Three Ways a Lack of Workforce Housing Impacts Communities
A strong local economy thrives on a reliable workforce, which is difficult to maintain without attainable and accessible housing near places of employment. As housing prices continue to skyrocket, workers are opting for longer commute times and moving further away from communities that struggle to ensure housing supply keeps pace with the needs of a healthy workforce. In turn, communities of all types are taking hits to their economic growth.
From losing employees to fill positions at local businesses, to municipal staff that cannot afford to live in the communities they serve, the consequences of insufficient workforce housing are severe. Planning is part of the solution.
As experts equipped with data-driven insights, planners have the tools necessary to create local reforms that can enhance capacity, guide economic growth, align the efforts of stakeholders across the housing sector, and meet housing needs at the local level.
To continue this work, planners need support at every level of government — including federal.
Workforce Housing Impacts
Here are three ways a lack of workforce housing is impacting different types of communities across the country — and why planning advocates are fighting to secure federal support.
1. Government Workers Live Outside Their Jurisdiction
In Northwest Arkansas, the lack of housing is leading government employees to rent and buy outside of their jurisdiction:
"Two or three of the staff in my department live in a home they own in Rogers. Almost everybody rents and commutes. That has an impact on people's quality of life, on their work performance, on their stress levels, just everything. To survive, even though we pay well with inflation and the cost of housing, it's almost like a political talking point. It's tough out there, but it really, truly is.
It impacts on our ability to recruit people. Northwest Arkansas is the home to J.B. Hunt Trucking, Tyson Foods, Walmart Corporation, and the University of Arkansas. Those are the main employers, along with several health providers.
Each of those major corporations and large local companies is struggling with being able to get people to work in Northwest Arkansas.
Then you look at things like the service industry, that if you're paying people competitive wages in the service industry with the idea that they've got a difficult commute that requires more money and childcare and all these things that are related to affordable housing. It's a big issue.
—John McCurdy, director of community development, Rogers, Arkansas
2. Resort Communities Cut Back Business Hours
In Southern Delaware, local businesses are struggling to maintain staff and are forced to cut hours due to a lack of attainable housing options:
"There's been a couple of dynamics happening, pushing the growth in Sussex County.
Affordable housing is a topic of conversation in that area because they need workforce housing for the resort communities. There are a lot of great restaurants, beaches, and hotels. It's a vibrant part of the Delaware economy in that area.
They are really struggling to maintain the workforce and to staff the restaurants and hotels at a level that they need to be.
I know a number of the restaurants; they only stay open five days a week because they just don't have the staff. The staff they do have is getting overworked and it's difficult to find housing.
—Sean O’Neill, AICP, policy scientist, University of Delaware Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, Newark, Delaware
Tippe Morlan, AICP, (left) meets with Representative Burgess Owens' office to advocate for federal legislation that would create resources and funding for locally-led reforms.
3. Mountain Towns Lack Housing for Seasonal Work
In mountain resort towns in Utah, workforce housing for seasonal workers has long been an overwhelming issue. Despite tackling the problem for years, more resources are necessary to make a lasting impact:
I used to work in Park City for a couple of years. The mountain resort towns, especially in the West, are unfortunately ahead of the curve in terms of experience with affordable and attainable workforce housing because they've been facing these issues for many years ahead of the most recent crunch that everybody has been seeing nationwide.
Housing staff were struggling to keep up with the workload for coming up with new affordable, attainable housing. How do you assign housing to people in a fair way? How do you make sure that the existing stock is being used properly? And then enforcement, because a lot of times it's not.
We're barely scratching the surface in terms of how to provide housing for our populations and citizens that we work for.
But it is exciting to see that people are interested and that it has become a bipartisan issue. It's not a political issue. Everybody recognizes and understands that housing is a problem, and we're trying to work together to find solutions.
—Tippe Morlan, AICP, planning director, Saratoga Springs, Utah
Federal Support for Reforms
Planners can be equipped with more tools to create local reforms that increase workforce housing supply through legislation and funding like:
- Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Housing Act
- Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) Act
- Housing Supply Affordability Act
- Pathway to Remove Obstacles (PRO) Housing grant program
Leveraging bipartisan support for pro-planning programs will lead to more diverse and attainable housing that meets the needs of our communities.
Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook
Increasing workforce housing supply
Learn more about workforce housing and strategies to create reforms that lead to a more attainable housing supply in communities nationwide by downloading the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook.
Top image: Getty Images - Kirpal Kooner