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Inland Empire’s worst-paying jobs: Can those wages pay the rent?

August 11, 2026

The smallest paychecks in the Inland Empire’s job market would barely cover typical rents, leaving little for other bills.

My trusty spreadsheet looked at a curious federal study of employment and wages across 22 occupations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, regardless of the industry in which those jobs are performed. The latest stats are for May 2025.

As a gauge of an occupation’s buying power, wages were compared to that month’s typical apartment rent for the region – $2,274 for May 2025 – as measured by Zillow.

By this math, the agriculture occupation paid the least at $18.97 an hour or $38,000 a year. Nationally, such jobs pay 5% more.

The typical Inland Empire rent of $2,274 monthly would eat up 72% of agriculture’s paychecks. But note that this occupation represents only 0.3% of all local jobs.

However, equally ugly for five other low-paying I.E. occupations, ranked by average wages:

– Healthcare support pays $19.02 an hour or $38,000 a year. Rent equals 72% of that compensation. It’s 8% of all I.S. jobs. And U.S. wages for this work are 3% higher.

– Food prep/serving: $20.57 an hour or $41,000 a year. Rent equals 66%. It’s 10% of jobs. U.S. wages are 12% less.

– Personal services: at $20.71 an hour or $41,000 a year. Rent equals 66%. It’s 2% of jobs. U.S. wages are 5% less.

– Building maintenance: $22.06 an hour or $44,000 a year. Rent equals 62%. It’s 3% of jobs. U.S. wages are 12% less.

– Transportation: $23.93 an hour or $48,000 a year. Rent equals 57%. It’s 16% of jobs. U.S. wages are essentially the same.

To be fair, even the Inland Empire’s overall average wage struggles with the rent: $31.33 an hour is $63,000 a year. That makes typical rents equal to a hefty 44% of the overall average paycheck.

This is a key reason 7% of local families “double up” – that’s living with non-relatives – the 11th highest share nationally.

Contrast that compensation to the average American job that pays $67,000 or 15% less.

However, with U.S. rents running $1,764 monthly, what typically goes to the landlord is just 32% of the national average wage. So, just 6% of American families double up.

Top dollar

At the other end of the local pay scale, what’s the occupation with the highest average wage?

No. 1 is legal work’s $74.95-an-hour wage, or $149,900 annually. That makes rent just 18% of pay. This occupation represents 1% of all local jobs. Nationally, such jobs pay 12% less.

Then came management jobs at $63.46 an hour, or $126,900 annually. Rent’s just 22% of pay. This occupation represents 7% of all local jobs. U.S. wages are 9% more.

No. 3 is the medical profession at $59.79 an hour, or $119,600 annually. Rent’s just 23% of pay. This occupation represents 6% of all local jobs. U.S. wages are 14% less.

Final twist

Size up the housing-cost squeeze this way: Only six of the 22 local occupations had average wages that are high enough to be 30% or less of rent payments, one affordability standard. Those six occupations employ just 20% of Inland Empire workers.

Consider what met the same standard nationally: eight occupations that employ 28% of U.S. workers.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Try Jonathan Lansner’s Substack collection of economic trends. CLICK HERE!

Orange County Register

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Inland Empire’s worst-paying jobs: Can those wages pay the rent?

Top dollar

Final twist

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