Affordability in Action: Let's Celebrate the Communities Making Life More Affordable

By Bethany Quinn, President, Golden Shovel Agency

A new national survey from the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) and Echelon Insights confirms what many economic developers are hearing in their communities: affordability is a top concern for American workers.
Conducted September 1–8, 2026, among 1,507 American workers, the survey found:

• 68% believe housing costs and everyday essentials should be policymakers' top priorities.
• 68% report that their cost of living has increased over the past year.
• Just 11% say life has become more affordable.

Perhaps most significantly, affordability is a priority across political, generational, educational, racial, and gender divides.

The findings reinforce an opportunity for economic developers to expand their impact by helping address the costs that affect household financial stability, workforce participation, and business competitiveness.

Economic Developers Are Already Taking Action

Across the country, economic development organizations and their partners are pursuing creative solutions to affordability challenges. These include:

• Workforce housing: Employer-assisted housing, public-private development partnerships, rehabilitation programs, infrastructure investments, and financing strategies that expand housing supply and reduce costs.
• Childcare: Employer-supported childcare, shared-cost programs, provider expansion, and partnerships that increase access while reducing expenses for working families.
• Utilities and energy: Weatherization and energy-efficiency initiatives, infrastructure modernization, and utility partnerships that can reduce household expenses.
• Transportation: Employer-supported transportation, vanpool programs, transit partnerships, and rural mobility solutions that improve access to employment while reducing commuting costs.
• Food access: Grocery attraction, mobile markets, food distribution partnerships, and initiatives that make nutritious food more accessible and affordable.

These efforts represent opportunities to strengthen local economies while helping households retain more of what they earn.

What is your community doing to improve affordability? I want to learn about the strategies, partnerships, and innovative programs making a difference. Share Your Community's Affordability Story!

Local Solutions Worth Celebrating

One example comes from Stone and Taney Counties, MO, where the Taney County Partnership and Table Rock Lake Chamber of Commerce are collaborating with employers, nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, and other partners to address childcare shortages.

Their research found that only 18% of local infants and toddlers had access to childcare, while many families were spending more than 25% of their household income on care.

The regional initiative includes a tri-share funding model combining employer, public, and philanthropic support designed to reduce childcare expenses by 10% to 70%, and potentially eliminate costs for some qualifying families.
Implementation is ongoing, but the partnership has already aligned regional organizations, generated new funding partnerships, and initiated efforts to address permitting and licensing barriers affecting childcare expansion.

Read Golden Shovel's September 2026 success story about the initiative.

This is the type of collaboration I want to celebrate. The approach addresses a documented workforce challenge through a practical funding strategy, bringing organizations together around a shared economic development priority.

Similar innovation is happening in communities nationwide, often without the recognition it deserves.

Have you launched an affordability initiative, developed an effective partnership, or identified a promising solution? Tell Me What's Working in Your Community!

Introducing Affordability in Action

Golden Shovel Agency is launching Affordability in Action, a campaign to identify, highlight, and celebrate the economic development and community leaders making life more affordable.

I want to discover strategies that other communities can learn from and potentially replicate. Through community spotlights, articles, and interviews, we'll share innovative approaches, recognize the people behind them, and encourage collaboration across the economic development industry.

I'm particularly interested in learning:

• What affordability challenges are you addressing?
• What solutions have you developed, and who are your partners?
• How are you funding and implementing these initiatives?
• What results have you achieved, and what lessons could help other communities?

Initiatives do not need to be completed to be considered. Promising pilot programs, emerging partnerships, and creative approaches to persistent challenges are equally valuable.

Economic development success should be measured not only by the opportunities communities create, but also by residents' ability to afford the lives those opportunities make possible.

I know economic developers are doing remarkable work in this area. I want to find those stories, celebrate the leaders behind them, and help their ideas reach communities across the country.

Submit Your Story for Affordability in Action!

Bethany Quinn is President of Golden Shovel Agency and a board member of the Southern Economic Development Council. She works with economic development leaders nationwide to advance strategies that strengthen communities and expand economic opportunity.