The price of a home in Florida rose 84 percent during the housing boom, but wages have not kept pace. As a result, Florida workers in key occupations can no longer afford to buy the sort of property they would once have expected to.

eFinanceDirectory recently analyzed the earnings of workers in key occupations and calculated their ability to afford a median priced home or fair market rent on a two-bedroom apartment. The wages analyzed were from fire fighters, police officers, nurses, receptionists, and wait staff in four major metropolitan areas.

The results showed that not only was it impossible for workers earning the average income for their field to reasonably afford a median priced home, it was also difficult for workers in the majority of the occupations to afford rent on a 2-bedroom apartment.

In Miami, where the median home price is $375,000, it would be virtually impossible for workers in the five occupations to qualify for a mortgage loan without assistance. A Miami fire fighter, who on average earns more than the workers in the other four occupations ($65,312), would need to earn twice as much to be able to reasonably afford the median priced home.

In the same area, a receptionist earning the average income ($20,925) would need to work for 72 hour per week to afford the fair market rent on a two-bedroom Miami apartment.

Similar problems were found in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Jacksonville, the other three Florida metropolitan areas included in the analysis.