States Address Housing Barriers in Rural Communities

States Address Housing Barriers in Rural Communities

Highlights

• North Dakota's Rural-Workforce Initiative to Support Housing program offers construction loans of up to $3.5 million for housing projects in rural communities experiencing economic growth.
• The County First initiative facilitates low-interest, fixed-rate first mortgages and offers up to $10,000 in downpayment assistance for homebuyers in South Carolina counties that HUD has designated as economically distressed.
• The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation administers the Moderate Income Housing program, which issues grants of up to $650,000 to rural cities and counties for housing construction and rehabilitation.

In response to growing housing challenges in rural areas, such as a lack of inventory, high construction costs, and aging housing stock, many states are implementing rural housing initiatives to spur development and boost homeownership. The Rural-Workforce Initiative to Support Housing is a North Dakota pilot program that provides housing construction loans in rural cities where a company is starting up, relocating, or expanding its workforce. South Carolina's County First initiative offers forgivable downpayment assistance and low fixed-rate mortgage financing to eligible homebuyers in HUD-designated economically distressed rural counties. In Kansas, the Moderate Income Housing program issues grants to rural counties and cities with up to 60,000 residents to develop and rehabilitate single and multifamily properties. These programs rely on strong partnerships with the local government, financial institutions, developers, and local companies to expand housing access and meet the demands of rural populations.

North Dakota Rural-Workforce Initiative to Support Housing Program

Much of the state of North Dakota is rural. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2017 Census of Agriculture, farms and ranches occupy nearly 40 million acres — approximately 90 percent of the state's total land.1 Data from the 2020 decennial census indicate that 39 percent of the state's total population of 779,094 live in rural areas.2 The state has 357 incorporated cities, 86 percent of which have fewer than 1,000 residents. In addition, 56 percent of the state's incorporated cities have fewer than 200 people. Cities with a population of less than 20,000 are beginning to attract new employers and need financial and technical assistance to meet growing housing demand.3 North Dakota's housing stock is also aging; 29 percent of the state's housing was built before 1960, and these units are most prevalent in rural areas.4

Supporting Rural Communities in Need

In June 2024, the North Dakota Industrial Commission, consisting of the governor and other state officials, approved the Rural-Workforce Initiative to Support Housing (R-WISH) pilot program targeting areas with no more than 20,000 residents. The goal of R-WISH is to construct single- or multifamily housing in areas where a company is starting up, relocating, or expanding.5 Working alongside the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency and the North Dakota Housing Initiative Advisory Committee, the Bank of North Dakota (BND) allocated $10 million to R-WISH to finance new housing construction and the rehabilitation of existing housing units.6 The program emerged through conversations with public officials and banks in Ellendale and Grafton, cities struggling with a lack of housing for employees of new companies.7

R-WISH allows eligible rural cities to access BND loans of up to $3.5 million to lower housing construction costs in areas experiencing economic growth, which makes the resulting housing more affordable to the local workforce.8 "The intent of R-WISH," said Don Morgan, president and chief executive officer at BND, "is to create a public-private partnership that brings the capital to the table to incentivize a developer or homebuilder to ramp up to meet the need in the community,"9 The program serves rural cities with 20,000 or fewer residents that are experiencing population and economic growth due to a company starting up, relocating to the area, or expanding by more than 10 full-time employees.10 The program will help fund projects whose market rent will not fully compensate for the high costs of construction.

Qualifying developers must prove that they will rent units at market rates and obtain market-rate financing from a local institution. In addition, the city and the company must provide funding or in-kind support to the project, such as land, property, infrastructure, or labor. The city may also demonstrate that it has obtained funding from a local development corporation or created future dedicated tax programs to offset construction costs. Projects meeting these criteria can qualify for BND funding, which amounts to the lesser of 20 percent of project costs, $3.5 million, or a company match.11 R-WISH, unlike traditional housing finance models, integrates a corporate entity in the capital stack.12

Early Progress

Ellendale, with a population of 1,125 as of 2020,13 is the first city to use the R-WISH program to fund a housing project.14 Applied Digital is building a new data center in Ellendale that will employ 100 to 130 new workers.15 To accommodate this workforce, the city of Ellendale is collaborating with Applied Digital and BND to construct Ellendale Acres, which includes a 38-unit rental apartment complex and a total of 20 single-family rental homes consisting of 12 two-bedroom homes and 8 four-bedroom homes.16 BND allocated a $3.5 million R-WISH loan to the housing project, and Applied Digital provided a matching $3.5 million private equity contribution.17 In fall 2024, the city of Ellendale provided in-kind support for the project by selling 20 lots for $2,400, well below market value, to Headwaters Development, a modular building company, with the goal of constructing the new single-family housing within 18 months. Headwaters Development built the single-family homes offsite, an innovative approach to speed up the development process. In addition to Headwaters Development and BND, Applied Digital worked with Starion Bank to finance the project. The city and Applied Digital provided capital investment, demonstrating a strong public-private partnership.18

Headwaters Development will maintain ownership of the apartments and single-family homes and rent them to Applied Digital employees.19 Headwaters Development completed the single-family homes in 2025.20 The single-family homes range from 1,300 to 2,600 square feet, with a mix of two-bedroom and four-bedroom units that each offer two to three bathrooms.21 The homes rent from $1,500 to $1,900 per month.22 According to Morgan, Applied Digital "is guaranteeing the rents on the houses for a period of 5 years to give the developer confidence in making the investment and developing the subdivision," Rents for the multifamily units are expected to range from $975 to $1,550 per month.23 Headwaters Development collaborates with Applied Digital to set the rents, which are based on construction costs and employees' average wages.24 The R-WISH program gives developers more time to repay their loans while the value of the property increases, especially in cases in which the developer might spend more to construct a home than its appraised value. The housing project is the initial step in a broader effort to improve the quality of life in Ellendale, which is also developing new childcare solutions, public safety projects, and commercial areas.25

Grafton, North Dakota, with a population of 4,170 as of 2020,26 is the second city using $3.5 million in R-WISH funds to provide housing for employees of an expanding company. Marvin Windows is using R-WISH funds to construct a 72-unit multifamily project with the capacity to house company employees as well as other city residents. Like the Ellendale project, the project in Grafton will rent units to residents for $975 to $1,550 per month based on construction costs and wages, said Morgan. Marvin Windows invested $1 million in the project and donated $500,000 in windows and doors. In addition, Marvin Windows is guaranteeing the rents on the units for 5 years.27

As a pilot, R-WISH is establishing operational capacity in rural cities and will refine program processes and guidelines throughout implementation. Ongoing collaboration to strengthen partnerships with companies, developers, and financial institutions will be critical going forward to develop the capital needed to fund projects.28

South Carolina County First Initiative

Agribusiness forms the foundation for South Carolina's economy, contributing nearly $42 billion in state revenue and supporting more than 200,000 jobs. The state is composed of nearly 5 million acres of farmland, and two-thirds of the land is forest.29 Out of a total population of 5.1 million, 1.6 million (32%) of South Carolina residents lived in rural areas in 2020.30 Although the population is projected to grow to 5.73 million by year 2030, it will be distributed unevenly, with metropolitan and coastal counties such as Jasper, Horry, and Berkeley expecting the largest population growth. On the other hand, 27 counties (primarily rural) out of the state's 46 counties are projected to experience population declines by 2030.31 Nearly one-quarter of homeowners in the state were housing cost burdened in 2023, spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. The proportion of homeowner inventory that is vacant and for sale in South Carolina is 0.9 percent, indicating limited availability.32 One factor affecting the state's housing supply stems from generational property, because extended family members hold onto properties rather than listing them for sale. In some cases, retirement-age homeowners prefer to rent out their homes as a source of additional income.33 Access to financing is another barrier to homeownership in rural areas. Despite being able to afford the mortgage payment on a larger, more expensive home, owners of lower-priced homes often lack the financial resources to afford the downpayment. Likewise, first-time homebuyers often face financial barriers to homeownership such as low credit scores or difficulty affording a downpayment.34

Assisting Underserved Rural Areas

Operating as the sole public housing agency at the state level, the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC Housing) administers several affordable housing programs and oversees funding for homeownership assistance. SC Housing operates numerous homebuyer programs across the state's 46 counties, but approximately 8 to 10 years ago, agency administrators realized that very few of the loans SC Housing issued were in rural areas. Clayton Ingram, external relations and policy manager at SC Housing, stated, "We seek to spread our programs, especially our homeownership program, over the entire state. We like to see some activity in every county knowing that there are some counties where there are very few real estate transactions of any kind."35

Expanding its impact across the state, SC Housing launched the County First initiative in September 2020 to facilitate homeownership in the state's underserved rural areas. The initiative offers low-interest, fixed-rate first mortgages through lending partners and forgivable downpayment assistance as a second mortgage to eligible first-time homebuyers and move-up homebuyers wishing to purchase their next home across the more than 20 rural South Carolina counties that HUD has designated as economically distressed.36 To qualify as economically distressed, a county must meet one of three criteria based on the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates: an average unemployment rate of at least 9 percent, a poverty rate of at least 20 percent among individuals not enrolled in higher education; or a population decline of 5 percent or more between the 2010 decennial census and 2020 ACS 5-Year estimates.37 For example, Dillon, Lee, Marion, and Marlboro counties qualify as economically distressed, with poverty rates of 30 percent, 26 percent, 23 percent, and 29 percent, respectively, based on 2020 ACS 5-year estimates.38

Financed through the sale of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, SC Housing offers families a second mortgage of up to $10,000 to finance downpayment or closing costs with zero interest and no monthly payments. The second mortgage has a 15-year term, and if families remain in the property for 15 years, the loan is forgiven. To qualify, homebuyers cannot own a home at the time of closing on the new property.39 Households must also meet median annual income and house price limits, which range from $108,600 for a one- to two-person household to $126,600 for a household with three or more people for a home priced at no more than $425,000. Recipients can use their downpayment assistance to purchase single-family residences, condominiums, townhomes, and modular homes.40 The County First initiative enables households with credit scores of at least 640 to qualify for 30-year first mortgages from more than 100 approved SC Housing lending partners.41 Eligible borrowers must complete a homeownership education course led by their mortgage lender to help them navigate the homebuying process and encourage successful ownership.42 Borrowers can choose Federal Housing Administration, conventional, U.S. Department of Agriculture, or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs loan products.43 Wes Barr, underwriting manager at SC Housing, noted that the lending partners originate the mortgages and follow SC Housing's eligibility and approval guidelines. The lending partners originate the first mortgage and downpayment assistance lien, and, upon closing, SC Housing purchases the loans.44

Spreading Impact

Sharing information about the County First initiative has been vital to its uptake in rural areas. At its inception, "we put it on a rate sheet as a separate program, tracked it separately, and we'd go out and do outreach and marketing" to increase its visibility, said Steve Clements, director of single-family programs at SC Housing.45 Since 2020, the initiative has served 196 households with a total of $37.8 million in first mortgage liens delivered to SC Housing for purchase and an average loan amount of $173,000. To date, the program has issued 195 downpayment assistance second mortgages totaling $1.8 million. As of spring 2025, the program served 20 counties. As Barr explained, the number of counties the initiative serves can change from year to year based on the number of loans delivered to SC Housing in areas that HUD has designated as economically distressed. At its inception, the initiative selected counties with 5 or fewer loans to be eligible for reduced interest rates, but, as Barr noted, SC Housing now selects counties that have 10 or fewer loans delivered in the previous 12-month period. Although SC Housing does not receive tax funding from the state general fund, the agency strives to work alongside state officials to demonstrate impact.46

Facilitating Mobility

SC Housing administrators recognize that homeowners want to remain in their homes to keep their mortgages with historically low interest rates in the face of rising prices.47 For example, in the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin housing market area, the number of existing home sales from April 2022 to April 2023 decreased 22 percent from 21,250 to 16,550.48 Areas that historically have seen few real estate transactions now see even fewer transactions, said Ingram.49 SC Housing has developed additional initiatives to help move-up buyers afford their next home, such as the SC Homebuyer and Palmetto Home Advantage programs, which, like County First, also offer competitive, fixed-rate mortgages and downpayment assistance. Across its programs, SC Housing offers interest rates that tend to range from an eighth to a quarter of a percentage point lower than conventional rates.50

Kansas Moderate Income Program

Kansas is largely a rural state with small pockets of urban areas in Kansas City to the northeast, Topeka to the west, and Wichita in the south-central area of the state. Approximately 88 percent of the state's land area consists of farmland.51 In 2023, approximately 859,000 people, or 29 percent of Kansas' total population of 2,940,546, lived in rural areas that are not part of a metropolitan statistical area as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.52 A 2021 statewide housing needs assessment revealed an affordable housing shortage in Kansas. Since 2010, the number of renter households in Kansas that are housing cost-burdened has increased, which has led many households to delay homeownership.53 According to the 2023 American Community Survey, 43.5 percent of renters in Kansas were housing cost burdened compared with 24.4 percent of homeowners.54 Approximately 30 percent of Kansas' housing stock was built before 1960, and in rural areas, much of this housing has fallen into disrepair. In addition to its aging housing stock, the state has an aging population. In many rural counties, older units no longer meet residents' accessibility needs as they age. Many housing units in the state's rural areas have undervaluation challenges, where the cost to build new or rehabilitate existing housing exceeds property appraisals. These units, however, serve as naturally occurring affordable housing, further necessitating reinvestment to meet existing and future housing needs.55 The Kansas legislature launched the Moderate Income Housing (MIH) program in 2012 to award grants to rural cities and counties to rehabilitate and develop single- or multifamily homes and rental properties. Increasing the supply of housing in the state's rural areas is vital to attracting residents and employers.56

Program Eligibility

The MIH program awards grants capped at $650,000 to rural cities and counties to develop and rehabilitate single-family, multifamily, duplex, and triplex homes. The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), a public corporation and the state's housing finance agency, administers the program with financing from the state general fund.57 Alissa Ice, former director of housing development at KHRC, indicated that this financing for project development is vital to boosting housing affordability.58 MIH program administrators define a rural city or county as having no more than 60,000 residents, which is the case for nearly all (99%) of the state's cities.59 Cities and counties applying for MIH funds may partner with public housing agencies, nonprofit organizations, developers, local contractors, and consultants to support project development.60 Cities and counties typically apply for funding well in advance of construction, and KHRC disburses funds throughout the construction process. In some cases, KHRC can issue the first disbursement before construction begins to cover architectural, design, site assessment, survey, attorney, engineering, and consulting fees. KHRC holds 10 percent of the grant funds until the project's completion.61 All MIH funds must be used for physical housing development, including property acquisition, construction costs, modular or manufactured housing, vacant housing rehabilitation, and housing conversion projects. Grantees can also use MIH funds to finance supportive infrastructure for housing, such as street and utility extensions, general site clearing and preparation, and sidewalks to serve multiple housing units.62 All projects that receive funding must be completed within 18 months of award notification unless KHRC approves another timeframe.63

KHRC allocates funding based on the demonstrated needs cities and counties outline in their MIH applications, which include a summary of findings from a needs assessment in addition to a written narrative detailing project scope, potential partners and funders, project timeline and anticipated lease-up, and project renderings.64 "We rely on the community to do their own housing assessment to determine what they need, [and KHRC recognizes that a] moderate-income household in one community could look very different [from] another, so we want to make sure that the units are affordable to the people that are living and working in those communities," said Ice. KHRC's prices for units are context dependent, serving residents earning between 60 to 150 percent of a county's area median gross income (AMGI).65

Describing Outputs

Since 2012, the MIH program has helped finance more than 2,000 housing units across Kansas through a total of $50.7 million awarded from the state general fund. From 2012 through 2021, the program received $2 million annually from the state general fund.66 In April 2022, the program received a funding boost thanks to the passage of Senate Bill 267, which allocated $20 million from the state general fund and $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the MIH program. The legislation also established a $20 million Rural Housing Revolving Loan program for developing moderate- and low-income housing or related infrastructure. In addition, House Bill 2237 (passed in May 2022) established another program, the Kansas Housing Investor Tax Credit (KHITC), with a $13 million budget to support investors in rural counties with up to 75,000 residents.67

With the added funding, the number of MIH applications increased by more than 71 percent, from 28 applications in 2021 to 48 in 2022, with a total of $7.4 million awarded to construct 195 units. Applicants requested approximately $25.8 million in MIH funding in 2022, up from $8.7 million in 2021. In 2023, MIH applicants requested $58.9 million, the program's highest funding request to date, and MIH awarded $13.2 million to 26 projects that created 1,029 units. In 2024, the program allocated $8.2 million to 15 projects selected from a pool of 43 applications, enabling the construction of 229 housing units.68 The 2024 round 4 program allocation included funding to 3 small counties with populations of less than 8,000, 4 mid-sized counties with populations ranging from 9,000 to 21,000 residents, and 3 large counties with populations ranging from 34,000 to 72,000.69

Deanne Engstrom, director of housing development at KHRC, reported that KHRC considers signs of economic growth when assessing the viability of various housing projects.70 The increase in applications in recent years stems from major employers relocating to the state's rural areas. Hilmar Cheese opened a new processing plant in Dodge City in 2024, creating approximately 250 new jobs and attracting more than $600 million in capital investment.71 In addition, the city of De Soto welcomed a new Panasonic manufacturing plant in July 2025, which created approximately 4,000 jobs, necessitating thousands of new housing units. "We're seeing one of the biggest job manufacturing economic boosts to the state of Kansas' history with Panasonic," said Engstrom.72 Other major employers, including Great Plains Manufacturing in Salina and Russell Stover in Iola, will also need housing for their employees.73

Engstrom and Ice recalled three notable projects. In 2024, KHRC awarded a $650,000 grant to the 740-resident city of Greensburg, the county seat of Kiowa County in southwest Kansas, to construct a project with 3 rental units. KHRC periodically has awarded MIH funds to Kiowa County and the city of Greensburg as the area strives to recover and rebuild after a 2007 tornado.74 In addition to the latest MIH grant award in 2024, Greensburg received $920,000 in MIH grants in 2019 and 2022 to construct 12 housing units.75 Kiowa County received an MIH grant of $650,000 in 2023 to construct six units.76 In 2020, the 802-resident city of Alma, located west of Topeka, received a $307,050 MIH grant for the construction of 8 multifamily rental units.77 The project also received $70,000 in KHITCs in 2023 and $200,000 from the Rural Housing Revolving Loan Fund in 2024.78 Combined funding from MIH, KHITC, and the Rural Housing Revolving Loan Fund supported the construction of nine units located above the Alma city hall.79

Located west of Wichita, Dodge City has a population of 27,788 and stands out for its longstanding use of MIH funds, noted Ice.80 In 2022, Dodge City received $450,000 in MIH grant funding to construct one single-family home and two eightplexes.81 To construct the single-family home, Dodge City partnered with the Community Housing Association of Dodge City (CHAD), a local nonprofit that operates the Abandoned Housing Program in collaboration with Dodge City Community College (DC3). The Building Construction Technology Program at DC3 aims to stabilize neighborhoods, remove blight, and increase tax revenue while also teaching students construction techniques and code compliance skills.82 Although some MIH projects in Dodge City have been larger projects of more than 40 units,83 CHAD pursues smaller projects. Each class in the Abandoned Housing Program constructs one house that is sold to a moderate-income buyer, and the proceeds from the sale become revenue to fund the next project. Although this project is small, said Ice, "[i]t's keeping people in the building trades in a very real way," and through this program, the city is building its "own construction base."84

Engstrom explained that the $20 million tranche of funding allocated from the state general fund in 2022 helped establish the operational components of MIH, such as staff to review documentation and reports from project MIH, KHITC, and Rural Housing Revolving Loan Fund dollars from KHRC financed the construction of nine units above the city hall in Alma, Kansas. Courtesy of Scott Jessop 29 developers and customer service delivery to developers and partners. KHRC requires grantees to upload quarterly reports on construction progress, online listings, and project type (rental or owner occupied). The MIH program operates under a 5-year compliance period, and, as funds are disbursed, grantees must submit documentation demonstrating compliance with their disbursement schedule and proof that they are selling or renting homes within their county's AMGI range. All this oversight requires continued operational funding.85

Award cycles vary from year to year and depend on funding availability and staff capacity; KHRC had three cycles of MIH funding in 2023 but only one round in 2024. "We understand the need, so our goal is to deploy the resources safely and diligently yet as quickly as we can," said Engstrom.86 Engstrom noted that sustained funding will be vital for the MIH program, but she emphasized that KHRC staff members are nimble and can pivot as needed to ensure program longevity. "We've come the other way [without] a complete[ly] clear path … but we're patient, we're understanding, and we're able to just work with what funding we have available to us," she said. In addition, the high cost of building materials leaves many rural cities and counties unable to install infrastructure such as sidewalks, utilities, and electrical lines to support the construction of new housing. "In communities that haven't had significant housing growth or economic growth, they just haven't [built] the infrastructure," said Ice. In the early years of MIH, KHRC completed the infrastructural components that many areas needed, but this work left no available funding to construct housing units. As a result, the state developed tools through its Department of Commerce to continue these infrastructure improvements, allowing KHRC to devote its funds to housing development. "We really lean on those programs to work in tandem with each other. They do the infrastructure, we do the vertical build, and everybody's happy," said Ice.87 Continued collaboration across state agencies will be critical to maintain the program's momentum.

Conclusion

Many rural areas face significant housing challenges stemming from aging housing stock, limited inventory, and high construction costs. The R-WISH, County First, and MIH programs serve as potent examples of strategies to improve housing development and access to homeownership in rural areas by combining state and private-sector funding. North Dakota's R-WISH program aims to create a partnership between the state, cities, local financial institutions, and companies to develop market-rate housing.88 The program's eligibility criteria require all entities — local banks, developers, and cities — to supply in-kind or financial capital. This "all-in" approach ensures that cities have a financial stake in housing projects. The MIH program in Kansas originated at a time when rural areas were losing residents and lacked housing near available jobs. The MIH program has a long track record of supplying vital funding to push rehabilitation and new construction projects over the finish line, and the Rural Housing Revolving Loan program and KHITC have provided additional funding to complete needed housing projects.89 Although R-WISH and MIH primarily focus on rental housing, South Carolina's County First initiative addresses the needs of potential homebuyers in underserved rural counties by providing downpayment assistance and access to mortgage products at low, fixed rates in areas that HUD has designated as economically distressed.90 The initiative has helped SC Housing expand its reach to areas where real estate transactions are rare and homeownership might not otherwise have been possible. In the face of rising housing costs and population shifts, these state programs are critical funding sources for housing in rural areas.

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2019. "North Dakota Agriculture in One Word—Diverse," blog, 23 August. Accessed 15 March 2025.
2. U.S. Census Bureau. 2023. "State-level Urban and Rural Information for the 2020 Census and 2010 Census," Accessed 15 March 2025.
3. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, president and chief executive officer at BND, 7 March 2025.
4. North Dakota Housing Finance Agency. 2022. "Statewide Housing Needs Assessment 2020–2025 (Condensed)," 9.
5. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025 and 28 May 2025; Dave Thompson. 2024. "Bank of North Dakota approved for a workforce housing pilot program for smaller communities," Prairie Public Broadcasting, 28 June; North Dakota Industrial Commission. "Home" (ndic.nd.gov/). Accessed 14 March 2025.
6. North Dakota Industrial Commission. 2024. "Industrial Commission Approves Workforce Housing Pilot," 26 June press release.
7. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025.
8. North Dakota Monitor Staff. 2024. "Pilot program aims to spur workforce housing in rural North Dakota," North Dakota Monitor, 2 July; Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025.
9. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025.
10. North Dakota Industrial Commission 2024; Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 28 May 2025.
11. Ibid.
12. Jeff Beach. 2024. "Pre-built houses set for holiday-season delivery to Ellendale under new pilot financing program," North Dakota Monitor, 3 December.
13. U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics," Decennial Census. Accessed 6 January 2025.
14. Beach.
15. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025.
16. Masaki Ova. 2025. "Applied Digital plans to expand in Ellendale, ND," Jamestown Sun, 21 March.
17. Beach; Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025.
18. Ibid.
19. Ova.
20. Headwaters. "Portfolio" (headwaters.build/portfolio/). Accessed 29 January 2026
21. Beach.
22. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025.
23. Ibid.
24. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 28 May 2025.
25. Beach; Carrie McDermott. 2024. "Public-private partnership bringing workforce housing to Ellendale," Grand Forks Herald, 10 October.
26. U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. "Race," Decennial Census. Accessed 17 March 2025.
27. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025 and 28 May 2025.
28. Ibid.
29. South Carolina Farm Bureau. "Food & Farm Facts" (scfb.org/ag-education/food-farm-facts/). Accessed 19 March 2025.
30. U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. "State-level Urban and Rural Information for the 2020 Census and 2010 Census," Accessed 15 March 2025.
31. Bryan P. Grady. 2019. "South Carolina Housing Needs Assessment," 3.
32. U.S. Census Bureau. 2023. "Selected Housing Characteristics," American Community Survey, ACS 1-Year Estimates Data Profiles. Accessed 20 December 2024.
33. Scott Morgan. 2020. "Program Opens South Carolina's Rural Housing Market to First (and Second) Time Buyers," South Carolina Public Radio, 24 September.
34. Ibid.
35. Joint interview with Clayton Ingram, external relations and policy manager at South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority, Steve Clements, director of single-family programs at South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority, and Wes Barr, underwriting manager at South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority, 18 March 2025.
36. Ibid; South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority. 2020. "SC Housing County First Initiative: Closing the Gap in Rural Homeownership," 8 September press release.
37. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Distressed Cities Technical Assistance Program" (www.huduser.gov/portal/ota/distressed-cities-and-persistant-poverty-ta-program.html). Accessed 18 March 2025.
38. U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. "Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months," American Community Survey, ACS 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles. Accessed 20 December 2024.
39. Joint interview with Clayton Ingram, Steve Clements, and Wes Barr.
40. Ibid.
41. SC Housing. 2025. "Homeownership Program"; South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority 2020.
42. Kim Franke-Folstad. 2025. "South Carolina First-Time Home Buying Assistance Programs & Grants," SoFi.
43. South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority. "County First Initiative" (schousing.sc.gov/homebuyers/programs-homebuyers/county-first-initiative). Accessed 18 March 2025.
44. Joint interview with Clayton Ingram, Steve Clements, and Wes Barr; Email correspondence with Wes Barr, 19 March 2025.
45. Joint interview with Clayton Ingram, Steve Clements, and Wes Barr.
46. Ibid; Email correspondence with Wes Barr.
47. Joint interview with Clayton Ingram, Steve Clements, and Wes Barr.
48. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2023. "Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis: Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, South Carolina," 13–4.
49. Joint interview with Clayton Ingram, Steve Clements, and Wes Barr.
50. Ibid; South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority. "SC Housing Homebuyer Program" (schousing.sc.gov/homebuyers/programs-homebuyers/county-first-initiative). Accessed 2 April 2025; South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority. "Palmetto Home Advantage" (schousing.sc.gov/homebuyers/programs-homebuyers/palmetto-home-advantage). Accessed 2 April 2025.
51. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom, director of housing development at Kansas Housing Resources Center, and Alissa Ice, former director of housing development at Kansas Housing Resources Center, 7 March 2025; U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2025. "State Fact Sheets — State Data, Kansas."
52. U.S. Department of Agriculture 2025.
53. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2021. "Kansas Statewide Housing Assessment," 4, 16.
54. U.S. Census Bureau. 2023. "Selected Housing Characteristics," American Community Survey, ACS 1-Year Estimates Data Profiles. Accessed 19 May 2025.
55. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation 2021, 14, 20, 28, 30, 36.
56. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice; Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2023. "Moderate Income Housing."
57. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
58. Ibid; National Housing & Rehabilitation Association. 2025. "Kansas Housing Resources Corporation Announces New Director of Housing Development," 18 March press release.
59. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation 2023; Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
60. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2024a. "Kansas Moderate Income Housing (MIH): Notice of Resource Availability," 4.
61. Email correspondence from Deanne Engstrom, 29 May 2025.
62. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation 2024a, 5.
63. Kansas Legislative Research Department. 2024. "Update on the Moderate Income Housing Program," (klrd.gov/2024/02/01/update-on-the-moderate-income-housing-program/). Accessed 13 March 2025; Email correspondence with Deanne Engstrom, 9 May 2025.
64. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation 2024a, 7.
65. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2023. "Moderate Income Housing Income Range, 2023 Calculations," Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
66. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
67. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2022a. "State Designates $62 million for Affordable Housing Development," 13 May press release.
68. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice; Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2022b. "Governor Laura Kelly Announces Record Interest in Rural Housing Development," 18 October press release; Email correspondence with Deanne Engstrom, 7 March 2025.
69. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2024c. "Program Awards — 2024 Round 4"; U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics," Decennial Census; Email correspondence with Deanne Engstrom, 9 May 2025.
70. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
71. Ibid; Hilmar Cheese Company. 2022. "Hilmar Breaks Ground on Production Facility in Dodge City, KS," 30 September press release.
72. Elyse Schoenig. 2025. "De Soto prepares for increased housing, businesses despite uncertain Panasonic opening date," KSHB, 6 March; Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice; Ryan Takeo. 2025. "Panasonic schedules De Soto facility ceremony as start date nears," KSHB, 30 May.
73. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation 2022b.
74. U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. "Race," Decennial Census. Accessed 8 April 2025; Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2024. "Program Awards — 2024 Round 4"; Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
75. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2019. "2019 Moderate Income Housing Program Approved Applications"; Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2020. "2019 State Housing Trust Fund Report," 7; Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2022c. "2022 Moderate Income Housing Program Awards."
76. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2023. "Program Awards — 2023 Round 2."
77. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2020. "2020 Moderate Income Housing Program Awards"; U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. "Race," Decennial Census. Accessed 8 April 2025.
78. Email correspondence from Deanne Engstrom, 17 March 2025.
79. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
80. U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. "Race," Decennial Census. Accessed 13 March 2025; Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
81. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2022d. "2022 Moderate Income Housing (MIH) and Kansas Housing Investor Tax Credit (KHITC) Program Awards," 2.
82. Angie Gonzalez. 2022. "DC3 Building Construction Students Dig In!!" news, 29 September. Accessed 13 March 2025; "(CHAD) Community Housing Association of Dodge City," Dodge City Housing website (dodgecityhousing.com/housing-programs/chad/). Accessed 8 April 2025.
83. Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. 2023. "Program Awards — 2023 Round 1."
84. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
85. Ibid.
86. Email correspondence from Deanne Engstrom, 17 March 2025.
87. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
88. Email correspondence from Don Morgan, 7 March 2025.
89. Joint interview with Deanne Engstrom and Alissa Ice.
90. South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority, "County First Initiative."