Housing too expensive for essential workers
Escalating housing prices are forcing teachers, law enforcement officers and other public employees in some communities to live far away from their jobs, according to a study released Wednesday.
The Center for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examined trends in Brunswick County along North Carolina’s southeast coast and found that the median housing cost for owner-occupied residences increased by 7.9 percent between 2000 and 2005. Meanwhile, the median household income in the county over the same period rose 0.6 percent, according to the study.
“The household income is going up at a very slow rate while the average price of homes is going up at a significantly higher rate,” said William Rohe, director of the center.
The trend forces essential workers to live farther from their jobs, adding to traffic congestion and pollution and making it more difficult for some communities to retain workers, Rohe said.