There’s not enough housing for Galveston’s growing workforce. Here’s why.

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As Galveston’s promise to rebuild more than 500 public housing units destroyed during Hurricane Ike nears completion, a new housing problem is impacting Galveston Island.

Galveston’s workforce is growing. The island’s population, however, is not.

More than half of the island’s workforce does not live on the island, mainly due to housing affordability, a study by housing nonprofit VISION Galveston found.

Since 2010, median home values have increased by 50 percent and rent by 30 percent, yet average wages have not followed that trend, the group found. As a result, the island’s workforce has looked elsewhere for housing.