time jobs to afford a two-bedroom rental.
| One-bedroom rental | Two-bedroom rental |
| Wage needed: $15.90/hr | Wage needed: $19.91/hr |
| Hours needed of minimum wage work: 88 | Hours needed of minimum wage work: 110 |
| Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition 2024 | |
A common misconception is that minimum wage jobs are taken mainly by teenagers looking for extra spending money. But reality paints a far different picture. Most minimum wage earners are adults who need a living wage to afford housing. Nationally, most people working jobs that pay less than $15 an hour are adults over 25, and more than a quarter have children. Increasingly, working Oklahomans are falling into homelessness. In 2024, nearly 1 in 4 people experiencing homelessness in Tulsa were employed at the time of the point-in-time count, up from 1 in 7 the year before. While raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour still isn’t enough – especially for those with children – it gets us much closer to the rate needed to afford housing and can help prevent evictions and homelessness.
Increasing minimum wage would benefit many workers in essential service jobs
Oklahoma is one of the nation’s poorest states, and many of the most common professions in our state are relatively low-paying positions. Rising prices and affordability are hitting many hard-working Oklahomans these days, but it’s particularly difficult for minimum wage workers. Over 40 percent of Oklahoma wage earners do not make enough to afford a two-bedroom rental, and over 20 percent do not even make enough to afford a one-bedroom rental working a single full-time job.
Professions that often don’t make enough to afford housing include nurses assistants, teacher’s aides, daycare workers, and emergency medical technicians. Workers who are vital to our communities – who care for our children, stabilize us during medical emergencies, and care for our health – don’t make enough to live on. In total, over 200,000 Oklahoma renter households don’t make enough to afford a two-bedroom rental. A minimum wage increase would likely cause a ripple effect and lift other low-wage workers closer to a housing wage.
The data is clear: The minimum wage has not kept pace with housing costs
The minimum wage has not been raised since 2009, and since then, the median rent in Oklahoma has increased 60 percent.
The minimum wage was created to meet basic needs. To fulfill that mission, it needs to align more closely with housing costs. Under SQ 832, the minimum wage would be adjusted for the cost of living beginning in 2030 to ensure this stark mismatch between wages and basic expenses does not happen again.
More needs to be done to keep Oklahomans housed, but raising the minimum wage is a solid start
There are many reasons why Oklahomans are struggling to find housing: not enough housing, an out-of-date landlord and tenant act, and an unbalanced eviction process. But wages that haven’t kept pace with housing prices are a big factor. Policymakers should continue to push for a broad range of solutions to increase housing stability including the addition of anti-retaliation protections, zoning reforms to open up more land to build a variety of housing, investments in affordable housing development, and eviction reform. Oklahoma voters, however, will have the power to implement one of the most important solutions by voting for a living wage during the SQ 832 election in June 2026.
