Rhode Island is home to 12 colleges and universities, ranging from bigger state schools like the University of Rhode Island, to more artsy schools such as the Rhode Island School of Design, to even some of the top ranked schools in the country, like Brown University.
But despite the wealth of knowledge in the state, local businesses are having a tough time finding and retaining talent.
That’s according to the organization Connect Greater Newport, which spent the summer interviewing more than 70 local business leaders in the Newport and Bristol counties, some of the most educated communities in New England.
Although there are several contributing factors, Connect Greater Newport determined —based on answers from local business leaders — that the high cost of housing is the main reason talent is fleeing the area.
“Communities depend on local business to drive the economy; businesses depend on their workforce and workforce depends on local housing opportunities."
The median household income in the region spans from $51,909 to $116,935, according to data from the recently released Housing Factbook created by HousingWorksRI. The income needed to purchase a home is far greater ranging from $81,137 to $162,405.
“Communities depend on local business to drive the economy; businesses depend on their workforce and workforce depends on local housing opportunities,” Ashley Medeiros, a business consultant for Connect Greater Newport, said in a recent newsletter. “Connect Greater Newport understands this and is committed to supporting the development of housing for our workforce.”
Launched earlier this year, Connect Greater Newport is a public-private partnership between the nine municipalities in the Newport and Bristol counties and the Newport County Chamber of Commerce.
The organization’s goal is to make the region a national tourist destination and market the area to new businesses and new investments, while working with existing companies to facilitate expansion.
Connect Greater Newport will ultimately develop a five-year strategic plan to drive economic growth in the area. Part of this plan is likely to address to the shortfalls of local housing.
Twenty-eight percent of homeowners in the Southeast region — consisting of Newport, Bristol, Barrington, Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth, Tiverton and Warren region — are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on their mortgage, according to the Housing Factbook.
Meanwhile, nearly 50 percent of renters are cost burdened, with the average rent in the region for a one bedroom apartment ranging from $970 to $1,290 per month.
Newport does have more than 15 percent of its housing units designated as low- and moderate-income housing, an impressive achievement that makes the city one of the leaders in the Ocean State.
But that housing is not as effective as low- and moderate-income housing typically is because the median household income in the area is so high. For example, median household income in Newport is more than $118,000, making low- and moderate-income housing more expensive than one might think.
Connect Greater Newport has laid out a series of steps it intends to take to address workforce housing needs that includes speaking to college-age students about the role housing plays in their post-grad plans.
The organization also plans to continue a dialogue with the business community, review workforce and industry data and develop reports on best practices and that quantify the range of workforce housing needs.
