Can American cities grow AND stay affordable?

美国城市能否在发展同时保持住亲民的价格?

The Indicator from Planet Money

2025-12-15

9 分钟
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Cities like Austin and Atlanta used to top lists of places people moved to looking for relatively affordable places to live. Until, one day, they weren’t that affordable. On today’s show, how a low cost of living is threatened by growth, and how one sunbelt city in Alabama is planning ahead.  Related episodes: Why Americans don’t want to move for jobs anymore How to build abundantly How big is the US housing shortage? The highs and lows of US rents  For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.   Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
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  • NPR.

  • Huntsville, Alabama is growing fast.

  • About 18 people move there every day.

  • And you can see lots of reasons why.

  • It's where the rocket that put the first man on the moon was developed,

  • there are plenty of space and defense sector jobs,

  • a big music venue,

  • and in the center of town there's an art museum and a pond where Rachel Ramos and her daughter Reina are feeding the ducks.

  • See, it's only $0.25 for a cup of duck food.

  • $0.25 might sound like a great price, but the price that really matters for Rachel is $1,250.

  • That's how much she pays each month for a three bedroom apartment.

  • Three bedrooms, that is a steal!

  • Yeah, I thought my two bedroom in Birmingham was cheap,

  • but this is definitely a steal, and Rachel also thinks the city's pretty affordable.

  • Compared to other places that I've lived,

  • like Montana and Florida, I find it less expensive to live here.

  • The cost of homes in Huntsville by square foot is about 25% cheaper than it is nationally.

  • But Rachel is worried about those good times and low prices lasting.

  • I am concerned about it

  • because just with any place that I've lived where there was a lot of expansion,