IBM's Affordable Housing Project: 1935–49

​Have American Corporations built homes for their employees?

Yes. One example among many was IBM—International Business Machines—which, under the direction of Thomas J. Watson Sr., built homes for its employees through the Endicott Highlands Development Corporation from 1935–36 through 1947–49. The corporation was especially active after World War II in providing homes—at cost—for the corporation’s World War II veterans in the Endicott area.

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​Were the homes that IBM built affordable?

​Yes. In 1937, the average yearly pay for an hourly (non-salaried) IBM Endicott Employee was $1,913 or $160 a month to pay a $33 monthly installment on a $3,600 mortgage. Putting this into 2021 dollars, this would be a yearly salary of $38,000 or $3200 per month to pay a $650 monthly installment on a $71,000 mortgage.

​[See Footnote in the article: There were many other 20th Century home-building corporations]

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