By Esther Crompton
Rural communities contend with a long list of challenges, from population loss to the upkeep of roads, schools, and utilities. Among those challenges, two shortages feed each other: too few professionals and too few homes. Both are essential if small towns are to thrive.
The evidence is visible in daily life. Schools struggle to hire enough teachers. Clinics make do with fewer doctors and nurses than they need. Families drive long distances for childcare, dental care or mental-health services. Some counties have only a handful of attorneys, leaving residents with limited access to legal help. These are only a few of the professions in short supply, but the pattern is consistent: without enough housing, it becomes harder for people in any field to settle and stay.
Since 2000, 26 rural Iowa counties have lost housing units (Burke, S. C. & Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, n.d.), and many more have lost people. The homes that remain are often decades old. The average Iowa home was built in 1955, making the state’s housing supply the eighth oldest in the nation (MySidewalk, n.d.). For towns hoping to stabilize and grow, the condition of their housing market has become one of the first levers to pull.
“Housing is the keystone,” said Omar Padilla, community and economic development specialist with Iowa State Extension and Outreach. “If you don’t have it, everything else begins to fall apart. And that falling apart matters. Without a healthy housing market, you can’t expect to attract new residents or keep the tax base strong. Schools, parks, and even downtown businesses all depend on people having quality places to live.”
How housing fits in
Since 2020, more than 60 Iowa towns (Experience, 2023) have taken part in the Rural Housing Readiness Assessment (Rural Housing Readiness Assessment | Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development, n.d.), or RHRA. Led by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in partnership with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, RHRA gives local leaders a step-by-step process to evaluate housing stock, identify gaps, and plan improvements.
The impacts of RHRA are rippling across the state. In Knoxville, more than $36 million has gone into 155 new market-rate rentals and 11 single-family homes, with another $7 million on the way. Grinnell recorded about $35 million invested to create 200 new rental apartments and housing units, most of them completed at the end of 2024. Sheldon put nearly $4 million into purchasing lots, building seven new homes, creating five second-story units, and repairing 40 homes. And in Nevada, more than $16 million has been invested in creating, improving, or repairing over 200 housing units, with another $58 million planned. That commitment translated into growth: the community gained 120 new residents in just two years.
Why it matters for professionals
For professionals of all kinds, housing means more than a place to live. It represents a community with the capacity to support work, families, and a local economy. Housing investment involves mortgages, inspections, and construction. Each subdivision requires zoning, infrastructure, and financing agreements. When towns add and improve housing, they create demand for professionals like builders, plumbers, electricians, bankers, and real estate agents, and they give doctors, teachers, and attorneys a stronger reason to see a future there.
“Housing may be the triggering thing,” Padilla said, “but with that comes a whole other host of related things: the businesses that come in, the contractors, the bankers, the lawyers. Houses and the people that come with them are a huge economic driver.”
Housing is closely tied to quality of life. Families looking to move into a community are also looking for childcare, good schools, recreation, and basic services. Professionals making career decisions—many with families—weigh the same factors. RHRA surveys often reveal these connections: when residents talk about housing, they also point to related needs: parks, childcare, and safer, more vibrant downtown areas. Communities can then use that information to align housing efforts with broader improvements, making their towns more attractive to the people they hope to draw in.
Addressing the larger cycle
The shortages of housing and professionals tend to reinforce each other. When local services are thin, it is harder to hold onto residents. When housing is scarce, it is harder to bring in the professionals who could strengthen those services.
The good news is that addressing housing can begin to shift the cycle. RHRA has already sparked more than $132 million in housing investment, with another $104 million planned. Each new project builds not just homes but also opportunities for doctors, teachers, child-care providers, lawyers, and other professionals whose presence is vital to small-town life.
Housing is not the only issue rural communities face, but it is a starting point. By planning for more homes, rural communities give themselves a better chance to attract the professionals who keep civic and economic life running.
That planning only works if it reflects the voices of the people who live there. RHRA relies on local committees made up of residents, business owners and civic leaders who bring different perspectives to the table to form a housing strategy that is appropriate to their community. The process works best when those committees are comprised of a wide range of needs and perspectives, including what professionals look for when deciding whether to live and work in a community. Lawyers, for example, can be valuable members of these groups, as can health-care providers, educators, or anyone with a stake in their local community. Many can also contribute by helping towns apply for housing programs or by lending expertise in finance, planning, or development.
In the end, housing readiness is community work. When people come together to see the bigger picture and shape it together, housing becomes the keystone that helps rural towns thrive.
Burke, S. C. & Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. (n.d.). Iowa Housing Trends: 1940 - 2017.In Community and Economic Development Indicators Program. https://indicators.extension.iastate.edu/Indicators/Publications/HousingTrends%20in%20Iowa%201940%20-%202017%20%20Report%20April%202019.pdf
MySidewalk. (n.d.). https://dashboards.mysidewalk.com/iowa-housing-and-community-needs-dashboard-2030-5562-b91f79645bc0/state-forecast
Experience. (2023). https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ae46a7961edf446eaece187ee98c8ae5/#data_s=id%3AdataSource_6-18cda24f351-layer-3%3A2
Rural Housing Readiness Assessment | Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development. (n.d.). https://www.extension.iastate.edu/communities/rural-housing-readiness-assessment
About the author:
Esther Crompton is a communications specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development. Throughout her writing career, she has broken down complex topics ranging from green energy innovations and DNA origami to housing and large-scale community projects.
