HUDSON – On Jan. 30, St. Croix Economic Development Corporation (EDC) hosted a group of 25 community leaders for a Housing Forum focused on early data highlights from the St. Croix County Housing Study. The study, which is currently in progress, aims to provide valuable insights into housing trends and challenges in the county.

Preliminary data from the study reveals several key points:

• The State of Wisconsin projects that the population in St. Croix County will increase by approximately 10% from 2020 to 2050.
• Household sizes are expected to decrease, leading to an increased number of households and a greater need for additional housing units.
• The median sale price of homes in St. Croix County rose significantly, increasing 76% from $160,000 in 2010 to $282,000 in 2020, and another 35% from $282,000 in 2020 to $381,000 in 2024.
• Recent Census estimates (2019-2023 ACS) indicate that 19% of homeowners and 36% of renters in the county are housing-cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs. Furthermore, 15% of renters are classified as severely cost-burdened, spending 50% or more of their income on housing.
• Rising costs of materials, labor, infrastructure, and fees required for residential development have contributed to higher housing costs in the area.

Melissa Meschke, Executive Director of St. Croix EDC, expressed appreciation for the engagement of community leaders in the discussion.

“It was great to see the passion around this topic directly from key local leaders in our community. Their input is critical to the finalization of the study, which is tentatively set for release in June of this year,” she said.

St. Croix EDC will be hosting one more Housing Forum at Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13. Community members are encouraged to attend and can register for the event on their website. Community members are encouraged to attend and can register for the event on the EDC website: https://business.stcroixedc.com/events.

For more information about the housing study, visit stcroixedc.com.

Submitted by St. Croix EDC