Housing affordability and the teacher workforce: the case of Hobart, Australia

Education systems globally are experiencing teacher shortages. While substantial policy and scholarly attention have been directed at supply and demand and working conditions for teachers, less attention has been paid to ensuring that teachers can afford to live near the schools where they are most needed. Housing issues, both scarcity and unaffordability, are significantly impacting teachers with cascading effect throughout school systems. Put simply, teaching salaries have been unable to keep up with housing and transportation costs, especially in cities. Drawing on the case study of the Australian city of Hobart (capital of the state of Tasmania), this paper reports on a study integrating housing and education data to establish the impact of costs. Findings indicate a negative association between housing prices and commuting distance. The results do not imply that rising housing prices are universally beneficial for teachers. Rather, they highlight teacher workforce challenges as a spatial problem. Addressing teacher shortages requires attention not only to supply and demand and working conditions, but also the proximal housing of teachers.