Affordable housing set-asides: school children, education costs, and PILOT subsidies
Higher affordable set-asides add more school-age children and require larger PILOT subsidies — but the PILOT revenue typically far exceeds the cost of educating the children the building adds.
Sources: Davis et al., "School-Age Children in Rental Units in NJ" (Rutgers RCRE, 2018); JCPS budgeted per pupil cost of $26,130 (FY 2024–25); Better Blocks NJ, 177 Grand Street PILOT analysis (2025).
Building type
Market-rate avg. HH income
Bedroom mix: 50% studios/1BR, 40% 2BR, 10% 3BR+ (typical JC high-rise)
| Aff. % | Aff. units | Mkt. units | Children in mkt-rate | Children in aff. | Total | Annual ed. cost | PILOT subsidy (NPV) |
|---|
What this shows
At 15% affordable on a typical high-income high-rise, the building adds roughly 21 school-age children costing about $549K/year to educate — while the PILOT generates millions in annual revenue for the city. The children come overwhelmingly from the affordable units.
PILOTs make the affordable housing financially viable. Without the PILOT, neither the affordable units nor the market-rate units get built — and the school district gets zero new students, zero new revenue, and the lot continues paying next to nothing.
At $26,130 per pupil, the annual cost to educate the children from a PILOT building is a fraction of the PILOT revenue the city receives — revenue that creates fiscal space for the school levy as we explain in Myth 3.
PILOT subsidy: $245,829 NPV per affordable unit from NW Financial analysis of 177 Grand Street (conservative floor). Per pupil cost: $26,130 budgeted for JCPS FY 2024–25. Rutgers multipliers based on survey of 251 NJ rental developments covering 40,000+ units.