How Many Earners?

One of the core challenges to the adequate provision of affordable housing in the region is the gap between the region’s comparatively lower wages and high housing costs. This dashboard illustrates how many wage earners in top industries in the region and towns are needed to buy or to rent a home if housing costs are not to exceed 30% of income. In all of Barnstable County’s top five industries by average annual employment (Health Care and Social Assistance, Retail Trade, Accommodations and Food Services, Educational Services, and Construction), more than one earner per household is needed to affordably purchase a home at median prices, with the number of required earners in 2020 ranging from 1.7 in Construction to 3.6 in Accommodations and Food Services. At the town level, it ranges from a low of 1.3 in Professional and Technical Services in Truro, Construction in Yarmouth, and Construction in Dennis, to 6.3 in Accommodations and Food Services in Orleans, reflecting the varying median housing prices and average wages in each town.