Jobs alone don’t help a community grow.
You need a diverse supply of affordable housing, too.
An extensive housing report released this week shows a strong job market in Southeast Kansas, but growth is hampered by an aging population, low wages and a lack of quality housing.
The report is the culmination of more than a year of surveys, research and analysis to determine what are the main housing challenges in Kansas, and what can be done. The study was compiled by RDG Planning & Design on behalf of the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation and the Office of Rural Prosperity.
The report outlines numerous factors that contribute to the lack of affordable housing, and how housing issues impact a community’s growth.
In Southeast Kansas counties, the job market is strong and employers express the need for workers. But potential employees need affordable housing before they are willing to settle in a community.
“As seen since 2010, job opportunities do not guarantee population growth. If housing is unavailable or is low-quality, households will choose to live elsewhere. Housing is important to translate job opportunities with population growth,” the report read.
The Kansas Department of Labor expects the job market to continue to demand workers, especially as older employees retire.
In the northern region of Southeast Kansas — counties like Franklin, Miami, Osage and Lyon — employees may simply choose to commute to the metropolitan areas to the north. Higher incomes from those jobs also give people greater flexibility to decide where they want to live.
In other places, though, residents have fewer options.
The Southeast region experienced the largest percentage decline of its workforce, the report found. Much of that is attributed to an aging population reaching retirement age, but it’s also caused by job losses.
The Southeast region lost 39.2% of its civilian workforce between 2010 to 2019. Meanwhile, the Kansas City metro region gained 123% of its labor pool.
Most of the civilian workforce is employed in manufacturing (18.2%), health care and social assistance (14.8%) and educational services (10.2%).
WAGES in the Southeast region also are among the lowest in the state, except in Coffey and Miami counties.
In Allen County, wages grew at the lowest rate of all Southeast counties, at just 9.12% since 2010. Wages grew the most in Woodson County, at 30.47%, followed by Coffey at 26.31% and Neosho at 26.13%
Allen County’s median income was $45,333 in 2019, significantly lower than the state’s median income of $59,597.
The Southeast also has an aging population, with about a third (32.3%) of its population aged 55 and older.
Allen County falls about in the middle, with 34.78% of its population age 55 and older. Elk County has the most, at 46.61%, and Crawford County — home of Pittsburg State University — has the fewest older residents at 26.56%.
Meanwhile, population in general continues to decline across the region.
Allen County has lost 6.32% of its population since 2010. The 2020 Census estimated the county’s population at 12,526.
The three largest counties in the region, respectively, are Crawford, Miami and Lyon. The three smallest are Elk, Woodson and Chautauqua.
SO WHAT does all that mean for housing?
Well, the report says, counties that want to grow need to capitalize on a strong job market and invest in housing to keep employees in the region.
“Counties losing population cannot expect significant population growth in the short term. Population stabilization and growth through strategic housing and community actions are feasible,” the report read.
That’s a tall order.
The report offered a “housing demand forecast” for 2028 that indicates Southeast Kansas needs to add between 7,630 to 9,326 housing units between now and 2028 — about 848 to 1,036 units each year.
Since 2010, an average of 510 units have been built each year.
The report found most houses in Southeast Kansas are older, which brings maintenance issues and costly renovations that homeowners can’t afford (again, the region is beset by lower wages).
In Allen County, the median age of housing is 1967.
Some areas do have a higher rate of vacancy, but often that’s because the existing houses are dilapidated and unfit to be occupied. A whopping 95.63% of Allen County homes are considered average condition or below. That includes 22.44% considered in poor condition or below.
Allen and Anderson counties have the most housing stock in average or below condition.
“This could mean people living in lower quality units because nothing else is available,” according to the report.
Allen County has a vacancy rate of 12.9%, which puts it somewhere in the middle when compared to other counties in the region.
Additionally, housing is less affordable in Allen County than in other areas.
Families who pay more than 30% of their income for housing are considered “cost burdened.” That makes it more difficult to afford necessities like food, clothing, transportation and medical care. Homeowners in that situation can’t afford general upkeep or repairs to their homes. Renters might not be able to afford reliable transportation to commute to better paying jobs.
In Allen County, 21.3% of homeowners are considered “cost burdened.” That’s one of the higher rates, which range between 26.82% in Bourbon County to 14.64% in Wilson.
The situation is worse for renters. In Allen County, 39.27% of renters are considered “cost burdened.” The rates range from a high of 51.43% in Crawford County (likely because of a high number of college students living in rental housing) to 20.63% in Anderson.
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