Boone County is creating more jobs than it has housing for those workers, according to a newly released housing study.
That’s according to the recently released Northern Kentucky Housing Data Study examining regional housing concerns.
A Boone County Fiscal Court special caucus meeting served as the backdrop for the breakdown of the Northern Kentucky Housing Data Study Wednesday.
“We have some major issues as we look to our future,” Boone County Judge Executive Gary W. Moore said. “We thought having a caucus meeting from time to time might be a good way to have a discussion, gather information and collect data to discuss those things.”
Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen and Pendleton Counties’ fiscal courts, as well as CVG Airport, funded the analysis.
“Right now there are almost 2.7 workforce jobs for every housing unit that those jobs could afford,” Nels Nelson, senior associate at Stantec Urban Places, the firm’s housing and urban planning division. “And that’s going to be a limiting factor in the future.”
Typical workforce jobs include primary and second school teachers, distribution workers and hospital personnel, according to the study.
“There are more housing units needed for workforce in the region,” Nelson said. “Those are people with a wage range between $15 and $25 per hour paying housing costs of $500 to $1,500 per month.”
Boone County is growing with regard to the logistics, transportation and manufacturing cluster, but a housing gap remains for lower income workers supporting those expanding sectors, Nelson said.
“Currently your vacancy is less than 5%, which means that you have a tight housing market,” Nelson told the Court. “There is a housing production need forecast of 3,400 units by 2028, assuming the kind of growth based upon past projections.”
Other study findings include:
- Boone County is projected to add 64,000 jobs by 2060.
- Boone County’s main employment sectors are in the logistics economy, with warehousing, couriers and air transport workers being central to the region’s growth since 2013.
- Boone County is deficient in smaller, less expensive rental units, as well as one and two-bedroom ownership units.
- New construction in Boone County for homeownership is concentrated in single-family subdivisions targeting three and four-plus bedroom households earning between $75,000 per year and $150,000.
- New construction in Boone County for the rental market is concentrated in large garden style rental complexes with amenities – with rents ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 per month.