CommunityScale is leading a Regional Workforce Housing Study for the Catawba Regional Council of Governments (CRCOG) in South Carolina. The study provides a data-driven framework for promoting housing that serves the workforce across Chester, Lancaster, Union, and York counties, a diverse four-county region anchored by both urban centers and rural communities along South Carolina’s northern border.
Situated within the Charlotte metropolitan area’s sphere of influence, the Catawba region faces a set of interconnected housing challenges. Rapid job growth in York and Lancaster counties has not been matched by sufficient housing production, while Chester and Union counties are working to attract new investment and revitalize their communities. With the study focused on households earning between 80 and 150 percent of the area median income, the work targets the segment of the workforce most directly affected by gaps in housing availability, affordability, and diversity.
Growth Without Enough Housing to Match
The region has added jobs at a strong pace but housing production has not kept up, particularly for the types of units the workforce needs most. In York County, single-family homes are being permitted at roughly six times the rate of multifamily units, and 73% of the housing stock has three or more bedrooms.
At the same time, demographic trends are shifting what housing the region needs. The population aged 65 and over is the fastest-growing age cohort, while the share of residents aged 20 to 34, those entering the workforce, has remained flat since 2010. Households are getting smaller, with single-person households and adults living with roommates or parents growing faster than families with children. These shifts point toward a need for more smaller units, more rentals, and more variety in housing types than the current stock provides.
A Workforce Squeezed by the Market
The study’s workforce housing assessment uses real worker profiles to illustrate how market conditions affect people at different income levels and life stages. A registered nurse earning $91,000 per year and managing childcare costs can realistically afford only about 7% of homes recently listed in York County. An accountant looking to downsize after their children leave home finds that only 4% of listings meet their criteria for a smaller, newer unit on a manageable lot. Meanwhile, employers report that managers relocating to the region struggle to find rental apartments near job sites, in part because many rental units are advertised informally through word of mouth rather than conventional listings.
Vacancy rates reinforce the picture. Rental vacancy in York County has hovered around 5% since the early 2010s, below the 7.5% threshold typically associated with a healthy market. Ownership vacancy rates have also dropped below healthy levels. With the typical home in York County priced at $381,000, most individual job salaries in the region do not cover the cost of homeownership without combining incomes from multiple earners.
What Employers Are Saying
An employer survey conducted as part of the study found that 43% of respondents consider housing availability and affordability for their workforce a critical or important factor. One in three reported job candidates asking about housing during recruiting, and 20% said they have lost employees or candidates because they could not find suitable housing within a reasonable commute. Some employers are even factoring housing availability into site selection decisions, and others are considering automation as a response to persistent workforce challenges.
Stakeholder focus groups with municipal staff, economic development agencies, real estate professionals, and service providers surfaced a range of barriers on both the supply and demand sides. Zoning restrictions, minimum lot sizes, parking requirements, and material standards limit what can be built. High land costs, long permitting timelines, and the expense of extending infrastructure make it difficult for builders to deliver units at workforce price points. On the demand side, cash buyers outcompete mortgage-dependent households, childcare costs consume a significant share of family budgets, and limited transit options add commuting costs that further reduce what workers can spend on housing.
Strategies for a Regional Response
The study’s recommendations are organized into a strategies toolkit spanning seven topic areas: zoning and development standards, development economics, transportation and infrastructure, housing options, household finance, workforce development, and public sentiment and communication. Strategies are tiered by level of commitment, from policy changes such as updating zoning codes, to programs involving ongoing investment, to partnerships that bring catalytic public resources to bear on development opportunities.
Complementing the toolkit, a GIS-based housing readiness analysis identifies areas across the region best positioned to support denser and more diverse housing based on infrastructure capacity, access to jobs and amenities, and walkability. The study’s findings and interactive data are presented through an online housing data dashboard designed to support an informed community conversation about housing needs and opportunities across the four-county region.
