What the Choke Point Index Measures
The Workforce Choke Point Ratio measures how much the minimum cost to deliver a new code-compliant home in a given state exceeds the maximum mortgage a household earning the national non-metropolitan median income can qualify for.
A positive ratio means workforce housing construction is mathematically unfinanceable for the median workforce family without subsidy. A negative ratio means new homes are within reach. The ratio isolates the supply-side problem: it measures the cost of creating new supply relative to the income of the intended buyer, independent of existing home prices, rents, or inventory.
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