Report: The most expensive counties to rent in the US are all in the Bay Area

FILE - Seven out of ten of the most expensive counties in the United States are in the Bay Area, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual “Out of Reach” report. FILE - Seven out of ten of the most expensive counties in the United States are in the Bay Area, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual “Out of Reach” report. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2018 Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2018 Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Report: The most expensive counties to rent in the US are all in the Bay Area 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

For the second year in a row, the Bay Area has won. But it's not an award to be proud of. This one's for being ridiculously, disgustingly expensive (as usual): According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's annual "Out of Reach" report, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties are all tied for top most expensive county in the entire country.

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The "Out of Reach" report aims to showcase the disparity between what people earn and what housing actually costs. According to the report, tenants in these counties must make $60.96 an hour to rent a two-bedroom home for $3,170, which is what they estimate to be the fair market rate. This hourly wage is also calculated so tenants are not spending more than 30 percent of their salary on housing.

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That's a salary of $127,000 a year to afford modest housing. The comparison to the national housing wage — $22.96 an hour — is jarring.

Meanwhile, minimum wage in Marin County is $14.80 an hour with no health benefits (or $13 with benefits) and $15 an hour in San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

"Low wages, wage inequality, racial inequities and a severe shortage of affordable rental homes leave too many vulnerable people unable to afford their housing," reads the "Out of Reach" report.

The greater Bay Area doesn't have it much better: the top seven most expensive counties on the list are also local. So if you live in San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Alameda or Contra Costa counties, you'll still need to make between $40.88 and $54.60 an hour to afford the modest two-bedroom of your dreams.

Rounding out the top 10 most expensive counties are San Diego County, Honolulu County and Orange County. That's nine for ten, California. Living in the Golden State definitely comes at a price.

Madeline Wells is an SFGate editorial assistant. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com | Twitter: @madwells22