SAN ANTONIO — Kayla Miranda has called the Alazán-Apache Courts home for seven years. 

“Got a nice breeze going, everything’s green, I have my jardines, my neighbors have theirs,” Miranda said.

What You Need To Know

  • San Antonio residents looking for affordable housing are facing obstacles such as long wait lists and affordable units not being built fast enough

  • The city's public housing wait list stands at 113,000 families — up 43,000 from last year

  • According to the U.S. Census Bureau, San Antonio’s area median income, or AMI, is $59,593. However, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) measures AMI by region. The region that includes San Antonio also includes New Braunfels. The result is an area median income of $88,600

  • It’s a figure people in San Antonio say doesn’t reflect the need

The Alazán is a housing projects built in the 1940s for poor Mexican Americans who were living in makeshift homes with tin roofs. Miranda faced obstacles securing this unit.

“Me and the kids were homeless and living in the car or staying at hotels when we could for an extra year at that,” Miranda said. 

She’s not alone in the search for affordable housing in Texas. San Antonio’s public housing wait list stands at 113,000 families — up 43,000 from last year. 

Austin’s public housing wait list is at 13,019 while the Dallas-Fort Worth area has the third worst affordable housing shortage in the country, according to a 2024 national housing report. 

“For those who are disabled, they get moved up higher, those that have small children get moved up higher,” Miranda said. 

Ed Hinojosa is the CEO of Opportunity Home San Antonio, an agency that provides housing for over 62,000 children, adults and seniors in San Antonio. 

“The need has grown in San Antonio over the course of the pandemic,” Hinojosa said. “We have about 2,000 units of affordable housing that we are building currently. Out of that, about 400 or 500 units are deeply affordable for the lowest income individuals.”

Miranda says truly affordable housing isn’t being built fast enough.

“All the rest, market rates, 80% AMI, 60% AMI, (are) completely unaffordable to the majority of people in San Antonio,” Miranda said. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, San Antonio’s area median income, or AMI, is $59,593. 

However, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) measures AMI by region. The region that includes San Antonio also includes New Braunfels. The result is an area median income of $88,600, according to HUD.

It’s a figure people in San Antonio say doesn’t reflect the need.

“That is a huge difference. That’s like an entire new job,” Miranda said. 

It's an unrealistic system, she says, that will only lead to a longer waiting list.

“We need to stop to pretending that these broken systems are going to work when it comes to AMI-based housing,” Miranda said.