system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
$900/mo is affordable at $2700/mo net (following the 1/3 rule, which is ALREADY up from the 1/4 rule of old), or $32400 post tax.  That is quite literally *barely affordable* at the median income. (EDIT: FYI, 32,400 after tax is about $40k/yr gross on the nose)

But considering that user said rent *WAS* $500/mo, I'm guessing he lives in a below-average-income part of the country.  You know the "cheap" places they always tell us whining liberals to up and move to.  That suggests to me that the average salary there is less than $40,000/yr.

Normally, the term for someone paying $900/mo in rent or more that's making less than $40,000/yr is "fiscally irresponsible".  Yet here we are, telling people who might be making in the upper quartile for their area that they need a new job because they're trying to stay responsible.
gpt
&gt;That suggests to me that the average salary there is less than $40,000/yr.

I've been to a city in Mississippi where this was absolutely the case. Rural areas have been hit hard by recessions and wealth concentrating in cities.