Houston less affordable than New York

underlying report

Affordability of living in a metro is certainly much more than just straight up housing costs. But I think you have to be wary of the conclusion of any study that tells you $3,469/month (San Jose, 2205(housing) 1264(transportation)) is ~20%((~50% of median income vs ~40% of median income) more affordable than $2,531 (Houston, 1379(housing) 1152(transportation)).

1. It is actually pretty remarkable how consistent the combined percentage of housing and transport costs are, ranging from just above 40% (D.C.) to just above 50% (Phoenix).

2. It is almost as if an area is more costly people who can't command a high wage might "choose" not live there.

3. One might be able to tell a story about the inability to "choose" your housing costs in a metro relative to the median.

4. At $1,200/month it is harder to tell a story that people are not "choosing" more than absolutely necessary given the urban form of Houston. There are no restrictions on the number of Hyundai Accents that can be in operation in the Houston Metro at any given time.

5. To illustrate, if we used the same methodology New Yorkers average expenditure (for whatever reason I can't quickly find median expenditure tables by metro) of $1,815 on transit relative to Houston's average of $1,101 is 45% less affordable (2.6% of NY income vs 1.8% of Houston income).