The housing needs assessment estimated that the City of Ketchum needs between 660-980 homes in the next 10 years to meet demand. The breakout of how demand was determined is described in the table below. It is expected that this need could be met through a combination of new construction, preserved rentals, and converting existing homes into long-term rentals.

Additionally, for all of Blaine County, (including Ketchum) approximately 4,700 to 6,400 new, preserved, or converted housing units will be needed over the next 10 years. This projection emphasizes why county-wide collaboration and housing efforts are critical to addressing the housing crisis.

Ketchum’s workforce primarily consists of low- and middle-income households (under $45,355 per year or $23 per hour) that our local economy depends on.  Sixty percent of local renters live in unaffordable housing, meaning they pay more than 30% of their gross/pre-tax income on housing costs.  Compounding the problem, Ketchum lost 335 long-term rentals between 2010 and 2019.  This is without accounting for pandemic acceleration when Ketchum’s population grew by 25% compared to the historical 1% annual growth.  Low-income renters are the most impacted by the high cost of housing. Many low-income households and individuals are one emergency away from experiencing homelessness. A survey of over 1,100 participants who live or work in Blaine County found that 1% of our population is already experiencing homelessness.

Only upper-income households can really afford the ‘market.’

Given current, high housing for-sale and rental prices in Ketchum, market-rate housing is only affordable for upper-income households. Median (market) Ketchum rent is only affordable to households earning more than $107,000 annually ($100,000 for the County).  

Consistent themes throughout interviews, surveys, and open houses are the breadth of housing crisis impacts Valleywide. Below are key themes of what we heard.

The community’s identity. Sentiment from a variety of interviewees is the sense that Ketchum is losing its identity as the housing market becomes challenging and people move away.  Many respondents felt that the pursuit of accessible community housing represents more than a roof over community members’ heads – it’s a quest to maintain the “soul” of the community. 

Access to a stable workforce – which is damaging business vitality. Business viability and access to a stable workforce were common ideas shared when interviewees were asked to identify a “key indicator” for the housing environment.