Scholars debate ways to better match the available job opportunities and housing supply within a local community (Blumenberg and King, 2021; Been et al, 2018). I argue that affordable housing and workforce availability challenges are experienced in different ways across metropolitan, suburban, resort, and rural communities. Housing that is unaffordable for low and middle income earners is related to higher commute times to work, which results in a mismatch between housing affordability and the availability of workers with suitable skills to fill open job positions. Across the United States, there is an immediate need to address housing and workforce issues; however, local policies must be tailored to the unique characteristics of communities.
The research tests three sets of hypotheses that were derived from qualitative insights, and the first line of questioning involves the proportion of high income earners at the county level in both Colorado and across the United States with its relationship regarding median rent and median owner-occupied housing values as well as mean commute times to work. Secondly, the research tests median rent, median owner-occupied housing values, and mean commute times within U.S. counties that identify as metropolitan, suburban, and rural. The third set of hypotheses involves the relationship between a county’s political ideological tilt and the percentage of housing stock that is either multifamily or single-family as well as median rent prices and median owner-occupied housing values across the U.S. and within Colorado. 45 qualitative interviews were conducted to learn more about the distinct housing and workforce conditions that exist within Colorado communities, and stakeholders that participated in the study range from housing authorities, local economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, cities, community colleges, a nonprofit, and a county commissioner.
Regression findings illustrate that the higher the proportion of high income earners within a community, the higher median rent prices and owner-occupied housing values are across metropolitan, suburban, and rural community types. Colorado communities face higher median housing prices the more the proportion of high income earners increases compared to the nationwide regression analysis. The population level within a community was also found to increase housing prices for both renters and owners across metropolitan, suburban, and rural community types. Most interestingly, regression findings indicate that counties with a liberal-leaning political tilt have a greater availability of multifamily housing stock and are more expensive places to live for both multifamily and single-family housing units. Since the regression models controlled for metropolitan central counties, suburban counties, and rural counties, lower median housing prices found in areas with a conservative-leaning political tilt is not due to the communities being rural counties. Scholars have produced a limited understanding of housing and workforce challenges within resort and rural communities, as there is an overemphasis on areas of research that focus on challenges within metropolitan settings.
