Walworth County Housing Initiative
Bio
I am a graduate of Indiana University. I have worked in the non-profit sector for over 10 years in both Walworth and Rock Counties. Prior to that I worked in the housing industry in Florida. Currently I live in the beautiful city of Lake Geneva.
about this project
Over the course of the past two years, housing has become an increasing priority for Walworth County Economic Development Alliance (WCEDA) to address. In this proposal (link to the left), you will see the evolution of WCEDA’s involvement and interest in this topic. You will also see that WCEDA’s board has determined that efforts relating to workforce housing align with its mission. Workforce housing will be spelled out in this proposal, but it is essentially what is being called the “missing middle,” and encompasses entry level workers as well as professional workers such as physicians and everything in between including public employees, like teachers, police officers, and public works staff members.
Many counties in the region are facing similar challenges and are in various stages of addressing this issue — an issue that may be the number one barrier for workforce at the moment. In Jefferson County, Green County, and Washington County (and likely many others) housing efforts are being led or co-led by economic development agencies like WCEDA.
Success for this workforce housing initiative would have some municipalities moving forward with workforce housing while others would be developing plans that would be incorporated into their comprehensive plans. This process would also yield a list of future recommendations for the county on this topic. WCEDA believes that the county has a unique opportunity to leverage ARPA dollars to make a valuable impact on workforce housing development across the county.
December 2023 Newsletter
As we look forward to the new year, WCEDA has been working to help facilitate the development of Workforce Housing throughout Walworth County. One question that continues to be asked is, what Is Workforce Housing?
Walworth County is short of housing for the young family, first responders, new teachers, medical staff, and multiple business staff. This workforce is made up of young professionals just starting in their careers, families wanting their children close to good schools, and those in fields such as our first responders, who are working for the safety of the residents in the county, yet not able to find housing they can afford. These individuals fall into an income category that challenges their ability to afford the current market-level prices of housing.
The 2022 Census shows that household income levels are separated into three equal (33.3%) categories:
Within these three categories, the affordable rent or home ownership prices are:
Income / Rent / Home Price (Ownership)
- $35,000 / $875 / $88,072
- $50,000 / $1,250 / $131,873
- $75,000 / $1,875 / $204,874
- $105,000 / $2,625 / $289,000
Generally, affordable housing is considered to be 30% of household income which includes mortgage or rent, utilities, and property tax. This does not factor in other financial needs of young families such as daycare.
Taking this into consideration and reflecting on the rise in housing costs the question then is, how does this group find a good home at, or close to the price they can afford?
Housing costs have risen, which has negatively impacted the production of housing. Single-family construction costs rose 37% (January 2020 to September 2023) and Multiple-family construction costs rose 38% (January 2020 – September 2023). Between 2006 and 2022 Walworth County underproduced housing units. During that period, the growth in households was 4,918, however, the development of housing units was underproduced by 4,179 units.
The movement in workforce housing is to bring together the necessary parties to address this housing shortage and get our workforce into homes.
This shortage of housing directly affects the workforce seeking housing. It also directly affects our community's growth and stability. When the new teacher can not find affordable housing close to the school, they may choose to go to another school out of the county. When the young family can not find affordable housing in the school district, they will move possibly out of the county, or out of state.
Our companies, schools, and medical community continue to share the impact of the housing shortage on their workforce and ultimately the operations of their business. The result of providing additional workforce housing in Walworth County will positively impact the residents, the schools, the medical and business communities alike. WCEDA wants to help move this forward to help build the communities in the county to be where people want to live.
