In today’s uncertain economic environment, one sector has remained relatively steady, and it may be influencing local housing markets: health care.
The sector has not only continued to add jobs – 46,800 in August – but it is becoming a key driver of housing demand. As the U.S. population ages and life expectancy increases, demand for health care services and the workers who provide them is expected to grow, regardless of broader economic cycles.
On a local market level, areas with a strong concentration of health care jobs tend to benefit from more resilient local economies, a larger pool of qualified buyers, and, often, more consistent housing demand.
How Health Care Jobs Shape the Housing Market
The 46,800 jobs added in August by the health care sector accounted for nearly all net growth in private payrolls last month. The industry employs approximately 23.4 workers, or roughly one in six private sector workers in the U.S.
These jobs often come with steady pay, making them an important foundation for homeownership. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 67.4% of households employed in health care and social assistance owned their homes in 2023.
To take a snapshot of how that is impacting today’s housing market, NewHomeSource parent company Zonda analyzed health care and social assistance data across the top 50 housing markets.
In nine of the top markets, health care and social assistance represented 16% or more of total employment, while in 11 markets, the sectors account for less than 11% of the total workforce.
Below is a breakdown of key takeaways and year-over-year trends, which could suggest housing markets that may become more competitive in coming years:
Philadelphia stands out. The city of brotherly love ranks fourth nationally in absolute employment, but first in concentration, with 19.9% of employment in the metro tied to health care and social assistance.
Big markets perform as expected. It’s little surprise that New York and Los Angeles/Orange County were next in line, ranking highly for both absolute employment and share of employment.
Small markets perform above expectations. Markets such as Tucson, Arizona, Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Sarasota, Florida had some of the highest shares of industry employment, even though their overall counts were modest. However, demographics help explain why these markets command a large share of health care employment. Given each are popular retirement destinations and have an above average Baby Boomer presence, the need for health care workers is elevated relative to other metros.
Low shares in the Carolinas. While the Carolinas are home to some of the nation’s hottest housing markets, Charlotte (9.3%), Myrtle Beach (9.4%), and Charleston (10.0%) had some of the smallest shares of health care employment nationally. These markets are instead dominated by the banking, technology, hospitality, manufacturing, and tourism sectors.
Utah growth. Salt Lake City (10.5%) and Provo (9.0%) recorded the fastest annual growth for health care and social assistance employment, making the markets interesting housing markets to track in the near-term future.
California dominance. Four California markets—Stockton, Sacramento, San Jose, and San Diego—ranked in the top 10 for growth in health care and social assistance employment compared to 2024.
Midwest underperformance. Compared to other markets, the growth in Columbus (1.1%), Nashville (1.9%), Cincinnati (2.2%), and Chicago (2.3%) was muted compared to 2024.
