At the heart of our community lies the importance of housing, which provides a sense of safety, security, and wellbeing. Unfortunately, many hard-working individuals in Jefferson County such as teachers, nurses, firefighters, librarians, police officers and dedicated nonprofit employees face the challenge of being unable to afford to live near their place of employment.
More and more Jeffco residents are finding it difficult to afford to live in Jeffco. To understand the issues facing our communities, we listen relentlessly and systematically. One of the things we consistently hear is that the high (and rising) cost of housing in Jefferson County has made it difficult for our firefighters, librarians, police officers, teachers, nurses, and nonprofit employees to live where they work. This not only affects the employee, but it also hurts the employer and ultimately, our community.
That is why we are working to preserve or increase housing options that are within reach for Jeffco residents who earn between 60-120% AMI (roughly incomes of $52,000 to $150,000, depending on household size). There’s a gap that exists between existing programs/subsidies and market-rate housing for Jeffco. This range of income doesn’t typically qualify for the financial subsidies that make housing development viable.
Without affordable housing options, the workforce that supports a thriving economy cannot be sustained which makes recruiting talent challenging, influences productivity and makes it difficult to retain talent.
- Jeffco has a shortage of over 20,000 attainable housing units across all income levels.
- In 2021 the median home price in Jeffco was $608,424, 50% higher than the national average.
- A household must make more than $3,507/month for an apartment at the median rental rate to be attainable in Jeffco.
- At these price points, families with low to moderate incomes are spending more than 30% of their gross income on housing.
Our Approach
Colorado Gives Foundation partnered with Syntrinsic Social Capital (SSC) to conduct an affordable housing study for Jefferson County. The study analyzed current housing needs, housing efforts and production gaps, and informed our strategies for partnering with our communities to increase the development of affordable housing options.
Bring it Home Fund: We created a fund and seeded it with $15 million to preserve or increase housing options that are affordable for Jeffco residents earning between 60-120% area median income (roughly $52,000 to $150,000, depending on household size).
Housing Advocacy Steering Committee: In partnership with community members, we convened a Housing Advocacy Steering Committee to identify and advance policy solutions to increase affordable housing options for our workforce.
Build Awareness: We partnered with community advocates to build awareness of the options, challenges, and implications of affordable housing in Jeffco.
Grantmaking: We provided nearly $1 million in grants to local nonprofits to support immediate housing needs in the community.
Learn More about Collective Wellbeing