HRDC: Park County needs assessment pins housing, wages, childcare and mental health as top issues

HRDC representatives presented a new community needs assessment to the Park County Commission on Feb. 12, 2026, saying the statewide survey — conducted in partnership with JG Research — lets counties compare local conditions to broader statewide trends. Heather, an HRDC representative, said the assessment is done every three years “to inform our strategic plan” and to show what residents are experiencing.

Krista DeCamida, who led the data presentation for HRDC, said Park County respondents listed “affordable and quality rental opportunities” as the top individual and family need, followed by affordable opportunities to purchase a home and better-paying jobs. “For residents of Park County who completed the survey, affordable and quality rental opportunities was the 1st,” Krista said. She added that, as a community-level perception, jobs that pay a living wage rose sharply this cycle — she cited roughly a 172% increase from 2022 in people ranking that need.

The assessment put local housing costs in stark terms: Krista said the county’s median sales price for the period Jan. 1–Oct. 30, 2025, was about $603,000 and that a median two‑bedroom rent was just under $1,600. She said a household would need about $85,000 annually to avoid spending more than 30% of income on that rent. Krista also gave context for area median income, noting a two-person 100% AMI figure near $80,500 and 50% AMI near $40,000, and called out Park County’s very low unemployment (about 2%) alongside wages that have not kept pace with housing and cost increases.

On health care and related access issues, HRDC staff highlighted rural access burdens. Krista said people in outlying communities often incur added travel cost and time to reach specialty care, and she cited a state uninsured rate near 7% as part of that context.

HRDC staff emphasized that the needs assessment also identifies local assets: food and nutrition supports were described as highly valued and heavily utilized. Krista noted program utilization in Park County and referenced a slide showing a usage figure (she read a figure of 39% for households on one slide; a participant later referenced 29% when reading a report), underscoring minor discrepancies that HRDC said it would reconcile.

Commissioners and attendees asked about the survey sample and who responded; Krista said the statewide instrument asked whether respondents were general community members, elected officials or agency customers and that only about 15% of respondents identified as HRDC customers. She also said HRDC’s statewide partnership with JG Research enabled county-level comparison for the first time and produced the raw dataset HRDC is using for further analysis.

Speakers discussed local strategies that have been used elsewhere — community land trusts, resident-owned communities and tax-credit projects — and HRDC described several local projects in progress, including a tax-credit “welcome house” and infrastructure work tied to ARPA funding for a Gardner project. HRDC staff asked county leaders where they would like HRDC to prioritize partnership and said the Park County Housing Coalition’s funding cycle will run out this year and the coalition’s work may be absorbed by HRDC unless alternate support is provided.

Members of the public shared lived-experience comments about wages, health insurance and childcare. One resident recalled earlier earnings and housing prices (“I made $13.50 an hour … and you could buy a house for $17,000”) to illustrate how wage growth has lagged cost increases. That speaker also suggested redirecting a portion of the accommodations tax paid by hotels and short-term rentals toward affordable housing — noting the county’s accommodations tax structure (an 8% tax, with 4% currently used for tourism advertising) and proposing that some of that advertising share be repurposed for housing.

HRDC and local partners identified ongoing coordination with other service providers — for example, referrals between HRDC and food resource centers and partnerships with local health and early-childhood programs. A participant noted Arrowhead’s effort to add employee housing and to convert one unit into child-care space for Paradise Valley, a development HRDC said it is tracking.

No formal policy action was taken at the meeting; a motion to adjourn was made, seconded and carried. HRDC staff said they will provide the county with the JG Research survey instrument on request and will follow up to reconcile small discrepancies in reported percentages.

Why this matters: Park County’s assessment aligns with several regional reports and frames a persistent affordability problem tied to high housing costs, low unemployment but stagnant wages, increasing emphasis on living-wage jobs, and service-access barriers in rural communities. HRDC presented both gaps and local assets, and asked the county where to prioritize partnership as HRDC finalizes its strategic plan.