A recent survey reveals that over 60 percent of employees working for the five largest employers in Cresco reside outside of town.
    The Housing Needs Study, conducted by Howard County Economic Development Executive Director Ken Paxton during the first two weeks of March, asked about 300 area employees questions about where they live, and, if they reside outside of Cresco, why they choose to live there and commute to work.
    Paxton handed out a one-page questionnaire to employees at Featherlite, Donaldson, Inc., Alum-Line, Plant Peddler and Regional Health Services of Howard County, the five businesses that employ the most people in Cresco.
    A total of 296 employees returned questionnaires. Paxton compiled results based on all the responses he received, and compared responses from those living outside of town with employees residing in Cresco.
    The study revealed that over 60 percent of employees working at the five aforementioned businesses do not live in Cresco. Of the six out of 10 employees residing out of town, 38 percent live in Howard County and 62 percent live in Winneshiek, Allamakee, Mitchell, Chickasaw or Floyd county, or a nearby county in Minnesota, such as Fillmore, Mower or Houston.
    The findings were significant and troubling for Paxton, who said the city’s economy could greatly improve if more employees lived where they worked.
    Paxton’s study report states that the results mean the majority of money spent on purchases by 60 percent of Cresco employees is going into the economy of either surrounding communities throughout Howard County or into other counties’ economies.
    “A majority of the employees working at our major industries in Cresco are purchasing homes, shopping and paying for services that do not help grow the economy of Cresco,” the study report states.
    The questionnaire asked employees to state their main reason for not living in town, what they find Cresco is lacking, if anything, and to rank the importance of problems finding suitable housing in town. Participants were also asked to give suggestions on how Cresco could attract new residents.
    Employees who lived outside Cresco  listed three main reasons why they live elsewhere, in response to the survey’s question, “Why do you currently not live in Cresco?” The most highly ranked reason is because there are more retail stores where they live. People mentioned a desire to live near a greater variety of grocery stores, small shopping centers, clothing stores, mid-size discount stores, fast food restaurants and gift shops, among other retail stores.
    The second highest ranked reason listed was affordable housing. Many employees stated the cities they resided in had more apartments suitable for larger families, more condos, townhouses, rental options and more financial support for housing.
    Ranked as third in importance was the amount of activities offered for young people. Things like youth centers, dances, outdoor pools, skateboard parks and other recreation opportunities were noted.
    Other issues responders found important when deciding where to live included affordable transportation, entertainment, senior citizens centers and health care.
    The Housing Needs Study also asked employees who live outside of town, in addition to those who are Cresco residents, a similar question: “What is the key thing missing in the community of Cresco?”
    City residents and those living in other communities shared the same  major desires as expressed in the previous question: few shopping options, lack of affordable housing and rental properties and not enough activities geared toward young people and people of all ages.
    Some differences existed between residents and non-residents when it came to their top needs when choosing a place to call home. While only 30 percent of Cresco residents ranked a lack of affordable new homes in town in their top three concerns, 59 percent of non-Cresco residents did. Twenty percent more out-of-town residents than those living in Cresco said rising construction costs were ranked as one of their top three concerns. The lack of affordable rental property also showed that double the percent of non-residents as residents placed this issue in the top three.
    Both groups agreed that the lack of shopping options in Cresco was one of their top three concerns, with 91 percent of employees living in-town and 86 percent of those living outside of town ranking it as the number one issue.
    “Housing needs are a significant problem with non-residents but both groups feel there is a need for more retail/shopping,” the study’s report states.
    Paxton said information he researched through Iowa’s Department of Economic Development states that no other town in Iowa has as large a percentage of their workforce residing outside the immediate community.
    “Most other towns in Iowa are begging for industry. We already have it,” Paxton said. Now the city needs to find a way to make it desirable for the employees at Cresco’s major industries to live where they work, he said.
    “The results can be looked at as a serious problem or an opportunity,” Paxton’s study report states. “On the positive side, the findings indicate that if Cresco were to address the needs of those workers living outside the community they could significantly grow the community by capturing a population that already spends most of their time in Cresco.”
    Approximately 2,000 families who reside out of town currently have at least one family member employed in Cresco, according to the study. If each family had only two people in it, the survey says there exists a “total potential capturable population of 4,000 people,” or 4,000 additional people who could potentially be living in and contributing to Cresco’s economy.
    Paxton estimates that about 40 percent of those 2,000 people, or 800 families, could potentially be attracted to relocate into the city, if their concerns are addressed.
    “The good news is Cresco can grow their population without having to attract new industry, as is needed in most other small cities in Iowa,” Paxton said. “We already have a large employee base; we just need to convince them to move to the community.”