I don't know what to tell you. I searched rental listings and based my calculations off that. Reality disagreeing with your preconceptions is not my problem.

My first apartment was $525, I was making $10/hr as a gas station clerk, which you will find comes out to 52.5 hours of work. Full time work is 160-175hrs/month, so that was just under a third of my wages, and my math shows 1/3 < 1/2.

Prices for apartments have certainly outpaced wages, I won't argue against that, and obviously the calculations are a bit different if you're trying to live downtown in a major city. But those examples are way nicer than a peasant's hovel anyway. Trailer rent is still pretty cheap.