High rents have forced a bleak ultimatum on minimum wage workers across the country seeking an affordable place to live: Get several roommates or several full-time jobs.

What the research says

Real-estate tech firm Zillow released a rent-affordability analysis this week that looks at the 50 largest cities in the U.S., comparing the local cost of rent for one- and two-bedroom units to the local minimum wage.

• Nationwide, it takes 3.3 full-time minimum wage workers to reasonably afford a one-bedroom unit and 3.8 workers to afford a two-bedroom unit.

• In other words, federal minimum wage workers need to find at least two other roommates to comfortably afford a one-bedroom apartment — or they would have to work 132 hours per week.

• That arrangement for a one-bedroom unit would exceed the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s guideline of a maximum of two people per bedroom.

On the other hand, the picture is less grim in many major cities that Zillow analyzed.

• Despite rent typically being higher than the national average in large cities, many have minimum wages much higher than the federal standard of $7.25.

• For example, in Baltimore — where the minimum wage is $13.25 — it requires 1.6 full-time workers to afford a one-bedroom rental.

• “Workers tend to fare better” in these cities, the Zillow report stated.

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Where rent is most (and least) affordable

Here are the 10 most-affordable big cities cities for minimum wage workers renting one-bedroom units, according to Zillow:

1. Tucson: 1.3 minimum wage jobs required
2. Fresno: 1.4 minimum wage jobs required
3. Minneapolis: 1.4 minimum wage jobs required
4. Cleveland: 1.5 minimum wage jobs required
5. Chicago: 1.5 minimum wage jobs required
6. Detroit: 1.5 minimum wage jobs required
7. Sacramento: 1.6 minimum wage jobs required
8. Albuquerque: 1.6 minimum wage jobs required
9. Baltimore: 1.6 minimum wage jobs required
10. Kansas City: 1.7 minimum wage jobs required

And here are the 10 least-affordable cities for one-bedroom rentals:

1. Atlanta: 4.3 minimum wage jobs required
2. Austin: 4 minimum wage jobs required
3. Charlotte: 3.8 minimum wage jobs required
4. Nashville: 3.7 minimum wage jobs required
5. Raleigh: 3.6 minimum wage jobs required
6. Dallas: 3.3 minimum wage jobs required
7. Fort Worth: 3.1 minimum wage jobs required
8. San Antonio: 3.1 minimum wage jobs required
9. Houston: 3 minimum wage jobs required
10. Philadelphia: 3 minimum wage jobs required

All 10 of the least-affordable places feature the worst of both worlds: minimum wages that have been frozen at $7.25 paired with big-city rental prices.

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Keep in mind

Zillow’s affordability analysis is based on the recommendation that rental payments should not exceed 30% of the worker’s monthly income. The 30% rule, as it’s often called, is a popular guideline touted by many academics and personal finance experts.

• The 30% rule can be traced back to legislation from 1969 led by housing-affordability advocate Senator Edward Brooke.

• Some experts argue that the rule no longer makes sense given that increases in housing costs have long outpaced wage gains.