The winter sun casts shadows of Sebastian Stoecker, 3, of Vancouver, left, as he plays with his mom, Bailey Stoecker, at Esther Short Park on Jan. 23. Stoecker struggles to pay her bills despite working full time as a caregiver. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
Although Washington’s minimum wage went up to $16.66 an hour Jan. 1, Clark County workers earning that — and even a bit more — describe triaging bills and bunking with other families to make ends meet.
“Unless you’re making six-plus figures, you’re not surviving,” said Vancouver resident Heather Johnson, a roadwork flagger. “You’re crawling to the finish line.”
The income needed to afford the average one-bedroom apartment in Clark County is about $34 an hour, or $71,000 a year, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. About a third of Clark County’s households make below that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
No figures clearly show what proportion of workers in Clark County or Washington make minimum wage. However, the Washington State Employment Security Department releases county data on average pay and employment in different industries each year.
In 2023, almost 44 percent of employees in Clark County worked in industries with average annual pay less than $45,000, according to the agency. Half of those employees worked for industries where the average pay was around the annual income of someone making minimum wage — $33,000.
With the rising cost of living, even those working jobs that pay $20 an hour have trouble covering their bills, more so if they have children. Yet, they make too much to receive government assistance. For example, two parents working full time at $20 an hour would most likely not be eligible for food stamps to help feed their child, according to Washington’s income restrictions.
“It’s either you have a job and do what you can do to feed your kids, or you don’t work and have food, but you have no money for your bills,” said Vancouver resident Rhianna Rogers, a cook with multiple side jobs. “I can’t be homeless with my kids. I will not let that happen. Working around the clock is an option.”
This financial strain is often even greater for women, who are disproportionately affected by low wages. According to the nonprofit National Partnership for Women and Families, women in Washington earned $18,400 less than men on average in 2022.
“I’m really hoping that we see some kind of relief. This isn’t right. People can’t sustain like this,” said Rogers, 42.
Rhianna: $18.86 an hour
Rogers’ 2-year-old son babbled in the back of her Chevrolet Suburban. She uses it to lug home repair and cleaning supplies for the extra jobs she’s picked up to pay her $2,500 rent.
Less than an hour after Rogers finished work as a cook at an Orchards child care provider, she sipped coffee as she prepared for a night of cleaning offices. She’ll clean until about 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. before she heads back to her job at the child care business around 6 a.m., she said.
“If I can get a solid four hours of sleep, we’re good to go,” Rogers said. “That’s a good night. That is a good day.”
Despite the extra jobs, she can’t pay all her bills and runs a negative balance every month. She relies on credit cards, makes her own flour and cough medicine, and holds off on paying any bill but rent for as long as she can.
Rogers said she shares her three-bedroom, 890-square-foot house with another family, as well as her two adult children, who contribute to bills because they couldn’t afford to live on their own in Clark County.
“It’s not just me. It’s everybody I know. It never seems to be enough,” Rogers said. “The rent around here started skyrocketing for no reason.”
The ‘living wage’
Hourly wage needed to make ends meet in Clark County
Single adult with no children: $26.24
Single adult with one child: $43.16
Two adults with one child, each adult must make: $23.92
— Source: MIT Living Wage Calculator
Washington’s minimum wage: $16.66 per hour
Over the past decade, fair market rent in Clark County has increased by 121 percent, while Washington’s minimum wage has increased by 76 percent.
Without the ability to save, Rogers fears she’ll never own a home and stabilize her housing payments, just like her 70-year-old father who cannot retire due to rising rent. Washington is the only West Coast state without caps limiting rent increases.
“The pay here is not comparable to the cost of living, that’s for sure,” Rogers said. “They want us to do all the labor, but they’re only willing to pay us minimum for it, and there’s no one else willing to do it.”
Heather: $20 an hour
After a typical 12-hour shift as a construction flagger, “your whole body is a wreck,” said Johnson, 36.
Like Rogers, Johnson takes cleaning jobs whenever she can. She lives with her 12-year-old son and a roommate. Johnson said she’s grateful for every additional shift but wishes she could have more time for her son.
“I don’t get a better chance to be a mom to my son because I’m constantly working. And if I’m not working, we lose everything,” she said.
But at least she’s not homeless anymore, she said. It took her working six different jobs and a year of sleeping in her car to afford her current apartment because she had to make three times the rent to qualify, she said.
“For us poor folk, we’re dying out here. Our government needs to step in,” Johnson said. “This is not enough to survive. … Everybody is in panic mode.”
Bailey: $21 an hour
On a recent afternoon in Vancouver’s Esther Short Park, Bailey Stoecker, 26, used a stick to play swords with her 3-year-old son. She smiled, knowing one-on-one time with her son is precious given her work schedule.
A client canceled, leaving her afternoon free for once. She has worked for a bakery and Amazon, but being an end-of-life caregiver has been the most fulfilling, she said.
Stoecker receives food stamps and child support but still struggles to pay her bills. With 80 percent of her paycheck going to debts, including her car loan, she can’t afford even a studio apartment, she said. She lives in her aunt’s accessory dwelling unit, hoping for additional cleaning jobs while struggling to cover child care expenses for her son.
“It’s kind of disheartening. I’m trying my hardest, doing everything I can. It’s just not working out,” she said.
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One of the most difficult parts about her situation is the judgment from other people, she said.
“I just hope people understand that just because we are working minimum wage or close to minimum wage doesn’t mean we’re lazy or not trying,” Stoecker said. “Just because I’m not making six figures doesn’t mean I’m not working my ass off.”
Jessica: $21.35 an hour
Surrounded by baby clothes and boxes, Jessica Meyer, 39, stared at her 30-day pay-or-vacate notice. One appears most months on her door.
Her husband hasn’t landed a construction job in months. Meyer can barely support one person on her pay — let alone two adults and three children, including a newborn.
Rent for their three-bedroom apartment climbed to $2,400, so they moved to a smaller one. Even though it’s deemed “affordable housing” with income-restricted eligibility, Meyer said the $1,519-a-month rent remains a stretch.
The only way she can afford child care is by working for a child care provider, which lets her children attend for free. The monthly fee for just one child would exceed her rent, she said.
Meyer’s family has had to make many sacrifices to afford rent on her salary, including their time, space and entertainment. She held back tears as she explained they could only afford to give their children one Christmas gift each. She said she is behind on her electric bill, car payment and car insurance.
“Every month, we’re getting eviction notices and just barely making it,” Meyer said.
Meyer said she’s seen people in Clark County struggle more to survive, especially mothers, as she’s gotten older.
She and her friends share tips on where to find the cheapest products and who may be doling out the rare bit of rent assistance. She’s not the only one staving off eviction, she said, as the number of people court-ordered to leave their homes rises to dramatic heights in Clark County.
“When I was 16, you didn’t really see it as much,” Meyer said. “And now that I am 39, I’m seeing it a lot more.”
On Wednesday, Meyer decided she could not afford her apartment and moved out. She’s looking for emergency shelter for her family.
She doesn’t know how she’ll find cheaper rent in Clark County.
“Everywhere else is just as bad,” Meyer said.
Editor’s note: An information box in this story was updated to correct the living wage for a two-adult household with one child.
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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