Scott Alexander debunks a viral image about minimum wage and apartment affordability, showing how its methodology is flawed and recalculating more realistic figures. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a viral image claiming to show the number of hours needed to work at minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom apartment in different states. He points out several flaws in the image's methodology and interpretation, including that it's not actually about minimum wage, that raising minimum wage wouldn't solve the problem, and that the numbers are misleading. Scott then recalculates the figures using more realistic assumptions, showing that the actual hours needed are much lower than the image suggests. He concludes that while minimum wage earners do face challenges, this particular image is not an accurate representation of those challenges. Shorter summary