About This Report
This report aggregates nationally available data to document and illustrate local housing needs. Visualizations provide comparable data for broader geographic areas including at the state and national level. Reports for the metropolitan area are also available.
Much of the national data is from the American Community Survey (ACS) which is conducted annually, and published roughly one year after collection. This report uses the Census's 5-year estimates which average five years of ACS survey data and so may not fully reflect the latest trends. Annual ACS estimates may be more current, although they are subject to larger margins of error. Local data sources can also help illuminate short-term trends not apparent in Census surveys. Learn more about Using Locally Available Data, Interviews, and surveys to Supplement Nationally Available Data in a Housing Needs Assessment.
Each of the visualizations in the report are downloadable in chart or image form. Most visualizations in this report are interactive, and will display additional detail when users tap or hover over bars or data points. In some cases, this detail includes percentage changes to provide trend information.
Unless otherwise noted, all race categories in the report include people of Hispanic ethnicity, and all categories described as “Hispanic” include Hispanic people of any race.
Demographics
Examining the demographics of your locality is key to understanding and addressing the housing needs of your community. Data on age, racial composition, disability, and socioeconomic status can provide insight into who lives in the jurisdiction and inform decisions about how to meet diverse needs and allocate resources where most needed. Examining demographic data is also important for identifying mobility trends among different populations into and out of the jurisdiction.
Estimated Population
Population By Age
Race and Ethnicity
Racial Composition
Ethnic Composition
Poverty Level and Trend
Poverty Level and Trend by Race and Ethnicity
Share of Population With A Disability
Rental Affordability
A healthy housing market provides a diverse range of housing options, including rental and for-sale homes and homes affordable to people of different incomes. An examination of the percentage of households that rent their homes, and the characteristics of these renter households (age, income, and cost-burden) can help jurisdictions understand the needs of renters and the extent to which policy changes may be needed to help ensure those needs are met. By examining how the data change over time, jurisdictions can spot trends, such as increased or decreased rental affordability. Data at the MSA and state levels provide benchmarks that can be helpful for interpreting the jurisdiction’s data. Learn how to use the tools on LocalHousingSolutions.org to increase the affordability of rental housing. In addition to developing new dedicated affordable rental homes, it is important to consider how both to preserve existing dedicated affordable rental homes and to preserve unsubsidized rental homes that are nevertheless affordable. Since the overall supply of homes for rent can affect rent levels, localities interested in making rental homes more affordable also may wish to focus on reducing barriers to the creation of new supply using tools included within the "reducing development costs and barriers" section of the Local Housing Solutions policy framework.
Share of Renters By Age
Share of Renter Households Moderately or Severely Cost Burdened
Share of Renter Households Moderately or Severely Cost Burdened by Race/Ethnicity
Share of Renter Households that are Cost Burdened across Income Ranges
Distribution of Renter Households and Affordable Rental Units by Income
Comparison of Trends in Rent and Income (Indexed)
Change in Stock of Rental Units below $500 and $1,000 a Month
Homeownership Affordability
An examination of the homeownership rate and affordability of owner-occupied homes is important for developing a strategic approach to homeownership. Localities with homeownership rates that are low relative to the region or state may want to consider policies to encourage homeownership. There are also several policy options to bring homeownership within reach of low- and moderate-income households, such as community land trusts, deed-restricted homeownership, housing counseling, downpayment assistance, and shared appreciation mortgages. In addition to helping renters become homeowners, many localities focus on helping existing homeowners stay in their homes through policies including foreclosure prevention and property tax relief. Since the overall supply of homes for sale can affect home prices, localities interested in making homes more affordable also may wish to focus on reducing barriers to the creation of new supply using tools included within the "reducing development costs and barriers" section of the Local Housing Solutions policy framework.
Homeownership Rate
Homeownership Rate by Race/Ethnicity
Homeownership Rate Trend by Race/Ethnicity
Homeownership Rate by Age
Comparison of Trends in Median Home Values and Median Family Incomes
Median Home Value Versus Median Family Income (Indexed)
Distribution of Reported Home Values
Distribution of Homeowners with Mortgages by Income
Share of Owner Households Moderately or Severely Cost Burdened
Dedicated Affordable Housing
There are two main types of affordable housing: (a) dedicated affordable housing that comes with binding rent and/or income restrictions to ensure it is occupied by low-income households and (b) market affordable housing – units that rent or sell at an affordable price but have no binding restrictions. This section focuses on the first type, providing information about the amount and location of dedicated affordable housing in the jurisdiction. Surveying the landscape of existing affordable housing in the jurisdiction can help clarify gaps left by federal subsidies and identify the extent to which existing dedicated affordable housing units may be at risk of loss from the subsidized inventory as federal regulatory agreements expire. The first of the four pillars within the Local Housing Solutions policy framework focuses on policies that seek to create or preserve dedicated affordable housing.
Federally Subsidized Housing Units 2021
Average Neighborhood Poverty Rate for Federally Subsidized Housing by Subsidized Housing Type
Location of Federally Subsidized Properties 2018
Federally Subsidized Housing Units by Expiration 2018
Alignment of Housing Supply and Demand
Increasing the overall supply of housing so that it keeps pace with rising demand is an important strategy for promoting affordability. The second pillar of the Local Housing Solutions policy framework features policies that can help localities reduce barriers to new development and increase supply. These policies include, for example, zoning changes to increase residential density or facilitate the use of lower-cost housing types, such as accessory dwelling units, micro-units, multifamily housing and manufactured housing, streamlining of the permitting processes for development approval, and tax incentives for new construction and substantial rehabilitations.
Local data on housing starts are needed to understand the extent to which new construction is keeping pace with job growth. Lacking access to this type of local administrative data, this section focuses on nationally available data that provide clues regarding the extent to which the production of housing is keeping pace with demand.
Relative Growth of Population, Employment and Housing Stock (Indexed)
Change in Rental Vacancy Rates
Housing Stock Characteristics
A thorough understanding of the characteristics of the housing stock can help jurisdictions identify and anticipate issues with the stock that may need to be addressed, such as poor housing quality or flooding risks, and identify mismatches between the types of housing units available and the needs of the population. Learn how to improve housing quality and safety.
Flood Risk
The map below illustrates areas of high and moderate flood risk in the report area. ‘High Flood Risk’ translates to a 1.0% annual chance flood risk, while ‘Moderate Flood Risk’ indicates 0.2% annual chance flood event. These maps are built from the most recent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood risk data. Explore ways to enhance resilience to flooding and other climate-related threats.
Comparison of Counts of Small Units and One- to Two-Person Households
Neighborhood Variations
Neighborhood-level data can illuminate patterns of poverty, segregation, and access to resources that are important to consider and address as part of an overall community development strategy and in order to affirmatively further fair housing. Learn more about the importance of analyzing neighborhood disparities and how to address them. Also, read about how to affirmatively further fair housing by, for example, increasing affordable housing in resource-rich areas and boosting investments in low-income neighborhoods.
Homeownership Rate by Neighborhood
Poverty Rate by Neighborhood
Race and Ethnicity by Neighborhood
Dissimilarity Index
Average Neighborhood Poverty Rate by Race/Ethnicity
Median Home Values By Neighborhood
Change in Median Home Value by Neighborhood
Median Rent By Neighborhood
Change in Median Rent by Neighborhood
Housing Stock for Older Adults
The data profiled in this section are designed to help jurisdictions understand the housing needs of older adults and the availability of small housing units that might meet the needs of older adults and others in one- and two-person households. Similar analyses can be done for other subgroups. Learn how to meet the housing needs of older adults and people with disabilities.
Housing Tenure by Age, 65+
The Population of Older Renters and the Supply of Smaller Rental Units
Older Adults Living in Poverty
Senior Poverty Over Time
Cost Burdened Senior Households
Racial Disparities in Housing
Many cities across the United States share a history of exclusionary and discriminatory housing policies. There is growing recognition of the continuing effects of these policies and practices, and of ways to counter resulting housing disparities. Disaggregating housing data by race and ethnicity can help policymakers and practitioners identify housing disparities in their communities and begin to design policies to address them.
Several measures of racial and ethnic disparities in housing are included in this report. This section highlights and consolidates these measures–which include variations in rental and homeowner affordability by race and ethnicity, and common measures of spatial disparities such as average neighborhood poverty rates and the dissimilarity index, which measures residential segregation. Learn more about the causes and consequences of segregation by race, ethnicity and income, and how some cities are taking steps to acknowledge and address them.
The following measures related to racial and ethnic disparities in housing are included in this report.
- Poverty Level and Trend by Race and Ethnicity
- Share of Renter Households Moderately or Severely Cost Burdened by Race and Ethnicity,
- Homeownership Rate by Race and Ethnicity,
- Homeownership Rate Trend by Race and Ethnicity,
- Average Neighborhood Poverty Rate for Federally Subsidized Housing by Subsidized Housing Type,
- Race and Ethnicity by Neighborhood,
- Dissimilarity Index,
- Average Neighborhood Poverty Rate by Race/Ethnicity,
End Notes
Share of Households Who Rent – Estimated percent of households (occupied housing units) that are renter occupied, between . A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence.
Predominant Race/Ethnicity – This data displays predominant racial or ethnic group, by percentage of the population in the group. Only predominant groups making up over 50% of a geography’s population are displayed. Data were obtained from the Census' American Community Survey estimates. Geographies for which no data were provided or for which the population was less than 10 are represented as having "Insufficient Data."
Indexed charts are built using a baseline year of ; each subsequent point-in-time estimate is calculated as a percentage change over the year .
Dollar amounts referenced in this report are nominal amounts at the year of data release, and are not adjusted for inflation.
PolicyMap's Terms of Use apply to the creation and use of this report.
Do you have a question about this report or underlying data? Ask the NYU Furman Housing Solutions Lab.