Boston and Cambridge rank as the fourth and fifth most expensive rental markets in the country, making them unaffordable for many area workers, according to a new study.

A two-bedroom apartment in Boston or Cambridge rents for $1,366, and a person would need to make $26.27 an hour to afford it.

The study, “Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America,” found that rents and home prices are too high for most low-wage earners in Boston and many other metro areas.

“Basically, low- and moderate-income renters can’t afford rents. The gap between what people earn and what the rents cost is huge,” said Kathy Brown, coordinator of the Boston Tenant Coalition. “Families – and, obviously, individuals – on fixed incomes can’t make it without a rent subsidy.”

Two-bedroom rents in the Boston and Cambridge metro areas aren’t affordable to those working in four out of the five highest-growth occupations. The five highest-growth occupations were identified in the study as registered nurses, retail salespeople, customer service representatives, food preparation workers and office clerks.

Only registered nurses, who make a little more than $32 per hour, earn enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Boston and Cambridge, according to the study, which was released last Tuesday by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Housing Policy.

Customer service representatives, office clerks, retail salespeople and food preparation workers in Boston and Cambridge earn between $11 and $20.26 per hour, far short of what’s needed to rent a two-bedroom unit.

And despite price drops in Massachusetts and other states, homeownership is still out of reach for many workers. Prices in Cambridge ranked as the 23rd most expensive in the country, while the Cape and Boston areas ranked 26th and 28th, respectively.

“When prices soften somewhat, clearly that’s good news for some buyers who are at the margin of being able to afford a house. But it doesn’t really open the market to a broad swath of homebuyers who have been priced out for the last five to 10 years,” said Thomas Callahan, executive director of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance.

The report revealed that home prices in the Boston metro area aren’t affordable to those working in all five of highest-growth occupations.

In order to qualify for a mortgage to buy a median-priced home in the Boston area, costing $349,000, a person would have to earn $114,010. The study showed that registered nurses in Boston earn $67,581, while customer service representatives make $42,148. Salespeople, food preparation workers and office clerks make between $23,000 and $34,290.

In a handful of markets, homeownership affordability increased for those in higher-paid occupations. Registered nurses can now afford a home in Springfield and five other metro areas across the country.

In the Springfield area, the annual income needed for a mortgage to purchase a median-priced home at $184,000 is $60,108. Nurses in the Springfield area earn $60,588.

Callahan said that while home prices have been reduced in some areas, providing more affordable options to buyers, the declines in most communities have been too modest to make a difference.

“In most communities in eastern Massachusetts, you would find a wide gap between what average working folks can afford and what the market rate existing homes are going for,” he said.