A recent analysis by the Construction Coverage firm found that construction workers in Madison are largely unable to afford the homes they build based on their current wages, The Capital Times reports. The firm reviewed 2023 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and home price data from Zillow’s Home Value index to estimate the number of hours construction workers across the nation would need to work to afford median-priced homes.
Madison construction workers were found to earn an average of roughly $30 per hour, and the average home’s monthly mortgage payment is more than $2,000. To afford a median-priced home and spend a maximum of 30% of their incomes on housing, these workers would need to work 55 hours per week. In Construction Coverage’s 2022 study, that number was just 42 hours per week.
Madison construction workers’ median hourly wage is around $4 higher than the national median construction worker wage; however, Madison home prices are more than $52,000 higher than the U.S. average.
Mortgage payments in Madison are generally more expensive than across Wisconsin or the U.S., the firm found, and Madison’s homeownership rate is lower than the nationwide rate.
According to the firm, higher home prices, an inadequate homebuilding pace, and wages outpaced by inflation are contributing to the difficulty for construction workers to afford homes where they work.
