Affordable Housing: In common professions, wages prove insufficient

Of the 10 fastest growing professions in Sarasota County, none of them produces an adequate average income for a worker to purchase a median-priced home.

Rising housing costs are just one of the factors contributing to Sarasota’s affordable housing crisis. Another is modest wage growth, particularly in the fields where residents are finding jobs. A presentation at an August Sarasota County workshop noted that just one of those 10 professions had an average wage that allowed workers to afford an average one-bedroom apartment.

That’s a source of concern for County Commissioner Mike Moran, who said officials should also be focused on career creation and economic development when considering strategies to make it easier for people to afford to live in Sarasota.

“I promised myself from the time I got in this seat that I would make sure that when there is oxygen in the room being talked about for affordable housing, the same amount of oxygen would be expended on meaningful income coming into people’s households,” Moran said.