Introduction
Housing topics include basic counts, financial characteristics, occupancy characteristics, physical characteristics, and housing assistance.
There are several sources of housing data discussed here.
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS), a product of the U.S. Census Bureau, is an ongoing survey that collects information on the characteristics of the population. The data are available for small geographies and areas with small populations. ACS data is available on the Census Bureau’s search engine American Fact Finder.
Topics on housing included in the ACS are:
Financial characteristics
Occupancy characteristics
Year householder moved into unit
Physical characteristics
Decennial Census
The Decennial Census is the official count of the U.S. population and housing units that occurs every 10 years. Data is reported as of April 1 in the Census year.
Topics on housing included in the Decennial Census are:
The Decennial Census is the official count of the U.S. population and housing units that occurs every 10 years. Data is reported as of April 1 in the Census year.
Topics on housing included in the Decennial Census are:
American Housing Survey
The American Housing Survey (AHS) is sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey is the most comprehensive national housing survey in the United States. National data are collected every other year and metropolitan area data are collected on a rotating basis.
The AHS provides current information on a wide range of housing subjects, including size and composition of the nation’s housing inventory, vacancies, fuel usage, physical condition of housing units, characteristics of occupants, equipment breakdowns, home improvements, mortgages and other housing costs, people eligible for and beneficiaries of subsidized housing, home values, and characteristics of recent movers.
Access American Housing Survey data from the AHS Table Creator or on American Fact Finder.
US Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD USER provides interested researchers with access to data sets generated by HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research, including HUD median family income limits, housing assistance, housing discrimination, the HUD-insured multifamily housing stock, the public housing population and vacant housing.