Issues and Opportunities
Accommodating Future Growth
ASSOCIATES INC
Future Employment and Affordability
In addition to the projected increase in population, Source: EMS| 2020-2029, RKG Associates
Nashua’s workforce is also projected to increase by
adding an additional 2,677 jobs through the year 2029 Captured Avg Affordable Affordable
2029. While some of those jobs will be filled by Industry Sector Jobs Jobs Earning Rent Own
existing residents currently living in Nashua, some
portion of new jobs will be held by workers who Health Care and Social Assistance 1,671 508 $73,141 $1,829 $242,000
want to live in Nashua.
Educational Services A411 125 $60,866 $1,522 $201,000
According to data from the US Census’ OntheMap . .
data portal, approximately 30% of all jobs in Accommodation and Food Services 213 65 $25,100 $628 $83,000
Nashua are held by workers who also live in Administrative and Support Services 179 54 $59,651 $1,491 $198,000
Nashua. Said another way, 70% of all jobs in
Nashua are held by workers who live outside Other Services 120 36 $35,978 $899 $181,000
Nashua. To better understand how many future . .
Arts, Entert t, and R t 46 14 24,732 618 81,900
jobs could be held by Nashua residents, RKG ms, emerainment, ana necreanion $ $ $
applied a capture rate of 30% to future jobs in Construction 15 5 $71,689 $1,792 $238,000
highest growing industry sectors. This resulted in a .
potential capture of 814 jobs that would be held by Unclassified Industry 10 3 $56,502 $1,413 $187,000
Nashua residents. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 6 2 $29,927 $748 $99,000
Of those 814 new jobs held by Nashua residents, Government 6 2 $76,530 $1,913 $253,000
78% fall within the Healthcare and Educational
Services industry sectors. Using average earnings
per job in 2020, RKG calculated what a worker in
each industry sector could afford assuming they
spend no more than 30% of their income on
housing costs. About half of the industry sectors
have an average earnings per job that could cover
rent at Nashua’s current median of $1,287, but none
could afford the City’s current median home sale
price of $321,000.
As the City looks to continue to grow its job base, housing becomes a more critical component to successful and equitable
economic development. If workers cannot afford to live in Nashua, they will need to commute from more affordable
communities further away or may look for jobs in more affordable markets. This could have a direct impact on employers
looking to fill jobs quickly and may also have indirect impacts on the local economy if worker spending is not captured by
Nashua restaurants, retail shops, grocery stores, and other personal service establishments.
Nashua Housing Study - 34
