In today’s construction news, learn about a recent report titled “Priced Out: When a good job isn’t enough.” The National Housing Conference found that even civil engineers making nearly $100,000 per year have a hard time affording a home in Asheville, and half of the construction site workers in the city earn less than the $59,840 needed to rent a one-bedroom apartment. On the other hand, more than 165,000 people took part in Construction Suicide Prevention Week (September 8-12, 2025), and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) today announced that, since May 2025, its Hard Hat Courage initiative has educated and raised awareness about suicide prevention among more than 188,000 professionals in the craft and construction industries.
Half of All American Workers Cannot Afford Affordable Housing
Original Source: Affordable Housing Out of Reach for Half of All U.S. Workers
According to the National Housing Conference’s “Priced Out: When a lucrative job isn’t enough,” half of Asheville construction site workers earn less than $59,840, and civil engineers earning nearly $100,000 a year struggle to afford a home.
This paper addresses the nationwide housing affordability dilemma affecting workers of all income levels. The authors blame “decades of underbuilding, rising interest rates, and wage stagnation” for making purchase and rental housing farther out of reach for many people. It tracked affordability changes in 390 MSAs from 2019 to 2024 using its Paycheck to Paycheck database. Case studies were presented from Asheville, Boise, Houston, Tampa, and Seattle.
“These findings underscore the depth and breadth of the housing crisis, which is increasingly pricing out working families across the country—regardless of geography or profession,” said National Housing Conference president and CEO David M. Dworkin. The housing affordability crisis affects families in every metro area and practically every occupation.
Results from the other four case studies:
Over 60% of home prices rose in five years in Boise, Idaho. Middle school teachers, librarians, and counselors found themselves priced out of two-bedroom rentals by 2023, and librarians continued to struggle in 2024.
Houston: Only 28 of the 286 vocations can afford a 10% down payment on a home in 2024, despite high homebuilding rates. Customer service reps and order clerks cannot afford a one-bedroom unit.
Seattle: In 2024, no occupation could afford a home, including dentists making over $200,000. Just 50 of 285 jobs can afford a two-bedroom rental.
Tampa: Only 11 of 284 jobs can afford a home. Legal assistants earn $62,420 and cannot afford one-bedroom rent.
“We can no longer limit this issue to certain groups or regions. “From big cities to small towns, hardworking, well-paid Americans who contribute to their communities are finding neither renting nor buying affordable,” Dworkin added. We risk the health and viability of our economy if we don’t solve the supply shortage, reform zoning, and invest in housing at all income levels.
The analysis concluded that fair rentals for one-bedroom apartments in Asheville rose 30% and 26% for two-bedroom units starting in 2019-2020. The 2024 salary needed to afford a city one-bedroom condo was $59,840, up roughly $28,000 from 2019. The $67,200 salary needed to afford a two-bedroom Asheville condo is up $27,000 from 2019.
The report lists 13 vocations on a typical building site, including architectural and civil drafters, architectural and engineering managers, and electrician, carpenter, and plumber assistants.
The survey found that construction laborers, electrician helpers, and roofers could not afford a one-bedroom apartment in Asheville in 2019. Five more vocations paid less than the $59,840 needed to purchase a city one-bedroom apartment by 2024.
Only 66 of 269 Asheville employees in 2024 could afford a two-bedroom apartment. Only 97 could afford a one-bedroom apartment.
After five years, a buyer needed more than double the income to acquire a typical home in the Asheville metropolitan statistical region. In 2019, a 10% down payment buyer needed $70,678. A buyer needed $143,507 to buy the same home in 2024.
A six-figure wage is required in 176 of 390 metropolitan statistical regions to purchase a property with a 10% down payment. The majority—150—are outside California, where housing prices are higher, and 64 are in non-coastal cities. Another 150 MSAs require $75,000–$99,999 salaries to buy a home. Only 30 metropolitan statistical regions required a six-figure salary to buy a property with a 10% down payment in 2019, whereas 43 required $75,000–$99,999.
“In five short years homeownership became unattainable for thousands of combinations of MSAs [metropolitan statistical areas] and occupations, from insurance sales agents in Akron, Ohio, to electrical power line installers and repairers in Worcester, Massachusetts,” the authors stated. Many others, including public safety telecommunicators in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and news analysts, reporters, and journalists in Wichita, Kansas, could not afford a simple two-bedroom apartment.
More report findings:
Homeownership costs rose: The income needed to buy has quadrupled in 125 MSAs since 2019.
Rentals are getting pricier: Nearly half (47%) of monitored occupations cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment, up from 38% in 2019. 32 MSAs require salaries above $75,000 to comfortably rent.
Wages are significantly behind costs: Even wealthy professionals are losing housing. Dentists in Seattle and civil engineers in Asheville cannot afford a median home despite earning nearly $100,000.
AFSP’s Hard Hat Courage Initiative Reaches 188,000 Construction Workers
Original Source: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Reaches Over 188,000 Construction Workers with Hard Hat Courage Initiative
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) today announced that its Hard Hat Courage initiative has educated and raised awareness of suicide prevention among 188,000 craft and construction industry professionals since May 2025, including over 165,000 during Construction Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 8-12, 2025). The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), the leading provider of construction education for industry and career and technical education programs, and Construction Suicide Prevention Week, a Kansas City-based nonprofit founded to raise awareness of mental health issues and suicide prevention, have partnered with AFSP to increase access to its resources and programs.
AFSP, Bechtel, and a coalition of leading construction organizations launched Hard Hat Courage, 15 new construction-specific suicide prevention resources, and HardHatCourage.com to save lives by making mental health as important as physical safety on and off jobsites. Over 360 suicide prevention tools have been downloaded since the site’s Aug. 19 launch.
“Confronting suicide in the construction community through this work is one of AFSP’s strategic priorities because of its high rates of suicide relative to other industries,” said Robert Gebbia, CEO of AFSP. “Together, every organization in our Hard Hat Courage initiative coalition will add to the impact, equipping even more of the construction workforce with the tools to practice self-care and support each other and helping construction companies to prevent and address suicide in their industry.”
According to the Center for Disease Control, 53.3 per 100,000 construction workers commit suicide, the second highest rate in the US. Hard Hat Courage stresses communities on and off the jobsite by delivering educational resources, workplace tools, and statewide community events through AFSP’s 73 chapters and construction partnerships. Connection protects against suicide.
The newly announced agreement with NCCER makes AFSP’s Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry available through NCCER’s learning management system. Over 330,000 construction workers learned skills to advance their professions and strengthen their communities through NCCER programs in 2024.
“The construction industry has a long tradition of looking out for one another, and it has become clear that the responsibility of supporting your fellow crew member is more important than ever,” said Boyd Worsham, NCCER CEO. “Our goal has always been to train craft professionals for life-changing careers. Partnering with AFSP expands that mission. We want to help craft workers care for themselves and each other for safe, rewarding jobs.”
Hard Hat Courage plans to educate 500,000 U.S. craft professionals over the next five years through its increasing network of industry collaborations. AFSP and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) partnered earlier this year to offer suicide prevention programming at AEM industry trade fairs and virtual training for construction workers. The Utility Expo, North America’s premier trade fair for utility professionals and construction builders, will feature AFSP’s suicide prevention services on October 7-9, 2025.
AFSP has expanded its sponsorship of Construction Suicide Prevention Week by partnering with the nonprofit that initiated the awareness week in 2020. Construction Suicide Prevention Week promotes education, activism, and support to minimize construction suicides. For the 2025 Construction Suicide Prevention Week, AFSP, along with the Hard Hat Courage CEO Advisory Council and its partners, will:
Held silent stand-downs at 1,222 jobsites to remember suicide victims, including almost 165,000 craft and industry professionals.
Introduced Heavy Hat Courage tools, including Talk Saves Lives: Construction and the first dozen of more than 50 Toolbox Talks for this year.
AFSP trained 92 employees to facilitate Talk Saves Lives: Construction at their businesses and held three free, public virtual sessions with over 100 participants. Since May 2025, 1,300 craft and construction workers have engaged in Talk Saves Lives: Construction.
CEO Advisory Council firms—Bechtel, Clark Construction, DEWALT, DPR Construction, Fluor, Kiewit, NABTU, Skanska, and Turner—and AFSP’s newly expanded industry partnerships make up the Hard Hat Courage initiative coalition. AFSP certifies Clark Construction to administer its Talk Saves Lives: Construction educational program, and the company serves on the CEO Advisory Council.
About Hard Hat Courage
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the nation’s largest suicide prevention organization, and Bechtel, a trusted global engineering, construction, and project management partner, launched Hard Hat Courage. Based on AFSP’s evidence-based preventative methods and Bechtel’s decades of global expertise delivering famous projects, Hard Hat Courage was created to address construction’s high suicide rate and shift the sector toward mental health and physical safety. The scaled-up cross-industry effort will provide construction-specific mental health and suicide prevention resources and education to all companies. Learn about Hard Hat Courage at HardHatCourage.com.
American Suicide Prevention Foundation
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention aims to save lives and provide hope to individuals touched by suicide, including those who have lost somebody. AFSP promotes mental health awareness through public education and community initiatives, researches and advocates for suicide prevention, and supports suicide survivors. AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico and programs and events nationwide. CEO Robert Gebbia is based in New York, and its Policy and Advocacy Office is in Washington, D.C. Explore AFSP’s latest Annual Report and join the suicide prevention debate on social media via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
CEO Advisory Council Views
In construction, we face some of the world’s hardest issues, but none more vital or personal than preserving our people’s mental health. The solution isn’t simple. We need sustained leadership, brave conversations, and practical help. Construction Suicide Prevention Week shows we can be powerful. Leaders must care and create a culture where no one struggles alone. “Thousands across our sector, including our CEO Advisory Council partners, are focused and determined to advance this cause.”
DPR Construction CEO and Leadership Team Member George Pfeffer: “Suicide Prevention Month emphasizes effective assistance. Our employee resources, benefits, and new AFSP-partnered opportunities foster connection and reinforce that aid is always available. No one should confront life’s hardships alone.”
Kiewit Corporation President and CEO Rick Lanoha: “Our industry’s mental health and suicide prevention needs have never been greater. It’s why Kiewit works to raise awareness, reduce stigmas, and provide solid resources to aid our people and their families. We’re delighted to support Hard Hat Courage, the CEO Advisory Council, and Construction Suicide Prevention Week. These and other activities are advancing mental health. Every victory is a step forward as we get attention in the field, workplace, and home.”
North American Building Trades Union President Sean McGarvey: “Safety and mental health have always come first in our field. NABTU prioritizes mental wellness as much as physical safety. With CPWR, AFSP, and our labor and management allies, we’re studying what causes suicides in our business, ripping down silence, and providing resources to all workers. We’re showing that caring for each other is as vital as the job to prevent suicide because everyone deserves to go home secure in body and mind.”
Stanley Black & Decker President and CEO Don Allan Jr.: “DEWALT prioritizes safety and empowers expert craftsmen. Today, we know that construction safety requires caring for every tradesperson’s well-being. Suicide prevention is essential to this holistic strategy. Our commitment to supporting skilled workers includes raising awareness and investing in mental health programs with our partners. We construct a safer, stronger future for all tradespeople to uphold our safety history.”
Peter Davoren, Turner Construction Company Chairman & CEO: “This endeavor shows a powerful and caring industry working together to help one another. Our safety culture includes mental health and well-being on jobsites and in workplaces. Sharing tools and having conversations are making everyone in our industry feel supported, connected, and never alone. Saving lives and treating everyone with dignity are the goals.”
AFSP Partner Views
AEM President and CEO Megan Tanel: “We value mental wellness as much as physical health. Through our cooperation with AFSP and the Hard Hat Courage initiative, we’re delighted to promote suicide prevention in our profession at trade exhibitions, job sites, and training programs. We’re creating a culture where asking for help is brave, and saving a life shows the community’s power.”
APM President & CEO Jake Locklear: “APM safety includes mental wellness as well as hard hats and harnesses. We must address suicide prevention, one of our industry’s biggest issues.”
Angela Crawford, CSPW Executive Director: “We want Construction Suicide Prevention Week to kindle a fire or link industry professionals to AFSP’s outstanding work. A tough attitude in the construction sector prevents many workers from recognizing a problem because mental health isn’t acknowledged. We want to change that and make workers more comfortable pointing out problems or supporting colleagues in tough times. We wish to recommend resources and aid to workers.”
Summary of today’s construction news
In summary, in 125 MSAs, the income requirement to buy a home has increased by 100% since 2019. Renting is becoming more and more expensive: A two-bedroom apartment is out of reach for over half of the monitored occupations (47% vs. 38%). A salary of more than $75,000 is required to comfortably rent in 32 MSAs. Costs vastly outstrip wages: People with high salaries aren’t the only ones having trouble finding a place to live. Dentists in Seattle can’t afford a typically priced house, and civil engineers in Asheville can’t afford one despite making almost $100,000.
On the other hand, A newly announced collaboration between AFSP and NCCER has made AFSP’s Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry accessible through NCCER’s LMS. More than 330,000 students from all areas of the construction industry participated in NCCER programs in 2024, enhancing their employability and contributing to the betterment of their local communities.
