Driving Up the Cost of Living: How Housing and Transportation Costs Pressure Economic Development in Northwest Arkansas

This report examines the state of housing, transportation, and job access in Northwest Arkansas using CNT's Housing + Transportation (H+T®) Affordability Index, a new measure of affordability that takes into account two of the largest components of the regional cost-of-living equation: housing and transportation. Their analysis finds that it is becoming more expensive for middle class residents to live near their jobs; households spend more on transportation than they do on housing; increasing gas prices threatens regional economic development, and more. Future policies should focus on rethinking regional mobility, aligning downtown investments into a regional vision, and increasing demand for walkability.