Boone County is part of a 25,000-unit housing shortage across Northern Kentucky that local leaders and economic development officials say threatens the pipeline of workers for the county's growing logistics and manufacturing sector.
The figure, drawn from 2024 Kentucky Housing Corporation data and reported by WCPO on Aug. 6, covers Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties combined. The Northern Kentucky Housing Blueprint, published by the NKY Chamber, projects the region will need 6,650 new homes in the next five years to support economic development, roughly 1,330 units per year. The largest gap is in workforce housing. The region needs approximately 3,000 more units for households earning between $15 and $25 per hour, with monthly housing costs between $500 and $1,500, according to regional housing data reported by Link NKY.
The stakes are concrete in Boone County. Four employers alone announced a combined $177 million in investment and 1,875 new jobs in 2025, according to the BE NKY Growth Partnership's annual report: Jabil ($105 million, 900 jobs), Stord (more than $40 million, 500 jobs in Hebron), Bakery Express Midwest (more than $20 million, 225 jobs) and L2 Aviation ($12.2 million, 250 jobs). BE NKY's report noted that advanced manufacturers in the region consistently identified workforce development as a top challenge.
Those workers need somewhere to live.
Boone County's Fiscal Court took one step toward expanding supply on March 24, voting 4-0 to adopt [Ordinance 2026-02](https://www.boonecountyky.org/Documents/Government/County Ordinances/Proposed and Enacted Ordinances/2026-02 Mfg Home Text Admendment.pdf). The measure amended zoning regulations to treat qualified manufactured homes the same as single-family homes, complying with Kentucky House Bill 160, which took effect July 1.
Florence Mayor Julie Aubuchon and City Administrator Joshua Hunt serve on the Northern Kentucky Area Development District Housing Steering Committee, which has identified the same regional housing challenges, according to Florence city meeting minutes from a December 2025 special meeting.
Regional leaders also launched the Northern Kentucky Housing Fund in January, a $25 million revolving loan fund to support housing development across all three counties.
"You can't attract new businesses, and you can't keep populations if they have nowhere to live," NKU political science professor Shauna Reilly told The Northerner in a July 28 report on the housing crunch.
Covington on Aug. 6 installed the first two of 15 planned modular workforce homes on Pleasant Street, priced between $250,000 and $260,000 for income-qualified buyers. Speaking about that project, real estate agent Devin Kroner of Epique Realty said cities need to step in because private builders can't build at the price points needed while staying profitable.
"The cities at this point have to lead the way, because again, the builders are just, they have to be able to make a profit or they're going to go out of business," Kroner told WCPO. "But they're not building the inventory that we need."
Boone County has not announced a next public hearing or policy step specific to the housing gap. The $25 million regional fund and the county's manufactured-housing ordinance remain the most concrete local tools on the table.
