Jacksonville Today reader Jennifer R. says she doesn\u2019t consider that \u201caffordable housing\u201d to be affordable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho in the world thinks $1,332 is affordable?\u201d she asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is that defined in Jax?\u201d<\/p>\n
She writes: \u201cThis effort is still better than nothing, and I\u2019m sure this whole program costs (a lot) given building costs. I still wonder who is deciding this is affordable, and also how that is calculated. At least be honest and say \u2018kind of affordable housing\u2019 instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
A: Even people who specialize in housing will admit that housing data and terminology isn\u2019t always the easiest thing to understand. For example, there is a difference between housing that you or I consider to be affordable and what the law defines as \u201caffordable housing.\u201d State and federal governments have their own definitions.<\/p>\n
Those determinations, which are updated every year based on income data, are where Jacksonville Affordable Housing Director Joshua Hicks admits that things get a little confusing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re having readers reach out to you, say, \u2018Hey, I can\u2019t afford this affordable housing,\u2019 it\u2019s because everyone\u2019s income is different,\u201d Hicks says.<\/p>\n
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, any household spending more than 30% of their annual income on housing expenses like rent or a mortgage are considered \u201ccost-burdened.\u201d<\/p>\n
A report from the U.S. Census Bureau in 2024 found that nearly half of all renters in the country<\/a> are considered cost-burdened, with people who identify as a race other than white disproportionately affected.<\/p>\n In Jacksonville, Hicks says more than 25% of households are past the 30% mark and are considered \u201cseverely cost-burdened.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat means they\u2019re paying more than 50% of their income on housing,\u201d he says. \u201cSo we have a housing crisis, and it\u2019s identified in the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n The affordable housing sweet spot<\/p>\n Affordable housing directed at people in one income bracket is priced very differently than affordable housing targeted at a different income bracket. Every year, the federal government\u2019s Department of Housing and Urban Development and then the state of Florida update their affordable housing regulations based on the area median income, or AMI, and household size.<\/p>\n Once that data is in, and rental rates are set for affordable apartments, that\u2019s out of the local government\u2019s hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe city does not dictate the rents. I mean, we\u2019re not builders,\u201d Hicks explains. \u201cSo the rents are coming from the developers, and if they\u2019re getting money from the city, and we\u2019re calling it affordable, we use \u2026 the federal numbers and the state numbers to dictate affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n Affordable housing programs exist to provide housing to people who are making less than (or just more than) the average income in a given area, but as reader Jennifer R. said, not all affordable housing is made equal.<\/p>\n How affordable is affordable housing?<\/p>\n What people commonly understand as affordable housing is actually a larger category. It makes up income-restricted housing for people making no more than 80% of the area median income, but it also includes housing designed for people making 30% of the area median income.<\/p>\n The area median income is calculated annually by metropolitan areas<\/a>. In the Jacksonville metro area \u2014 which includes Duval, St. Johns<\/a>, Clay and Nassau counties \u2014 the 2025 median income is $102,500. That means, to qualify for housing designed for people making 80% of the area median income, a family of four would have to have a combined income of $82,000 or less.<\/p>\n For someone making 80% of the area median income, or $82,500, their monthly housing costs (including utilities) would have to be less than $2,300. <\/p>\n Similarly, housing for people at the 30% area median income is designed for a family of four making around $32,150.\u00a0To not be considered cost-burdened, that household\u2019s monthly housing costs would look a lot different \u2014 around $900.<\/p>\n And someone\u2019s experience may vary greatly if they are looking for housing for just one person, or for a family of four. <\/p>\n The same goes for location. The cost of affordable housing is determined by metropolitan area, not by county or ZIP code.<\/p>\n \u201c$82,000 in St. Johns County versus $82,000 in Clay County or parts of Nassau County are two different sets of dollars,\u201d Cody Spencer says. \u201cWe can quite clearly see that these counties have different socioeconomic statuses in them.\u201d<\/p>\n Spencer is the program director for Ability Housing, an affordable housing development company with around 2,000 households across Florida<\/a>, including in Duval and St. Johns counties.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of the housing that we produce comes from a variety of funding sources,\u201d Spencer says. \u201cThe primary funding source is tax credits and affordable housing dollars that are directed to the Florida Housing Finance Corp.\u201d<\/p>\n He says getting a piece of that funding is cutthroat, and with limited funds available and housing costs out of hand for many people, Florida can\u2019t build affordable housing fast enough.<\/p>\n The Florida Legislature has tried to give further incentives for building affordable housing through initiatives like the Live Local Act. One provision of that law allows developers to build housing in areas where they otherwise would not automatically be able to, but the housing must be at least 40% affordable.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Panel.webp.webp\")
Nonprofit leaders and others discuss affordable housing during an event in St. Johns County last year. From left are Bill Lazar with the St. Johns Housing Partnership, Bob Porter with D.R. Horton, Malinda Everson with Habitat for Humanity, Aliyah Meyer with the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce and Erick Saks with Operation Lifeline. | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n