This dashboard was created by CommunityScale as a public platform to access and engage with the Regional Housing Study, led by a partnership of regional planning collaborators including the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG), South Bend Elkhart Regional Partnership (SBERP), and the Community Foundations of Elkhart, Marshall, and St. Joseph Counties. This page summarizes the Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) for St. Joseph County as prepared to support the overall Regional Housing Study
A foundational component of the Regional Housing Plan, this Housing Needs Assessment is the result of extensive quantitative data analysis and stakeholder engagement to understand housing needs and opportunties in St. Joseph County.
This Housing Needs Assessment document is also availble in a much more detailed, downloadable pdf format:
The Housing Needs Assessment includes the following sections:
People: Analysis of the community's household demographics, housing characteristics, and affordability levels.
Place: Analysis of the community's housing supply, market conditions, and development trends.
Demand: Assessment of the communities projected housing demand accross income levels and unit types.
Results: Recommended 10-year housing production target to address need, capture demand, and keep up with growth.
St. Joseph County’s population has been aging over the past decade, with the 65+ age group growing faster than other groups and projected to outpace others into the future.
These households typically represent a community’s “middle class” workforce, including public safety officers, skilled nurses, educators, and municipal employees. St. Joseph County's low proportion of 80-120% AMI households is likely a result of limited available housing options at price points this group can afford, requiring they live elsewhere.
Other income cohorts have not been growing at similar rates.
AMI group | 2010 | 2022 | 2034 |
---|---|---|---|
<30% | 18,449 | 18,996 | 19,156 |
30-60% | 23,942 | 23,409 | 22,325 |
60-80% | 12,966 | 13,481 | 13,408 |
80-100% | 10,163 | 10,538 | 10,905 |
100-120% | 8,390 | 8,993 | 9,758 |
>120% | 26,631 | 32,049 | 37,057 |
St. Joseph County’s lowest income groups are its most racially diverse, especially the <30% AMI group. Other income levels are relatively consistent in their ratios of white and non-white households.
Most households in the >65 age group have incomes below 60% AMI. Households between 25-64 are most prevalent in the >120% AMI but also particularly numerous in the 30-60% and <30% AMI groups. The small group of youngest households (<25 years) are more concentrated at lower income levels.
St. Joseph County’s resident population includes many people with disabilities that may restrict their housing choices. People with disabilities are most common in the 65+ age group but they are represented across all age groups at some level.
In St. Joseph County, most households earning below 30% AMI are cost burdened. Most households earning above 30% AMI are not cost burdened, especially among higher income groups.
St. Joseph County households have very different housing choices available depending on if they buy or rent, such as in terms of fundamental features like structure type and number of bedrooms.
This graph inventories the local housing stock in terms of each unit's structure type, a characteristic defined as the number of units in the building that contains a given unit.
This graph inventories the local housing stock in terms of bedroom count by unit by tenure. The majority of St. Joseph County’s housing units are two bedroom or larger, especially among ownership units.
This chart compares the median listing price in St. Joseph County with the home value affordable to a household earning the median household income. A wider gap means higher barrier to entry for first-time homebuyers and increased risk that an existing resident might be priced out of the community if they choose or need to move to a different house.
The calculations behind this chart include consideration of mortgage interest rates, typical down payments, and added monthly costs such as private mortgage insurance, property tax, home insurance, condo fees, and utilities.
This chart tracks the typical market value for single family homes and condos over the past several years. The adjacent table translates these values into monthly costs (mortgage + tax and other costs).
This chart summarizes the distribution of costs across all ownership units in the area, most of which last transacted years ago. About 46% of St. Joseph County homeowners pay below $1,800/mo compared to the $1,958 and $1,718 required to afford a condo and single family on today’s market.
Home type | Typical price | Monthly cost |
---|---|---|
Single family | $212,259 | $1,718 |
Condo | $244,186 | $1,958 |
The average asking rent should be understood as the typical cost to a household signing a new lease under current conditions. In reality, because this is a single average value, actual asking rents may vary depending on characteristics such as size, location, and property features but they will collectively track along this trendline.
This chart summarizes the distribution of costs across all ownership units in the area, most of which last transacted years ago.
These charts reveal the significant difference between how much most homeowners and renters currently pay per month and it would cost per month to own a home or rent a unit on today’s market.
This chart simulates the unit mix today’s local population would choose if all households could move into units that match their likely bedroom preferences and willingness to pay.
These charts compare this “need” to the current housing stock. Highlighted positive gaps indicate under-supply; negative gaps indicate oversupply.
Bedrooms | Need | Supply | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
0-1 bed | 18,946 | 14,080 | 4,866 |
2 beds | 33,342 | 32,175 | 1,167 |
3 beds | 36,166 | 47,024 | -10,858 |
4+ beds | 19,020 | 24,796 | -5,776 |
Monthly cost | Need | Supply | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
<$650 | 22,603 | 19,023 | 3,580 |
$650 - $1,350 | 33,179 | 23,228 | 9,951 |
$1,350 - $1,800 | 15,830 | 13,468 | 2,362 |
$1,800 - $2,250 | 9,768 | 10,599 | -831 |
$2,250 - $2,650 | 7,214 | 9,120 | -1,906 |
>$2,650 | 18,880 | 32,884 | -14,004 |
St. Joseph County saw relatively consistent housing production for most of the 20th century but the pace has slowed considerably in the past two decades. This table chronicles the community's development history, indicating decades with relatively more or less construction activity. 2020 or later is approximate as new housing units are completed.
Building permitting history is a proxy for construction activity over time. St. Joseph County has seen uneven permit activity over the past decade with some years approaching or exceeding 1,000 units and other years showing much fewer.
Unit size | Average rent | Of total |
---|---|---|
Studio | $1,087 | 7% |
1 bedroom | $1,311 | 52% |
2 bedrooms | $1,980 | 32% |
3+ bedrooms | $2,605 | 9% |
Based on the analyses contained within the People and Place sections of this report, St. Joseph County’s housing demand is driven by a number of factors that include both unmet demand among existing residents and new growth among projected and potential future residents. This chart illustrates demand origins on the left and demand drivers on the right.
The gap analysis compares St. Joseph County’s distribution of household incomes to its mix of housing options by cost to uncover potential supply shortages at different price points. The analysis identified a shortage of 15,893 units across a range of price points below $1,800 per month.
Adding units at these price points would help take pressure off existing residents currently experiencing cost burden.
St. Joseph County’s seniors currently comprises a modest portion of the total population but this share is expected to grow over the next 10 years. Most of these seniors live in relatively large units of 3 or more bedrooms.
65+ households of 1-2 people in 3+ bedroom units | 24,026 |
Potential annual downsizing rate | 3% |
Units needed to accommodate downsizers over 10 years | 7,208 |
Recent trends suggests St. Joseph County should expect to grow by 4,285 new households over the next 10 years.
To meet the trends extended growth projection, St. Joseph County would need to add 4,875 housing units over the next decade. This figure combines demand driven by net household growth as well as other factors which also contribute to maintaining a suitable housing supply over time such as adjustments for overcrowding, vacancy, and background housing replacement.
St. Joseph County contains about as many jobs as workers. About 86.9% of the people working in St. Joseph County live in the County as well. While many of the workers who commute into the city simply choose to live somewhere else, a portion of these workers may prefer to live in the County if the right housing options were available. Increasing the rate of local workforce living in St. Joseph by 2.5 percentage points by 2034 would require providing 3,527 additional households.
“Workforce housing” is typically considered affordable to 80-120% AMI, a segment of the population vulnerable to displacement if they cannot find adequate and affordable housing, including police, firefighters, teachers, skilled nurses, and municipal employees.
Jobs in St. Joseph County | 171,667 |
Workers that live and work in St. Joseph County | 149,162 |
Portion of local workforce that live in St. Joseph County | 86.9% |
Desired portion by 2034 | 89.4% |
Additional workforce households (and units) by 2034 | 4,292 |
AMI | Total demand (units) |
---|---|
<30% | 4,624 |
30-60% | 9,951 |
60-80% | 2,992 |
80-100% | 2,732 |
100-120% | 2,771 |
>120% | 5,511 |
28,580 |
The diagram above illustrates how St. Joseph County’s 10-year housing demand translate into income levels. While this distribution reflects expected demand over the next 10 years, it does not necessarily coincide with the housing production target in the following Results section. Housing for each income level requires a different set of policies, programs, and subsidies to build. In many cases, there simply is not enough capacity to meet the full demand right away.
Household structures have changed significantly since much of St. Joseph County’s housing supply was built. Today, households are smaller, less likely to have one or more children, and more likely to include non-family or multi generational cohabitants. Future development should be designed to reflect the current diversity of household structures and wider range of housing needs and preferences.
🛌 Smaller units
Fewer bedrooms for smaller households.
🅿️ Parking optional
Enabling a car-free or car-lite lifestyle.
🧑🏽 Roommate-ready
Accommodating non-family households.
🌱 Green building
Efficient, low-impact design and systems.
👵🏼 Multigenerational
Space for adult children or elderly parents.
“Workforce housing” is typically oriented to middle-income households that often consist of singles, couples, or young families. Jobs typically attributed to this group include public safety officers, educators, municipal employees, skilled nurses, and other occupations that often require some level of higher education and pay wages equating to 80-120% AMI.
💰 Moderate cost for families
Workforce families can afford units that cost $1,700 - 2,500 per month.
💵 Lower cost for singles
One-person workforce households cannot afford as much as dual-earner families.
🛏️ Fewer bedrooms
Workforce-oriented housing should include mostly 0-2 bedroom units.
🔨 Well-maintained
Workforce can afford rent/mortgage but large capital costs can be destabilizing.
📍 Near job centers
Households can save money by living close to work and commuting without a car.
Many people 65 and older explore transitions to housing units that allow them to age-in-place, offering accessible design, enabling lower-cost living, and supporting an active, community-oriented lifestyle.
While some seniors are attracted to purpose-built, age-restricted housing developments, others prefer housing in more conventional settings that is designed or retrofit to accommodate aging people.
👨👩👧 Universal design
Accommodating to people with limited mobility.
🧹 Low maintenance
Less space and less work to keep up.
💲 Energy efficient
Lower utility costs affordable on fixed income.
♿ Accessible
Single-level with ADA-compliant doors, baths, etc.
🤗 Social
Designed and located to promote an active community life.
Recent years have seen growing demand for housing in walkable, downtown or compact neighborhood environments. This can include both dense urban places as well as small town downtowns. Increasingly, the most desirable and competitive housing markets are those with access to the qualities and amenities of a downtown environment within walking distance.
🚶🏼 Walkability
More daily needs and wants accessible on foot.
🚌 Transit
Close to bus lines and train connections.
🏪 Amenities
Near restaurants, shops, and cultural destinations.
🏥 Services
Access to health and community services without a car.
🏘️️ Activity
Located in a lively and vibrant neighborhood.
St. Joseph County has a lower rate of homeownership than the rest of the state but higher than the national average. While it is important to maintain a significant rental housing supply to provide options for people not interested in or ready to buy, a majority of people prefer homeownership for at least certain periods of their lives, such as starting and raising a family.
The St. Joseph County community has expressed interest in stronger pathways to homeownership, especially among middle-income households. Adding more ownership units will contribute to this goal, along with other support such as financial assistance to overcome high down payment and financing costs.
Given the variety of housing structure types available, it is important to consider how demand is distributed across the primary categories. The chart at right provides this breakdown by income to illustrate the variation in structure type demand from low-income to high-income households.
In general, lower-income households are more likely looking for multifamily and attached single family options whereas higher-income households are more likely looking for detached single family. Importantly, however, there is significant demand for all structure types at all income levels, suggesting a full range of options are needed across price points.
Denser housing types such as large multifamily developments are most suitable in and near downtowns and near employment centers. Smaller multifamily and attached single-family are suitable in most locations, such as in and around downtowns and as infill development within neighborhoods.
The table above and chart at right translate St. Joseph County’s 10-year production target into a unit mix by cost, bedroom count, and tenure (rent/own). The table below converts monthly cost into approximate purchase price and rent after accounting for other housing costs like utilities and taxes.