Here We Grow is an effort to build momentum for Workforce Housing through local collaboration. One of the ways we do that is by providing timely local housing data to inform the public. Last week, we launched a "version 2.0" update to our Community Profiles of Greater Des Moines Cities, offering current local housing data of interest.
The new version roughly doubles the number of data points from version 1.0, and we are working to offer even more. Explore the new data here: https://www.herewegrow.city/communities/
Key changes in version 2.0:
All census data has been updated to reflect 2020 American Community Survey estimates (the latest available).
Estimates of the housing wage by the National Low Income Housing Coalition - how much a person needs to earn per hour to afford a two bedroom apartment - have been updated. Accordingly, estimates of wages for common jobs have been added, provided by the National Housing Conference.
Cost burden data has been broken down by owners and renters and now highlights those facing severe burden (paying more than half their income toward housing).
Income bracket data has been broken into five categories, up from four, to make it easier to identify the population struggling the most to find a place to live, according to regional data.
Poverty measures have been included.
The display of data has been updated with easier to use, more interactive formatting.
An additional update is live for some communities and coming to more soon
We are providing local government information including elected official contacts, community comprehensive plans, and local zoning data.
We are exploring ways to improve Community Profiles even more in the future:
Adding the ability to view trends in community data over time.
Disaggregating local data by race and ethnicity as well as other factors.