INFORMATION HRSR 03-24-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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i of Elk Riv•r ousin' Plan U.dat•d Januar 2003 • According to a 2001 Labor Force Assessment which was completed for Sherburne County, residents of the County commute a wide variety of distances to work each day. Commuting patterns indicate that residents are commuting to various locations primarily following a pattern along Interstate 94. The patterns are not heavily concentrated in one County or City. Approximately 35% of those surveyed traveled 0 to 10 miles to work one-way. For those that commute 46 or more minutes each way, they indicated they would take a median decrease of $2.40 per hour to have a 0 to 15 minute commute. On the other hand those that commute 0 to 15 minutes per day would need to earn a median increase of$7.00 per hour to drive 46 or more minutes with 47% indicating they were unwilling. The study also found that the largest share of workers had an annual pre-tax salary of$20,000 to $40,000. The National Low Income Housing Coalition developed a report on the hourly wage that is needed to afford rental housing based on the fair market rent. In Sherburne County the following wages are needed to afford fair market rents: Fair Market Rent (FMR) Income Needed Wage Needed One-Bedroom $674 $26,960/year $12.96/hour Two-Bedroom $862 $34,480/year $16.58/hour Three-Bedroom $1,166 $46,640/year $22.42/hour The following graph depicts some of the gaps between wages paid in certain businesses and the • cost of housing. According to the Central Minnesota Employment Outlook to 2006 developed by the Minnesota Department of Economic Security, the fastest growing job in Central Minnesota will be the Home Health Aide which has an average hourly wage of$8.08. The wage is considerably lower than the average cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Elk River. The same is true of the Elk River average industrial wage which is at $11.54. This wage is only half of what is need to afford a$150,000 home. In Region 7W, which includes Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright County, the average hourly wage is $12.65. Only the Sherburne County average manufacturing wage of$18.35 is high enough to afford the average rent, but is still not sufficient to purchase a$150,000 home. Cost of Housing 0 5150 0001 ome.- Average 2 BlaR Apt. •Average Wages $ 4:1 ./M K. r ':.;w '.. $15.00 $10.00 �. $5.00 v $0.00 Home Health Aide Elk River Industrial Region 7W Sherburne Co. Ili Manufacturing ..i.... ,)INIM 18