Enrollment Growth and the Local Housing Market: Findings from a Community and Housing Needs Assessment

Abstract: This research paper presents the findings from a survey on community and housing needs in response to increasing enrollment at the University of Mississippi, a desire for local data among members of the newly-established Oxford Affordable Housing Commission, and the process of solidifying a place-based commitment to the immediate community.

The University of Mississippi recently admitted a freshman class of 4,480, the largest in university history. Vision 2037, the City of Oxford’s comprehensive plan, projects a need for an additional 1,620 to 3,040 student beds by 2020. Increasing enrollment growth presents an opportunity to create additional housing, and calls for intentional coordination at the local level.

The preliminary results of this study show a dramatic increase in local housing costs that has not been offset by income growth. Ongoing data analysis will further disaggregate the data, explore related household needs around health and education, and code the qualitative responses around why respondents chose to live in Oxford/Lafayette County and the role of the university in addressing housing security and meeting other community needs. This research process offers lessons for practitioner-scholars grappling with how to work with local government and community stakeholders on strategies that increase the affordable housing supply.

Narrative: This research paper presents the findings from a survey on community and housing needs in response to increasing enrollment at the University of Mississippi, a desire for local data among members of the newly-established Oxford Affordable Housing Commission, and the process of solidifying a place-based commitment to the immediate community.

The University of Mississippi recently admitted a freshman class of 4,480, the largest in university history. Enrollment growth, combined with a record retention rate of 89%, generates an ongoing need for additional student housing. Vision 2037, the City of Oxford’s comprehensive plan adopted in 2016, projected a need for an additional 1,620 to 3,040 student beds by 2020. Increasing enrollment growth presents an opportunity to create additional housing, and calls for intentional coordination at the local level.

In 2022, the City of Oxford, Mississippi, convened an Affordable Housing Commission to increase the affordable housing supply through ordinance revisions, the establishment of an affordable housing trust fund, and other avenues (City of Oxford, §22-197). The University of Mississippi is represented on this Commission through a Community Engagement Professional who serves as the associate director of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement.

The Grisham-McLean Institute partners with Mississippi communities to fight poverty through education, innovation, and entrepreneurship. During the past decade, the Grisham-McLean Institute has developed partnerships in Oxford/Lafayette County while extending the reach of affiliated faculty, staff, and students to communities located 1-2 hours outside of campus. Through place-based community engagement initiatives, student entrepreneurship programming, and capacity building for nonprofit organizations, the Institute has established a portfolio of programs that engage faculty and students from across disciplines to respond to community priorities.

After the Institute was part of a successful bilingual health fair in a neighboring county, community partners in Lafayette County asked to replicate the event locally. After several iterations, the concept of a health fair has broadened to that of a resource fair, embracing the social determinants of health including economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and environment, and social and community contact (HHS, 2023). On a parallel track, members of the Oxford Affordable Housing Commission were interested in data to understand the contours of housing insecurity in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and heightened inflationary pressures.

The community and housing needs survey seeks to identify the most pressing household needs among residents of Oxford and Lafayette County, including those who many hold university affiliations as students, faculty, and staff. Drawing from questionnaires published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the survey questions explore the multifaceted and interlocking issues of homelessness, housing insecurity, eviction, and the costs associated with homeownership; household needs around health care, education, and job training; and the role of the university in addressing these issues.

The survey was distributed through community partners serving low- to moderate-income households, as well as through large employers such as the school district and the university. This convenience sample yielded 479 responses, representing a total of 1,192 household members, including 299 children. Preliminary data analysis reveals the tension between rising housing costs, increasing inflation, and stagnant wages. While the median household income in Lafayette County is nearly $80,000, the median household earnings for this sample was $55,000. The median percentage of the Federal Poverty Level among respondents was 250%.

A household is considered cost burdened if housing costs (mortgage/rent and utilities) exceed 30% of income, and severely cost burdened if housing costs exceed half of income. Among survey respondents, 52% (N=220) reported being cost burdened, and 24% (N=100) report being severely cost burdened. Regarding housing security, 5% (N=23) have been threatened with eviction in the past 12 months.

Regarding housing quality, 59% (N=282) of households reported at least one deficiency with their housing. The top five contributors were: bugs or rodents (22%, N=102), unreliable internet access (18%, N=84), mold or dampness (18%, N=82), unreliable utilities (15%, N=68), and water leaks (13%, N=59). Regarding obstacles to homeownership, leading hurdles were lack of homes in my budget (50%, N=158), affording the down payment and/or closing costs (45%, N=143), mortgage interest rates (30%, N=93), insufficient income for monthly payments (28%, N=87), and insufficient credit score or credit history (22% N=70).

While there is interest in supporting first time homebuyers, the Affordable Housing Commission wanted data on the financial needs of owners who need to rehabilitate properties. Regarding ability to afford major repairs to the dwelling, respondents selected the following funding sources: cash on hand or from a bank account (27%, N=114), “I don’t think I could afford major repairs” (19%, N=80), credit card (18%, N=76), a home equity loan (14%, N=57), and financial assistance from family/friends (8%, N=35).

The preliminary results of this study show a dramatic increase in housing costs that has not been offset by income growth. Ongoing data analysis will further disaggregate the data, explore related household needs around health and education, and code the qualitative responses around why respondents chose to live in Oxford/Lafayette County and the role of the university in addressing housing security and meeting other community needs.

This research process offers lessons for practitioner-scholars grappling with how to work with local government and community stakeholders on strategies that increase the affordable housing supply. The data illuminate that housing insecurity cuts across a range of household incomes, and calls on employers – including the university – to ensure that compensation levels keep place with the cost of living in a desirable college town.

Keywords for this study include place-based partnerships, affordable housing, and local government. The rights of vulnerable populations were safeguarded by securing IRB approval and using an anonymous survey link. When completed in person, the surveys were administered by a trusted community partner organization with a history of working with households experiencing financial and housing insecurity. The community partners also completed IRB training on ethical practices for research with human subjects.