this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
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So in that sense, when the article is comparing “affordable” apartment numbers between different cities, they mean, “subsidized in some way or another” ? But how much subsidy is “affordable” in different cities may not match at all, is that it?
Yeah. You could have “affordable” housing in Seattle that is more expensive than “market rate” housing in Houston. A big part of it is trying to navigate the differences in cost of living and relative incomes in different regions. A barista in Seattle makes $21.30/hr plus tips, whereas a barista in Houston makes $2.13/hr plus tips (not a typo). Even if your rent in Seattle is 10x your rent in Houston, it’s still “affordable” because you make so much more money.