Working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, a person would have to earn $12.98 an hour - or $27,000 a year - to be able to "afford" rent and utilities in the Utah market. But the mean hourly wage for Utah renters is $9.54.

That's according to a state-by-state analysis of 2005 rent markets released Tuesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in Washington D.C. The advocacy group defines "affordable" using the federal standard of spending no more than 30 percent of income on housing.

But Tim Funk, a Utah low-income advocate on the coalition's board of directors, says "No matter how you snap the numbers, up or down, Utah is in a housing crisis."

Utah ranks 25th on the affordability scale, with the most expensive states being Hawaii, California and Massachusetts. But not all Utah counties are affordable.

The price of monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Summit County - about $984 - trails Connecticut, the 7th most expensive state. Carbon County is the least expensive at $517, but jobs there are scarce, say advocates.

Even at $675, Utah's average fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment stretches the monthly budgets of some middle-income families, says Funk. "Low-income people don't have a damn chance."

Consider, says Funk, that a person living on disability gets about $579 a month from social security.

It's not a new problem, but one that appears to be getting worse, says Josh Pederson, director of Utah's social services hot line, 211.

Pederson says his operators fielded 68,000 phone calls in 2004, and the No. 1 request was for help paying rent.

While it's true that most Utahns manage to absorb the higher rents, they do so by risking their health, say advocates.

Unlike food and medical bills, rent and utilities are fixed costs that have to be paid to avoid eviction.

Advocates are calling for an increase in Utah's minimum wage and more money for rent assistance.

This past year because of federal budget cuts, Utah's housing authorities handed out 1,000 fewer Section 8 rent vouchers.

With more budget cuts looming and the cost of gas and electricity soaring, "we may reach even fewer this year," says Kerry Bate, director of the Salt Lake County Housing Authority.

There are roughly 28,000 families on waiting lists for rent assistance, and only about 1 in 4 families eligible for the aid get it, says Bate.

kstewart@sltrib.com