WORCESTER, Mass. - A recent report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows for the average person to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the Worcester area, they need to earn about $65,000 a year.

The Central Mass Housing Alliance says this puts housing out of reach for the lowest wage earners. The average person working these jobs only earns about $36,000 a year. The report shows most people would have to work two minimum wage jobs to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

Housing alliance executive director Leah Bradley said rent and median home prices are increasing while vacancy rates and available housing is decreasing.

"There's a multi-pronged approach we need to take,” Bradley said. “We need to build more housing and we need to build affordable housing at an increased rate than the market rate housing, that does take a while. We can’t just build our way out of this.

“Part of that is, how do we make sure we have rental housing in all of our communities? The MBTA communities policy that came through helps us to have affordable units in those towns. The amount of multifamily houses that've been built is much lower than single family homes over the past 40 years."

Bradley said if federal, state and local governments and private companies can work together, they can turn the pattern around.