Housing

Overview

While people often think of the Census as asking questions about people, the American Community Survey also gathers extensive data about the housing conditions of respondents, including whether they own or rent their home, how much they spend on housing, and the physical characteristics of homes. The ACS primarily reports housing data in tables with codes beginning with 25.

Most of the tables count the number of housing units for a given characteristic. However, a few tables estimate the number of people living in owned or rented housing units.

A housing unit is anything from a house to an apartment or even a boat if a person is currently living there.

Basic Counts

The Census provides a couple of tables which establish basic counts of housing units, as well as their occupancy status.

One table, B25006 provides estimates of the number of houseolders of different races.

Occupied and Unoccupied Housing Units

Vacancy

Every housing unit is recorded as either occupied or vacant. Some vacancies are market related, such as houses for sale or apartments for rent. Other housing units are seasonally vacant. Table B25004 (Vacancy Status) records the number of vacancies in each category. In 2021, tables were added to provide more insight into reasons for vacancy and duration of vacancy. These will only be available in the 1-year ACS for a few years, and data for smaller geographies may be missing.

Tenure

Occupied housing units in the ACS are split into two categories: renter-occupied and owner-occupied. This distinction is known as “tenure” (think “tenant”). There are dozens of tables in the primary "housing" category which crosstabulate tenure with other responses.

In addition to the "tenure" tables in the primary "housing" category, there are several linked to non-housing questions.

Housing Units and Costs

Value

The ACS records estimated selling prices for occupied housing units under “value”. Note that the values are calculated from self-reported estimates of occupied units and vacant units on the market. Therefore, estimates may become less reliable in a fluctuating or falling housing market.

For vacant units, the ACS uses "price asked" instead of "value".

Mortgage Status

Table B25081 (Mortgage Status) records the type of mortgage on owner-occupied housing units. This includes first mortgages, second mortgages and home equity loans. A simpler classification, “with/without”, is used in tables relating mortgage status to topics like real estate taxes, household income, and tenure.

Selected Monthly and Annual Owner Costs

Homeowners with and without mortgages have ongoing monthly costs, and the American Community Survey gathers data about these costs, which are reported in tables referring to "selected monthly owner costs." The costs are reported as either a percentage of the household income or the number of housing units in a monthly cost range such as “$1,250 to $1,499”. The selected costs used for these estimates are:

• payments for mortgages, or other debts on the property
• real estate taxes
• fire, hazard, and flood insurance
• utilities (electricity, gas, and water and sewer)
• fuel (oil, coal, kerosene, wood, etc)
• monthly condominium fees (when applicable)
• mobile home costs (when applicable)

In 2021, tables were added to catalog specific utility costs: monthly for electricity and gas, and annual for "water and sewer" and "other fuel" costs.

Rent

There are a large number of tables relating rent to other attributes of the housing unit or the householder. There are two main categories for rent, contract and gross. Contract rent is the monthly rent agreed to without adjustments for utilities or other payments. Gross rent is similar to selected monthly owner costs. It is the sum of contract rent and the average cost of the utilities (electricity, gas, and water and sewer) and fuel (oil, coal, kerosene, wood, etc).

Housing Characteristics

Structural Characteristics

A few tables provide general information about the structural characteristics of buildings where people live in a given geography.

Rooms and Bedrooms

The ACS records the number of rooms, and separately, the number of bedrooms for each housing unit, and provides some tables to relate those numbers to tenure and rent. Housing units with only one room are listed as having no bedrooms.

Facilities

The lack of complete facilities for housing units are recorded in two areas: kitchen and plumbing. A complete kitchen requires:

• a sink with a faucet
• a stove
• a refrigerator

• hot and cold running water
• a bathtub or shower

Selected Conditions

• incomplete plumbing or kitchens
• overcrowding
• 30% or more of the household income spent on rent or monthly owner costs