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PHY4: Housing problems: Percentage of households with children ages 0–17 that reported housing problems by type of problem, selected years 1978–2005a

excel icon PHY4 Excel Table

Household type 1978 1983 1989 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005
All households with children
Number of households (in millions) 32.3 33.6 35.4 35.4 37.2 37.0 37.5 38.6 38.4 38.7
Percent with
Any problems 30 33 33 34 36 36 35 36.1 36.9 40.3
Inadequate housingb 9 8 9 7 7 7 7 6.7 5.8 5.4
Crowded housing 9 8 7 6 7 7 7 6.3 6.2 6.3
Cost burden greater than 30 percentc 15 21 24 26 28 28 28 28.5 30.1 34.2
Cost burden greater than 50 percentc 6 11 9 11 12 12 11 11.2 11.5 14.5
Severe problemsd 8 12 10 11 12 11 11 11.1 11.3 13.8
Very-low-income renter households with childrene
Number of households(in millions) 4.2 5.1 5.9 6.6 6.5 6.4 6.2 6.0 6.4 6.5
Percent with
Any problems 79 83 77 75 77 82 80 79.4 77.5 82.2
Inadequate housingb 18 18 18 14 13 16 15 15.4 12.8 12.2
Crowded housing 22 18 17 14 17 17 17 15.4 14.5 14.2
Cost burden greater than 30 percentc 59 68 67 67 69 73 70 69.5 70.4 75.9
Cost burden greater than 50 percentc 31 38 36 38 38 41 37 37.7 36.2 44.9
Severe problemsd 33 42 31 33 31 32 29 30.2 29.0 35.9
Rental assistancef 23 23 33 33 33 31 31 30.3 28.1 27.7
a Data are available for 1978, 1983, 1989, and biennially since 1993. All data are weighted using the decennial Census that preceded the date of their collection. Because of questionnaire changes, data since 1997 on families with rental assistance, priority problems, and severe physical problems are not directly comparable with earlier data. See Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2003). Trends in worst case needs for housing, 1978–1999: A report to Congress on worst case housing needs–Plus update on worst case needs in 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
b Inadequate housing refers to housing with "moderate or severe physical problems." The most common problems meeting the definition are lacking complete plumbing for exclusive use, having unvented room heaters as the primary heating equipment, and multiple upkeep problems such as water leakage, open cracks or holes, broken plaster, or signs of rats. See definition in Appendix A of the American Housing Survey summary volume, American Housing Survey for the United States: 2005, Current Housing Reports, Series H150/05, U.S. Census Bureau, 2006.
c Cost burden refers to expenditures on housing and utilities that exceed the specified proportion, 30 percent or 50 percent, of reported income.
d Severe problems: For households not reporting housing assistance, cost burden is greater than 50 percent of income or severe physical problems are present.
e Very-low-income households are those with incomes at or below one-half the median income, adjusted for family size, in a geographic area.
f Renters are either in a public housing project or have a subsidy (i.e., pay a lower rent because a Federal, State, or local government program pays part of the cost of construction, mortgage, or operating expenses).
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, American Housing Survey. Tabulated by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.