Affordable housing refers to housing that costs no more than 30 percent of a household’s income. Affordable housing may be funded by local, state or federal programs, or it may be unsubsidized but available at an affordable price from private landlords in the housing market.

Affordable housing is provided by a combination of stakeholders, including nonprofit and mission-driven actors that may target affordability for lower-income households, as well as public-sector actors who often focus on filling gaps left by private market activity.

Public housing, one of the most well-known housing programs, is just one of many types of affordable housing programs offered to low- income households.

Public education is offered to children free of charge by the government and is considered compulsory across the United States. Schools providing taxpayer-funded education include public, magnet, charter and virtual schools.

Public education typically is offered to students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, although the starting age for public education varies across localities.

Although education begins formally with elementary school, learning actually begins with parents and caregivers and continues with child care, nursery school or preschool. A range of private and publicly funded programs offer services for families with children who are under the age of 5 or who have not entered prekindergarten or kindergarten.

Affordable housing providers often focus on households with the greatest need and lowest incomes. Although millions of very low-income households spend more than one-third of their income on housing, just under one-quarter of very low-income renter households that are eligible for federal rental assistance actually receive it.

Public education is available to all children across the country. In 2016, more than 50 million students attended nearly 100,000 public elementary and secondary schools across the United States. Although public education is available nationwide, school quality varies greatly by geography.

A number of federal, state and local programs support the creation or operation of affordable housing, including public housing, housing choice vouchers, project-based rental assistance and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

Often referred to as subsidized housing, these programs vary significantly — some operate publicly owned units, others provide financial assistance directly to qualifying tenants or building owners, while others provide tax credits and other financing to support the construction or rehabilitation of affordable units.

Education funding depends on how the federal, state and local funding streams of schools interact with other policies and the demographics of the state and district.

States typically expect local jurisdictions to generate revenues for public schools through property or income taxes. Many smaller or historically impoverished localities have limited tax bases to generate school revenue. As a result, this funding structure can create significant funding disparities for public education within and across regions, often exacerbating existing inequities.

Where you live often dictates where you go to school. Decades of discriminatory government policies have led to racially segregated neighborhoods and cities, greatly limiting the ability of people of color to access high- quality public education. By contrast, higher performing, well-resourced schools typically are located in higher cost neighborhoods with concentrations of white residents.

While school enrollment policies vary by school district, many are based entirely on a student’s place of residence. As school funding often is driven in part by the local tax base, a school’s geography typically is a strong determinant of its access to resources. As such, school funding policies can further perpetuate existing disparities that stem from racial and economic segregation by neighborhood.

Affordable housing can have a significant impact on residents’ physical and mental well- being, financial and household stability, and employment opportunities. Housing assistance has been proven to reduce homelessness, housing instability and overcrowding, thus leading to other positive outcomes.

Children in families that lack stable, affordable housing have been shown to perform less well in school and have limited access to enrichment activities for out-of-school time, leaving them at a disadvantage that ultimately affects their ability to achieve economic mobility from poverty.

Education funding and access to quality education are directly related to positive outcomes for children, beginning with early childhood education through high school and post-secondary preparation. For example, for younger learners, early childhood education is associated with kindergarten readiness and later school success. For secondary students, those who complete high school are more likely to work full- time year-round and earn more than students who do not complete high school.

Overall, children in families without access to quality education have been shown to have fewer employment and wage-earning opportunities later in life, greatly limiting their economic mobility from poverty.