Characteristics of 

HUD-Assisted Renters and 

Their Units in 2011

December 2017
Characteristics of 

HUD-Assisted Renters and 

Their Units in 2011

Prepared for

U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development

Office of Policy Development & Research

Prepared by

Frederick J. Eggers

Econometrica, Inc.

December 2017
ii

Acknowledgments

Over the years, the author has participated in many studies using data from the American 

Housing Survey. In every instance, staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau have provided useful and often invaluable advice 

and help. This report has benefited from their assistance. The author owes particular thanks to 

David A. Vandenbroucke, a senior HUD economist who produced the Summary Tables, which 

depend on information not available to the general public.
iii

Contents

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... vi

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

HUD Rental Assistance Programs .............................................................................................. 1

Organization of the Report and Data Tables .............................................................................. 3

Source of the Data ....................................................................................................................... 4

Relationship to Other Studies ..................................................................................................... 4

The Big Picture ............................................................................................................................... 5

Location and Key Unit Characteristics ........................................................................................... 8

Regional and Metropolitan Location .......................................................................................... 8

Year Structure Built .................................................................................................................... 9

Number of Bedrooms ................................................................................................................ 10

Householder Characteristics ......................................................................................................... 12

Race and Ethnic Origin of Householder ................................................................................... 12

Age of Householder .................................................................................................................. 13

Education of Householder ........................................................................................................ 14

Years in Same Unit ................................................................................................................... 15

Household Characteristics ............................................................................................................ 18

Household Income .................................................................................................................... 18

Income Sources ......................................................................................................................... 19

Household Composition ........................................................................................................... 20

Household Size and Overcrowding .......................................................................................... 22

Households With a Disabled Member ...................................................................................... 23

Housing Cost as Percent of Income .......................................................................................... 23

Unit Quality and Tenant Satisfaction ............................................................................................ 26

Structure Type ........................................................................................................................... 26

Equipment Failures ................................................................................................................... 26

Selected Deficiencies ................................................................................................................ 28

Indices of Physical Problems .................................................................................................... 28

Tenant Satisfaction ................................................................................................................... 30

Recent Movers .......................................................................................................................... 30

Detailed Summary Tables ............................................................................................................. 33

References ..................................................................................................................................... 56
iv

Tables and Figures

Table 2-1: Trends in HUD-Assisted Rental Housing, Relative to Need ........................................ 6

Table 2-2: Trends in HUD-Assisted Housing by Program Type .................................................... 6

Table 3-1: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Region, 2011 ............................................. 8

Table 3-2: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Metropolitan/Nonmetropolitan Status, 

2011................................................................................................................................................. 9

Table 3-3: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Region and by 

Metropolitan/Nonmetropolitan Status ............................................................................................ 9

Table 3-4: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Year Built, 2011 ..................................... 10

Table 3-5: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Number of Bedrooms, 2011 ................... 11

Table 3-6: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Number of Bedrooms .. 11

Table 4-1: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Race and Ethnicity of Householder, 2011 .... 12

Table 4-2: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Race and Ethnicity of 

Householder .................................................................................................................................. 13

Table 4-3: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Age of Householder, 2011 ...................... 13

Table 4-4: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Age of Householder .... 14

Table 4-5: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Education Attainment of Householder by 

Race and Ethnicity, 2011 .............................................................................................................. 15

Table 4-6: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Householder Years in Unit by Race, 

Ethnicity, and Elderly and Disability Status, 2011 ....................................................................... 16

Table 4-7: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Years in Unit by 

Householder .................................................................................................................................. 17

Table 5-1: Median Income of Households by Assistance Status, 2011 ........................................ 18

Table 5-2: Trends in Median Income of Households by Assistance Status ................................. 19

Table 5-3: Income Sources for Renter Households by Assistant Status and by 

Elderly/Nonelderly, 2011 .............................................................................................................. 20

Table 5-4: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Household Composition, 2011 ............... 21

Table 5-5: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Number of Children in Household, 2011... 21

Table 5-6: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Household Composition ... 22

Table 5-7: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Household Size and the Incidence of 

Overcrowding, 2011 ..................................................................................................................... 22

Table 5-8: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Disability Status of Members, 2011 ....... 23

Table 5-9: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Ratio of Housing Costs to Income, 2011 ... 23

Table 5-10: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Ratio of Housing Costs to 

Income........................................................................................................................................... 25
v 

Table 6-1: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Structure Type, 2011 .............................. 26

Table 6-2: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Breakdowns in Housing Systems, 2011 . 27

Table 6-3: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Selected Deficiencies, 2011 .................... 28

Table 6-4: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Indices of Physical Problems, 2011 ........ 29

Table 6-5: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Indices of Physical Problems .. 30

Table 6-6: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Tenant Ratings as Best or Worst, 2011 .. 30

Table 6-7: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Percent of Recent Movers, 2011 ............. 31

Table 6-8: Distribution of Recent Movers Into HUD-Assisted Housing by Key Reasons Given 

for Move, 2011.............................................................................................................................. 31

Table 6-9: Distribution of Recent Movers Into HUD-Assisted Housing by Comparison of 

Current and Previous Home and Neighborhood, 2011 ................................................................. 32

Summary Table 1. 2011 Structural Characteristics ...................................................................... 34

Summary Table 2. 2011 Householder Characteristics .................................................................. 36

Summary Table 3. 2011 Household Characteristics ..................................................................... 38

Summary Table 4. 2011 Unit Conditions ..................................................................................... 42

Summary Table 5. 2011 Tenant Opinions .................................................................................... 43

Summary Table 6. Breakdown of Householder and Household Characteristics by Race, 

Ethnicity, Age, and Disability Status ............................................................................................ 46

Figure 1. Renters—Eligibility and Housing Assistance ................................................................. 7
vi

Executive Summary

The 2011 American Housing Survey (AHS) included a supplemental survey of rental units 

receiving subsidies from programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD). In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau used addresses provided by HUD to 

identify other units in its regular AHS sample that are subsidized by HUD. With the 

supplemental sample and the address matches, the 2011 AHS contains 4,490 assisted sample 

units. This report uses information on those units to characterize the 4.5 million rental units 

assisted by HUD in 2011.

The 2013 AHS also contained the supplement survey of assisted units and plus address matches 

similar to those that previously had been done for the 1989, 1991, 1993, 2007, 2009, and 2011 

AHS surveys. This report uses information from all these efforts to analyze how the HUDassisted rental stock has changed during the past three decades. Because separate reports are 

available for all but the 2007 effort, this Executive Summary focuses on the characteristics of the 

HUD-assisted units and households in 2011, highlighting occasionally how HUD rental 

assistance has evolved.

HUD Programs

Since 1937, HUD and its predecessor agencies have run a number of rental subsidy programs.

These programs fall into two broad categories—project-based assistance and tenant-based 

assistance. In project-based assistance, the subsidy goes to the housing unit, and households 

apply for admission to those units. Public housing is the oldest of these programs. In this report, 

we group the other project-based programs into one category, privately owned project based. In 

tenant-based assistance, households apply for the subsidy and then search for a unit that will 

accept the subsidy. The Housing Choice Voucher program is the tenant-based assistance

program.

In 2011, the United States had 38.8.2 million renter households. According to the AHS, 19.7

million of these households qualified based on income for assistance through one of HUD’s

rental assistance programs. Combined, public housing, housing choice vouchers, and privately 

owned HUD-assisted housing served 4.2 million households, 21.1 percent of those eligible.

During the 1991-to-2011 period, the number of renter households grew from 33.4 million to 38.9

million, an increase of 16 percent. During the same period, the number of households eligible for 

housing assistance increased 22 percent, although the number of HUD-assisted units increased 

only 3 percent. Therefore, the percentage of the eligible households receiving assistance fell 

from 24.9 percent in 1991 to 22.1 percent in 2011.

During the 1991-to-2011 period, the number of HUD-assisted units increased by roughly 

400,000, but the program mix changed dramatically. The voucher program’s share grew from 

28.3 percent in 1991 to 48.7 percent in 2011. The privately owned assisted share fell from 43.3 

to 27.7 percent, and the public housing share fell from 28.4 to 23.7 percent.

The shift in program mix proceeded smoothly throughout the period. The number of eligible 

households fluctuated more, notably increasing by 3.2 million households between 2007 and 

2011.
vii

Location and Unit Size

This report is interested mainly in who receives HUD assistance and in the assistance provided.

More than one-half of the 2011 assisted units are project-based units, and the percentage of 

project-based units was higher in previous years. Project-based units are clumps of capital in 

specific locations that last many years. Who receives assistance is dependent on where the 

programs operate and the types of units provided.

When compared with either all renter households or all renter households eligible for assistance 

(including those already assisted), HUD assistance in 2011 was more concentrated in the Northeast 

and less concentrated in the West. Only 20 percent of all renters and 21 percent of eligible renters 

lived in the Northeast, but 28 percent of HUD-assisted housing was in the Northeast. In 2011, the 

West contained 27 percent of all renters and 26 percent of eligible renters but only 20 percent of 

HUD-assisted households. The shares of HUD-assisted renters in the Midwest and South are similar

to the geographic distributions of all renter households and all income-eligible renter households.

The regional distribution of public housing, the oldest HUD-assisted housing program, drives 

this imbalance. Public housing authorities also administer most vouchers, the newest HUD 

program. The voucher program has a regional distribution that is close to that of all renter 

households but still has a higher percentage in the Northeast and a lower percentage in the West.

Overall, HUD-assisted housing is slightly more concentrated in metropolitan areas and slightly 

less concentrated in nonmetropolitan areas than either all renter households or all income-eligible 

renter households. Within metropolitan areas, HUD-assisted housing is more concentrated in 

central cities and less concentrated in suburbs than either all renter households or all incomeeligible renter households. The central city-suburb disparity is most pronounced in public 

housing, but the privately owned housing programs also exhibit this imbalance. Once again, the 

voucher program presents the distribution closest to that of all renter households or all incomeeligible renter households.

Despite the growth in the voucher program, the overall distribution of HUD-assisted housing has 

changed little in the past 24 years. The percentage of assisted housing in suburbs has increased 

slightly, accompanied by a slight decrease in the percentage in central cities. The percentage 

outside of metropolitan areas has declined over time.

The number of bedrooms in an assisted unit determines the size of the household that can be 

served. Overall, HUD-assisted housing has a higher percentage of one-bedroom units and a 

lower percentage of two-bedroom units than the percentage among all renter households or all 

income-eligible renter households. This disparity is sharpest among privately owned subsidized 

housing and probably results from a focus on elderly households among several of the programs 

in this category (including both older Section 202 direct loans with project-based Section 8 

assistance and newer Section 8 capital grant projects built after 1990) and from the preferences 

of developers in the regular Section 8 program. Public housing displays a similar distribution of 

unit sizes but to a lesser degree. Not surprisingly, the bedroom distribution among voucher units 

closely resembles the distribution among all renters.

The combined bedroom distribution for all three HUD-assisted housing programs has definitely 

shifted over time. The percentage of units with three or four or more bedrooms increased from 

24 percent in 1989 to 30 percent in 2011 despite a decline in the number of large families. The 

percentage of one-bedroom units decreased from 39 to 35 percent.
viii

Householder and Household Characteristics

The Census Bureau characterizes some households using data on all household members, 

providing information such as household size, the presence or absence of children, or family 

status. For other characteristics, such as age or race, the Census Bureau takes these characteristics

from one individual, the householder. The householder is one of the responsible members of the 

household who is competent to answer questions about the household. The next few paragraphs 

start with householder characteristics and then move on to household characteristics.

The percentage of HUD-assisted units with Black householders in 2011 was 43.8 percent, although

the percentage of all income-eligible renter households with Black householders was 25.7 percent. 

The differentials were greatest for the public housing and voucher programs, in which Black 

householders occupied 50.2 and 42.9 percent of units, respectively. With respect to ethnicity, the 

percentage of all HUD-assisted households with Hispanic householders is smaller than the 

percentage of income-eligible households with Hispanic householders (17.8 versus 22.3 percent).

The percentage of households with Black householders rose sharply in 2009; the percentage of 

units with Hispanic householders rose between 1993 and 2003, reflecting in part the rising 

Hispanic share of the population.

Combined, HUD-assisted housing programs were serving households with elderly householders 

at a rate greater than their share of the population of income-eligible renter households (25.0

versus 17.4 percent). The percentage of households with elderly householders was particularly 

high among units in privately owned subsidized housing (40.3 percent). The voucher program 

served elderly people at a rate (17.0 percent) similar to their share of income-eligible renter 

households. As the relative importance of the voucher program increased over time, the share of 

all HUD-assisted units with elderly householders fell relatively steadily from 35 percent in 1989 

to 28 percent in 2011.

Because housing assistance is not an entitlement, one might expect households receiving 

assistance to be reluctant to move if moving means giving up assistance. Approximately 19

percent of public housing households have householders who lived in the unit for more than 12

years compared with 11.4 percent among income-eligible renter households. The voucher 

program has the most turnover; for example, only 10.1 percent of householders have lived in 

their units more than 12 years, slightly less than all income-eligible householders. Among all 

households, the differences in turnover across race and ethnicity are minor, but elderly 

householders and householders with a disabled person in the household display lower turnover.

The same patterns are apparent among householders in the assisted housing programs.

Because the AHS reports data on years in units for assisted units in 5-year intervals, one can 

compare only the 1991 and 2011 studies. Turnover was less in 2011 than in in 1991; that is, 

fewer householders had moved in within the past 2 years and more had lived in their units for 12

years or more than in 1991.

Eligibility for assisted housing is based primarily on household income. In 2011, the median 

income of all renters nationally was $28,000, based on AHS data. Households in HUD programs 

had median incomes substantially less than that of all renters. The median income of voucher 

recipients was 42.6 percent of that for all renters, and the ratios were even less in public housing 

(36.7 percent) and privately owned subsidized housing (42.6 percent). Individually, HUD 

programs generally serve households from the lower end of the distribution of renter households.
ix

HUD-assisted households differ substantially from other households in how they obtain their 

income. Only 39.4 percent of HUD-assisted households have wage and salary income compared 

with 55.8 percent of income-eligible renter households and 72.6 percent of all renters. Among 

elderly households, the percentage receiving social security income differs little between assisted 

renters and either eligible renters or all renters. However, the percentage of elderly households 

receiving income from private pensions or survivor benefits varies by assistance status. Only 

17.4 percent of elderly assisted households receive income from these sources compared with 

22.4 percent among eligible renters and 31.8 percent among all renters. The income source 

information reinforces the inference drawn from the median income ratios that HUD programs 

serve the poorer of the poor. For example, 13.0 percent of HUD-assisted households reported 

receiving welfare compared with 8.0 percent of income-eligible households and 4.6 percent of all 

renter households. In addition, 52.7 percent of HUD-assisted households reported receiving food 

stamps compared with 32.7 percent of income-eligible households and 17.4 percent of all renter 

households.

Household composition provides further evidence that HUD-assisted housing programs serve a 

clientele different from the typical renter household. In 2011, 26.7 percent of renter households 

consisted of married couple households, and the percentage among all income-eligible renter 

households was 20.1 percent, whereas the percentage across HUD programs ranged between 

10.6 and 11.3 percent. With the exception of the privately owned housing program, HUDassisted housing serves households with children at a higher rate than their share of the 

population. Overall, 44.1 percent of assisted households have children compared with 35.6

percent of all renter households. Slightly more than one-half of voucher households contain 

children under 18. In addition, the percentage of households with three or more children is higher 

in public housing (15.1 percent) and the voucher program (15.9 percent) than among all incomeeligible renter households (10.8 percent).

Despite observed program differences and the change in program mix over time, virtually no 

change has occurred during the past 24 years in the type of households served by all three HUD 

programs combined.

HUD-assisted housing serves households with one or more disabled members at a rate (37.7

percent) substantially higher than the rate among either income-eligible renter households (26.0

percent) or all renter households (18.6 percent). The privately owned assisted housing programs 

contained the highest percentage of households with a disabled member, 41.4 percent.

Finally, rent-to-income ratio data from the 2011 AHS clearly illustrate why housing assistance is 

needed. Among income-eligible renter households, 61 percent have excessive rent burdens; that 

is, ratios greater than 40 percent. Excessive rent burdens affect 36 percent of HUD-assisted 

households, a rate less than that for all renter households (39 percent). By the same rent-toincome measure, the HUD-assisted housing programs have made housing more affordable for 

clients. Nearly 60 percent of all HUD renter households have ratios less than or equal to 34 

percent compared with 20 percent of income-eligible renters.

Unit Quality and Tenant Satisfaction

HUD and the Census Bureau use AHS data to construct two indices of physical problems—one 

reports the incidence of severe physical problems, and one reports the incidence of moderate 

physical problems. On both the index of severe physical problems and the index of moderate 

physical problems, HUD-assisted housing has a slightly lower incidence of problems than units 
x

occupied by all income-eligible households but a higher incidence than all occupied rental units. 

Within HUD-assisted housing, public housing units have the highest incidence of both severe 

and moderate physical problems.

When we examine specific unit deficiencies, we find that HUD-assisted units have rates of 

occurrence that are similar to those among all eligible renters but slightly higher in general than 

among all renters.

The AHS has a series of questions that focuses on breakdowns in various housing systems. For 

five of the seven reported system breakdowns (water supply stoppage, no working flush toilets, 

public sewage disposal breakdowns, heating equipment breakdowns, and leaking water from 

inside unit), the incidence of problems was higher for HUD-assisted units as a group than for all 

renters. The differences are small. In most but not all categories, households in privately owned 

subsidized units report a lower incidence of problems than households in other assisted 

programs, although households in public housing report the highest incidence. However, voucher 

recipients report the highest incidence of problems with fuses and circuit breakers.

The AHS asks respondents to rate their structures and neighborhoods on a scale from 1 to 10, on 

which 10 is considered the best. Households receiving HUD assistance consistently gave their 

units a 10 more frequently than either all income-eligible renter households or all renter 

households. Voucher recipients gave the 10 rating most frequently. The worst rating of 1 was 

generally more common among HUD-assisted households, but the differences in percentages are 

small.

Although assisted households overall were more likely to rate their neighborhoods a 10 than 

either income-eligible renters or all renters, public housing households were the least likely of all 

groups to do so, and 9.1 percent of public housing tenants gave their neighborhoods the worst 

rating.

When asked to compare their current unit with their previous home, recent mover respondents in 

HUD-assisted units were more likely to rate the HUD-assisted unit as better and less likely to 

rate the HUD-assisted unit as worse than their previous unit than either all eligible renters or all 

renters. When asked to compare their current neighborhood with their previous neighborhood, 

recent mover respondents in HUD-assisted units were generally more likely to rate their current 

neighborhoods as better than their previous neighborhoods.

Other Related Studies

This report documents one of three studies (Eggers, 2017a, 2017b; Eggers and Moumen,

2017)—identical in structure and focus—that use the AHS to assess HUD-assisted rental 

housing. These studies cover HUD-assisted rental housing in 2009, 2011, and 2013 respectively. 

Readers who find a particular finding important are urged to consult the same table for the other 

2 survey years. As a careful reading of all three Executive Summaries suggests, most of the 

interesting findings are consistent in all three reports. 
1

Introduction

This report is the eighth in a series of reports providing information on the size, composition, and 

quality of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-assisted housing 

stock and the characteristics of its occupants (Casey, 1992, 1997; Eggers, 2017a, 2017b; Eggers 

and Moumen, 2017; HUD, 2008; McGough, 1997). These reports are intended for use by

policymakers, analysts, and proponents of housing assistance for low-income households. HUD 

obtains this information by identifying assisted households that are also surveyed in the biennial 

national American Housing Survey (AHS).

The 2011 data reported here represent assisted households and units in all 50 states and the 

District of Columbia but exclude households and units in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin 

Islands, which are not included in the AHS. The 2011 data are a statistically valid description of 

assisted households. These data are available only for the United States as a whole, with simple 

tabulations for the four census regions. Because of sample limitations, data are not available for 

states or smaller areas.

In this report, we compare HUD-assisted households with all income-eligible renters using the 

same AHS survey dataset. Another series of HUD-produced reports and datasets focuses only on 

assisted households using information gleaned from administrative records. These reports and 

databases were published under the series title Picture of Subsidized Households and are posted 

at http://www.huduser.org/datasets/assthsg.html.

HUD Rental Assistance Programs

HUD rental housing assistance for low-income families and individuals falls into three basic 

categories.

1. Conventional public housing (hereafter referred to as public housing).

2. Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (hereafter referred to as voucher).

3. Privately owned assisted housing (hereafter referred to as privately owned housing).

Public housing consists of housing developments owned by local public housing authorities 

(PHAs) or Indian housing authorities; HUD makes payments to the authorities to cover the 

development, rehabilitation, and operating costs of the housing units. Housing units in these 

developments are then rented to selected low-income families and individuals at below-market 

rents. Because the HUD payments cover the development and maintenance of the project, public 

housing is referred to as project based. The amount of rent low-income families pay is generally 

a fraction (30 percent) of their income. New tenants can select from vacant and available units 

owned and operated by the local authorities. Tenants must live in units owned by the local 

housing authority.

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program involves selected low-income households 

searching for housing units of their choice in the private rental market. After the household 

locates a housing unit and the local housing authority grants approval, a subsidy payment is 

made to the private-sector landlord on behalf of the tenant household. The program is designed 

so that the out-of-pocket amount that tenants pay is 30 percent of the household’s income, if the 

housing unit rents for less than the Fair Market Rent, or FMR, established by HUD for the area 

and household size. Families are given the choice of renting units that are more expensive, but 

tenants then pay 30 percent of their income plus the difference between the higher rent and the 
2

payment standard. Because the payment is made on behalf of the tenant and the payment follows 

the tenant household if the household decides to move, the Section 8 voucher program is referred 

to as tenant-based assistance.

The third program category consists of privately owned projects containing housing units that are 

rented to low-income households at subsidized rents. HUD provides assistance to encourage the 

development of affordable housing. The following HUD programs are included in this third 

category—Rent Supplement, Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate, Section 202 

Supportive Housing for the Elderly, Project-Based Section 8, Moderate Rehabilitation, and some 

other smaller programs. Data on tenants in privately owned housing may not be altogether 

comparable with data on public housing tenants or voucher recipients. The public housing and 

voucher programs are deeply subsidized, with nearly all tenants paying income-based tenant 

rents. Only approximately three-fourths of the households in privately owned housing pay 

income-based tenant rents. The other tenants pay rents that do not vary by income; the project is 

subsidized through initial financing without additional subsidy, and the rents are uniformly 

reduced for all tenants. For these units, individual household income determines only eligibility,

not the amount by which the rent is reduced. As a consequence, approximately one-fourth of 

tenants in privately owned housing may pay differing proportions of their income for rent and 

also may differ in other characteristics from the other assisted tenants. Units in these programs 

are also considered project based.

Income-eligible renters are those households that would qualify for admission to assisted 

housing because their income is within the HUD-determined income limit of 50 percent or less 

of Median Family Income for their area, adjusted for family size. In HUD terminology, these 

households are “very-low-income renters” and are eligible for assisted housing based on 

income alone.

1 Another term used in the report is “worst case households.” Worst case needs2

means renters who do not receive federal assistance, who have incomes below 50 percent of 

 1 All families with incomes below 50 percent of HUD-adjusted Median Family Income generally are eligible for

housing assistance. The number of income-eligible families is a lower bound to the total number of eligible families,

because other families with higher incomes (up to 80 percent of median income) are eligible if they also meet

additional (nonincome) criteria. These additional criteria include being displaced from certain HUD-assisted

projects, having been previously assisted, being nonpurchasing tenants in certain homeownership programs, or 

meeting public housing agency-specified criteria. 2 Reports presenting estimates of worst case needs households have been submitted to Congress since 1991. HUD’s 

previous reports to Congress are Priority Problems and “Worst Case” Needs in 1989 (June 1991, HUD-1314-PDR); 

The Location of Worst Case Needs in the Late 1980s (December 1992, HUD-1387-PDR); Worst Case Needs for 

Housing Assistance in the United States in 1990 and 1991 (June 1994, HUD-1481-PDR); Rental Housing Assistance 

at a Crossroads: A Report to Congress on Worst Case Housing Needs (March 1996); Rental Housing Assistance—

The Crisis Continues (April 1998); Rental Housing Assistance—The Worsening Crisis: A Report to Congress on 

Worst Case Housing Needs (March 2000); A Report on Worst Case Housing Needs in 1999: New Opportunity Amid 

Continuing Challenges, Executive Summary (January 2001); Trends in Worst Case Needs for Housing, 1978–1999

(December 2003); Affordable Housing Needs: A Report to Congress on the Significant Need for Housing (December 

2005); Affordable Housing Needs 2005: Report to Congress (May 2007); Housing Needs of Persons With 

Disabilities: Supplemental Findings to the Affordable Housing Needs 2005 Report; Worst Case Housing Needs 

2007: A Report to Congress (May 2010); Worst Case Housing Needs 2009: A Report to Congress (February 2011); 

Worst Case Housing Needs 2011: Report to Congress (August 2011); Worst Case Housing Needs: 2015 Report to 

Congress (April 2015). These publications are available online at 

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Worst-Case-Housing-Needs.html.
3

Median Family Income in their area, as adjusted by HUD, and who pay more than one-half

their income for rent and utilities or live in severely substandard housing.3

Readers should be aware that not all housing assistance programs are identified in this report. 

Other renter households are receiving housing assistance from U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) programs or state or local rental assistance programs. Estimates indicate that in fiscal 

year 2004, approximately 464,000 units were available under the Rural Housing Service 

(formerly known as the Farmers Home Administration) Section 515 Rental Assistance Program. 

Approximately 264,000 of the available units received deep subsidies under the Section 521 

Rental Assistance Program. The report also does not include units available for occupancy under 

the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program; from 1987 

through 2011, 40,502 projects containing 2.6 million units were placed in service for low-income 

households (those with incomes less than 60 percent of local Area Median Income; HUD, 2016). 

Some of these tax credit units may also receive HUD or USDA subsidies.

Organization of the Report and Data Tables

The Big Picture through the Unit Quality and Tenant Satisfaction sections of the report contain 

short topical tables with accompanying commentary. These topical tables are derived from six

detailed summary tables contained in the Detailed Summary Tables section. The structure of 

these sections follows the organization of the six detailed tables.

• The Big Picture section uses information from all eight matched surveys to track the growth 

of HUD-assisted housing from 1989 to 2011.

• The Location and Key Unit Characteristics section examines where HUD-assisted units are 

located, when they were built, and how many bedrooms they contain; it is based on Summary 

Table 1.

• The Householder Characteristics section and Summary Table 2 look at the characteristics of 

householders.

• The Household Characteristics section and Summary Table 3 summarize the composition 

and financial characteristics of households.

• The Unit Quality and Tenant Satisfaction section and Summary Tables 4 and 5 summarize 

the condition of units and tenants’ opinions of their units and neighborhoods.

• Detailed Summary Table 6 contains special breakouts of the data in Summary Tables 2 and 3. 

Each topical table contains information for six categories of renter households: all HUD-assisted

households, public housing tenants, voucher recipients, tenants in privately owned subsidized 

units, all income-eligible households, and all renter households. The six detailed tables in the 

 3 A unit is severely substandard if it has any of five physical problems: (1) Lacks complete plumbing, (2) Is

uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or more in the winter due to frequent heating equipment breakdowns, (3) Has no

electricity or three specified electrical problems, (4) Has any five of six serious maintenance problems, and (5) The

public areas of the apartment building have four serious maintenance problems. For more detail, see “Appendix A:

Definitions and Questionnaire, American Housing Survey for the United States, Current Housing Reports H150,”

U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 

Office of Policy Development and Research.
4

Detailed Summary Tables section contain two additional renter household categories: all 

unassisted, income-eligible renters and unassisted renters identified as having worst case needs.

Source of the Data

The national AHS collects detailed information on housing units and their occupants every 2 

years. Unfortunately, although this large sample contains many assisted units, it has been 

impossible to determine reliably, using the self-reported data of the AHS, which units are HUDassisted units. In earlier reports, HUD undertook two complementary manual matching efforts to 

overcome this difficulty. One involved a manual matching of AHS renter respondents’ addresses 

with a list of addresses HUD developed for public housing and privately owned assisted housing 

projects. In the second match, which focused on voucher recipients, Census Bureau data 

collectors compared names and addresses of AHS-sampled renters in an area with the records 

that local housing authorities kept for voucher recipients.

Since the earlier reports, HUD has developed information on basic tenant demographic and 

financial characteristics and limited data on unit characteristics from program administrative 

records. In particular, the Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC) provides data for 

the public housing and voucher programs, and the Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System 

(TRACS) provides data for privately owned housing. Some differences exist between data from 

program administrative systems and similar information from the AHS. PIC and TRACS were 

designed to be 100-percent reporting systems and not scientific samples; thus, when reporting 

falls substantially below 100 percent, the results will not be wholly accurate. In addition, the 

small samples available for program data from the AHS will result in variability of results. Users

should therefore make comparisons across different data systems with great caution.

For this report and the 2013 report, specialists at the Census Bureau matched records from the 

AHS and the two HUD administrative record systems using computerized matching algorithms 

and techniques. These matching techniques use information on the AHS and HUD records, 

including first name, last name, date of birth, and detailed addresses (street number, street name, 

street direction/location [for example, North, South, Northwest, Southeast]), unit or apartment 

number, city, state, and ZIP Code) to match households.

The 2011 and 2013 reports also utilize a special oversample of public housing and privately 

owned subsidized units that were conducted as a part of the 2011 AHS.

Relationship to Other Studies

This report documents one of three studies (Eggers, 2017a, 2017b; Eggers and Moumen,

2017)—identical in structure and focus—that use the AHS to assess HUD-assisted rental 

housing. These studies cover HUD-assisted rental housing in 2009, 2011, and 2013 respectively. 

Because the universe of HUD-assisted rental housing underwent only marginal changes between 

2009 and 2013, one should expect the findings to be nearly identical in all three studies and, for 

the most part, they are. Some differences exist because the economy experienced a major swing 

between 2009 and 2013 (June 2009 was the trough of the major 2007–2009 recession), because 

the sample of HUD units was selected differently in each of the 3 years, and because respondents 

sometimes answer the same question differently at different times due either to changes in 

objective conditions or pure randomness. Readers who find a particular finding important are 

urged to consult the same table for the other 2 survey years. As a careful reading of all three 

Executive Summaries suggests, most of the interesting findings are consistent in all three reports. 
5

The Big Picture

HUD spends approximately $40 billion a year on assisted housing (Weicher, 2012).

4 The 

matched AHS sample used in this report provides important information on how these 

expenditures affected American households in 2011. Before reviewing the data, we call the 

reader’s attention to three factors that are crucial for interpreting the data.

• Unlike Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, assisted 

housing is not an entitlement; that is, not every household that meets the eligibility 

requirements for assisted housing will receive housing assistance. Some households receive 

help, although others are placed on waiting lists. Such variations mean that the “who is 

helped” question is particularly relevant. In other words, individually, and as a group, do the 

assisted housing programs overserve some populations and underserve others?

• HUD delivers housing assistance through agents. PHAs administer public housing, PHAs 

and state agencies administer the voucher program, and private developers and landlords 

administer the privately owned housing programs. The motivations of these agents and where 

and when they function greatly affect how these programs operate.

• Two of the three major categories of HUD-assisted housing—public housing and privately 

owned, project-based housing—provide assisted housing by first producing the housing.

Housing units are clumps of capital and land that have long life spans. As a result, the 

location and type of units produced determine who will be served for years to come.

HUD and the Census Bureau have matched administrative data on assisted housing with eight

AHS surveys (1989, 1991, 1993, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013). Including this document, 

the results of those matches have been presented in seven reports (Casey, 1992, 1997; Eggers, 

2017a, 2017b; Eggers and Moumen, 2017; HUD, 2008; McGough, 1997).

AHS data depict how housing assistance has evolved during the 24 years between the 1989 and 

the 2013 matches. During the 1991-to-2013 period, the number of renter households grew from 

33.3 million to 40.2 million, an increase of 21 percent.5 During the same time period, the number 

of households eligible for housing assistance increased 16 percent, although the number of HUDassisted units increased only 11 percent. The percentage of the eligible households receiving 

assistance fell from 24.9 percent in 1991 to 21.1 percent in 2011, before rising to 23.8 percent in 

2013.

The financial crisis and recession that began in 2007 caused a sharp increase in the number of 

renter households and an even sharper increase in the number of renter households with incomes 

that qualify them for housing assistance. Most of the decline in the percentage of eligible 

households receiving assistance occurred during the 2007-to-2011 period. The number of eligible 

renter households declined by approximately 1 million between 2011 and 2013, resulting in the 

observed increase in the percentage of eligible households served (Table 2-1).

 4 See Table 4-4. 5 The percentages reported in this and the following two sentences are based on the 1991-to-2013 period. In 1991, 

the Census Bureau revised the AHS weights to reflect information from the 1990 Census. This change corrected an 

over count of the housing stock in the 1989 AHS of more than a million units. Adjustments to the weights in 2003 

and 2011 for subsequent censuses did not reveal any major problems in housing stock counts. 
6

Table 2-1: Trends in HUD-Assisted Rental Housing, Relative to Need

AHS Survey Year All Renters (000s) All Eligible 

Renters (000s)

All HUD-Assisted 

(000s)

Percent of Eligible 

Assisted (%)

1989 33,767 13,808 4,070 29.5

1991 33,351 16,194 4,036 24.9

1993 33,472 15,795 4,054 25.7

2003 33,604 16,576 4,280 25.8

2007 35,032 16,494 4,273 25.9

2009 35,378 18,233 4,426 24.3

2011 38,814 19,737 4,168 21.1

2013 40,202 18,856 4,490 23.8

AHS = American Housing Survey. HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

During the 1989-to-2013 period, the number of HUD-assisted units increased by roughly 

400,000 units, but program mix changed dramatically. The voucher program’s share grew from 

26 percent in 1989 to 47 percent in 2013, although the shares of public housing and privately 

owned assisted housing each declined by approximately 10 percentage points. Because of 

differences in the way these programs are structured, one could expect to see big changes in how 

HUD housing assistance affects American households during this period (Table 2-2).

Table 2-2: Trends in HUD-Assisted Housing by Program Type

AHS Survey Year All HUD-Assisted 

(000s)

Tenants in Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients (%)

Tenants in 

Privately Owned 

Housing (%)

1989 4,070 33.4 26.0 40.5

1991 4,036 28.4 28.3 43.3

1993 4,054 28.1 29.6 42.3

2003 4,280 25.6 42.1 32.4

2007 4,273 23.5 45.1 31.4

2009 4,426 22.6 46.8 30.6

2011 4,168 23.7 48.7 27.7

2013 4,490 22.9 46.8 30.2

AHS = American Housing Survey. HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Figure 1 explains how HUD-assisted housing fits into the overall rental housing market. In 2011, 

the U.S. housing market had 38,814,000 renter households; 19,737,000 of these households were 

eligible on the basis of income for HUD assistance. HUD programs served 4,168,000 of the 

eligible households (21.1 percent), leaving 15,569,000 eligible households without any HUD 

housing assistance; of these, 8,797,000 were judged to have worst case housing needs. The 

voucher program helped 2,028,000 households; another 1,153,000 households lived in privately 

owned, project-based housing, and public housing provided housing to 987,000 households.6

 6 As in previous reports, HUD provided the Census Bureau with estimates of the number of HUD-assisted units by 

program. The Census Bureau used these estimates to adjust the weights of the matched units so that the weighted 

counts matched program totals. 
7

Figure 1: Renters—Eligibility and Housing Assistance
8

Location and Key Unit Characteristics

Three factors greatly influence whom the HUD-assisted housing programs serve and the type of 

housing provided. The factors are which agents choose to work with HUD to provide housing 

assistance, where these agents are located, and what their objectives are. For this reason, we 

begin the analysis with information on the location of HUD-assisted housing and the types of 

units provided. This section summarizes information in Summary Table 1.

Regional and Metropolitan Location

When compared with either all renter households or all renter households eligible for assistance

(including those already assisted), the HUD programs as a group are more concentrated in the 

Northeast and less concentrated in the West. Only 20 percent of all renters and 21 percent of 

eligible renters live in the Northeast, but 28 percent of HUD-assisted housing is in the Northeast.

In 2011, the West contained 26 percent of all renters and 26 percent of eligible renters but 20

percent of HUD-assisted households. The share of HUD-assisted renters in the Midwest and 

South is similar to the geographic distributions of all renter households and all income-eligible 

renter households (Table 3-1).

Table 3-1: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Region, 2011

Regions

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters (%)

All Renters

(%) All HUDAssisted (%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Northeast 27.7 36.8 23.2 27.8 20.5 19.5

Midwest 19.4 19.7 15.9 25.5 20.0 19.7

South 32.4 34.0 31.3 33.0 33.8 34.7

West 20.5 9.4 29.7 13.7 25.8 26.1

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The regional distribution of public housing, the oldest HUD-assisted housing program, drives 

this imbalance. Vouchers, the newest HUD program, are also administered mostly by PHAs. The 

voucher program has a regional distribution that is close to that of all renter households but still 

has a higher percentage in the Northeast. The overall regional imbalance is a function of the age 

of the programs. Communities in the Northeast created active PHAs in the early years of the 

public housing program, whereas PHAs in the West became more active in the years when HUD 

moved toward voucher assistance. During this period, the nation’s population also shifted toward 

the West. Similar patterns appear in the metropolitan/nonmetropolitan distribution of HUDassisted housing.

Overall, the proportion of HUD-assisted housing in metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan 

areas matches the proportion of all renter households or all income-eligible renter households.

Within metropolitan areas, HUD-assisted housing is more concentrated in central cities and less 

concentrated in suburbs than either all renter households or all income-eligible renter 

households. The central city/suburb disparity is most pronounced in public housing, but the 

privately owned housing programs also exhibit this imbalance. Once again, the voucher program 

presents the distribution closest to that of all renter households or all income-eligible renter 

households. Table 3-2 does not include similar programs administered by USDA’s Rural 

Housing Service or Rural Development programs.
9

Table 3-2: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Metropolitan/Nonmetropolitan Status, 2011

Metropolitan/

Nonmetropolitan 

Areas

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters

(%)

All HUDAssisted (%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Inside metropolitan 

statistical areas 83.9 84.3 84.0 83.2 82.5 82.6

In central cities 53.5 67.5 46.2 54.5 45.8 42.8

In suburbs 30.4 16.8 37.9 28.7 36.7 39.8

Outside metropolitan 

statistical areas 16.1 15.7 15.9 16.8 17.5 17.4

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In the section, The Big Picture, we called attention to the shifting importance of the voucher 

program in HUD’s overall housing assistance between 1989 and 2013. Despite the growth in the 

voucher program, the overall distribution of HUD-assisted housing has changed little in the past 

24 years. The percentage of assisted housing in suburbs has increased slightly, accompanied by a 

slight decrease in the percentage in central cities. The percentage outside of metropolitan areas 

has declined over time.

Of course, the distribution of all renters and eligible renters has also changed over time. The 

previously mentioned shift in the proportion of assisted housing from central city to suburbs and 

the observed decline outside of metropolitan areas followed similar changes in broader renter 

populations. Between 1989 and 2013, the proportion of assisted housing in suburbs grew from 26 

to 32 percent, although the proportion of all renter households grew from 38 to 40 percent; the 

proportion of assisted housing outside of metropolitan areas fell from 16 to 13 percent, although

the proportion of all renters fell from 16 percent to 12 percent (Table 3-3).

Table 3-3: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Region and by 

Metropolitan/Nonmetropolitan Status

All HUD-Assisted 

Renters/Location

AHS Survey Year

1989 1991 1993 2003 2007 2009 2011 2013

Northeast 28 24 27 28 28 28 28 28

Midwest 22 22 22 22 22 22 19 22

South 34 37 35 34 32 32 32 33

West 16 17 15 17 18 18 20 18

Inside metropolitan 

statistical areas 84 81 82 87 86 86 84 87

In central cities 58 53 56 54 52 52 54 55

In suburbs 26 27 26 33 34 34 30 32

Outside metropolitan 

statistical areas 16 19 18 13 14 14 16 13

AHS = American Housing Survey. HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Notes: The tables in this document that describe trends during all eight matched data studies report percentages as whole 

percentages, whereas the tables describing characteristics of HUD programs in 2011 report percentages to one-tenth of a 

percentage point. The published matched data for 1989, 1991, and 1993 are available only as whole percentages, so the data for 

subsequent years are rounded to whole percentages.

Year Structure Built

Public housing and HUD’s privately owned subsidized housing programs work by creating new 

rental units and then filling these units with eligible households. The types of units built 
10

determine what types of families are served. PHAs and private developers, with HUD approval, 

choose what type of units to construct or renovate, and that choice is based on their objectives 

and the needs at the time building takes place. Decisions made at one point in time become 

frozen in housing capital. This fact was impressed on the author by a visit in the mid-1990s to an 

unassisted, HUD-insured project in the suburbs outside Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The project 

was constructed in the early 1970s to accommodate all the baby boomers entering the job market 

and consisted entirely of one-bedroom units; after experiencing declining demand, the project 

was being renovated at the time of his visit to serve a family market (Table 3-4).

Table 3-4: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Year Built, 2011

Year Built

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters (%)

All Renters

(%) All HUDAssisted (%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

1949 and earlier 18.6 15.8 24.9 9.9 25.6 24.8

1950–1969 23.3 39.0 20.7 14.4 21.8 21.3

1970–1984 36.9 33.5 27.1 56.9 30.6 28.1

1985 or later 21.4 11.9 27.3 19.0 22.0 25.8

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Public housing began in 1937, and 18.6 percent of public housing units were built before 1950. 

More than 70 percent of public housing units were built between 1950 and 1985, when HUD 

restructured its housing assistance programs to favor the voucher approach. The privately owned 

housing programs were most active between 1965 and 1985; 56.9 percent of these units were 

constructed between 1970 and 1984. The 9.9 percent of privately owned units reportedly built 

before 1950 results from a combination of rehabilitating older buildings for use as assisted 

housing and errors on the part of AHS respondents in identifying the year built.

Because the voucher program can use any rental units in the stock if their owners are willing to 

participate, its distribution by year built closely matches the distribution of all renter households.

Number of Bedrooms

The number of bedrooms in an assisted unit determines the size of the household that can be 

served. Overall, HUD-assisted housing has a higher percentage of one-bedroom units than the 

percentage among all renter households or all income-eligible renter households and a lower 

percentage of two-bedroom units. This disparity is sharpest among privately owned subsidized 

housing and probably results from a focus on elderly households among several of the programs 

in this category (including both older Section 202 direct loans with project-based Section 8 

assistance and newer Section 8 capital grant projects built after 1990) and the preferences of 

developers in the regular Section 8 program. Public housing displays a similar distribution of 

unit sizes but to a lesser degree. Not surprisingly, the bedroom distribution among voucher units 

closely resembles the distribution among all renters but with a higher percentage of threebedroom units. The voucher program has the highest percentage of units with three or four or 

more bedrooms among the HUD-assisted programs, probably reflecting the fact that vouchers 

can also be used to rent single-family rentals, including townhomes or rowhouses; these 

percentages are actually higher than the percentage among income-eligible renter households

(Table 3-5).
11

Table 3-5: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Number of Bedrooms, 2011

Number of 

Bedrooms

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters

(%)

All HUDAssisted (%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Efficiency 1.9 2.9 0.6 3.2 2.7 2.2

One 34.6 34.0 24.7 52.6 30.3 26.6

Two 33.7 33.5 37.6 27.0 39.9 39.8

Three 23.7 23.1 28.9 15.0 21.3 23.9

Four or more 6.1 6.4 8.2 2.3 5.9 7.5

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The combined bedroom distribution for all three HUD-assisted housing programs has definitely 

shifted over time. The percentage of units with three or four or more bedrooms has increased 

from 24 percent in 1989 to 28 percent in 2011 despite a decline in the number of large families.

The percentage of one-bedroom units decreased slightly from 39 to 38 percent (Table 3-6).

Table 3-6: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Number of Bedrooms

Percent of 

Units by 

Number of 

Bedrooms

All HUD-Assisted Renters

1989 1991 1993 2003 2007 2009 2011 2013

Efficiency 5 5 4 3 3 1 2 1

One 39 40 38 38 40 37 35 38

Two 32 33 35 33 30 31 34 33

Three 20 20 19 22 22 23 24 22

Four or more 4 3 4 4 4 7 6 6

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

With this background on where HUD programs function and the types of units they provide, we 

will examine whom the programs serve in the Householder Characteristics and Household 

Characteristics sections. In the Unit Quality and Tenant Satisfaction section, we will discuss the 

quality of housing provided and tenant satisfaction; the Unit Quality and Tenant Satisfaction 

section will include information on the type of structure. More detailed information on location 

and other unit characteristics is in Summary Table 1.
12

Householder Characteristics

The Census Bureau characterizes some households using data on all household members, 

providing information such as household size, the presence or absence of children, or family 

status. For other characteristics, such as age or race, the Census Bureau takes these 

characteristics from one individual, the householder. The householder is any responsible member 

of the household who is competent to answer questions about the household.7 In a traditional 

household with a father, a mother, and children, the householder could be either the father or 

mother. This section draws information from Summary Table 2.

Race and Ethnic Origin of Householder

The percentage of HUD-assisted units with Black householders in 2011 was 43.8 percent,

although the percentage of all income-eligible renter households with Black householders was 

25.7 percent. The differentials were greatest for the public housing and voucher programs, in 

which Black householders occupied 50.2 and 42.9 percent of units, respectively. One possible 

explanation for public housing is its high concentration in central cities. Privately owned 

subsidized units, however, have the smallest but still substantial differential (39.9 versus 25.7

percent), and these units are also disproportionally concentrated in central cities (Table 4-1).

Table 4-1: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Race and Ethnicity of Householder, 2011

Race and Ethnic 

Origin of 

Householder

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

White alone 48.9 43.3 49.6 52.5 66.0 70.8

Black alone 43.8 50.2 42.9 39.9 25.7 20.7

Other races alone or 

multiple races 7.3 6.6 7.6 7.5 8.3 8.6

Hispanic (of any race) 17.8 21.5 8.7 30.4 22.3 18.8

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

With respect to ethnicity, the percentage of all HUD-assisted households with Hispanic householders

is smaller than the percentage of income-eligible households with Hispanic householders.

Table 4-2 traces how the racial and ethnic distribution of HUD-assisted renters has changed over 

time. Unfortunately, the results from the 1989, 1991, and 1993 surveys are not strictly 

comparable with those from the 2003, 2007, 2009, and 2011 surveys because HUD and other 

federal agencies changed how they collect data on race in 2001. Prior to that year, survey

respondents were forced to choose between four racial groups or an “other” category. Starting in 

2001, respondents could choose more than one racial category. Thus, “other” in the later surveys 

consists of those who reported two or more races, and White is really White alone after 2001.

 7 The Census Bureau defines the householder as follows: “The householder is the first household member listed on 

the questionnaire who is an owner or renter of the sample unit and is 18 years or older.... If no one meets the full 

criteria, the age requirement is relaxed to 14 years or older before the owner/renter requirement. Where the 

respondent is one of several unrelated persons who all could meet the criteria, the interviewer will select one of them 

to be ... the householder. The householder is not necessarily the one answering the survey questions.”
13

Table 4-2: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Race and Ethnicity of 

Householder

Percent of All HUDAssisted Renters 

by Race and Ethnic 

Origin of 

Householder

AHS Survey Year

1989 1991 1993 2003 2007 2009 2011 2013

White alone 54 61 54 54 52 48 49 49

Black alone 40 35 40 40 41 46 44 44

Other races alone or 

multiple races 6 4 6 6 7 6 7 8

Hispanic (of any 

race) 10 10 10 18 15 17 18 17

AHS = American Housing Survey. HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Despite this qualification, the numbers tell an interesting story. The percentage of households 

with Black householders rose sharply in 2009, long after the change in the race question. The 

percentage of units with Hispanic householders rose between 1993 and 2003, reflecting in part 

the rising Hispanic share of the population. The change in the race question did not directly 

affect the collection of data on ethnicity.

Age of Householder

Combined HUD-assisted housing programs were serving households with elderly householders 

at a rate greater than their share of the population of income-eligible renter households (25.0

versus 17.4 percent). The percentage of households with elderly householders was particularly 

high among units in privately owned subsidized housing (40.3 percent). Only the voucher 

program served elderly people at a rate (17.0 percent) similar to their share of income-eligible 

renter households.

The share of households with householders under 35 years old is less in all three HUD programs 

than their share of income-eligible renter households. The voucher program has a higher 

proportion of households with householders between 35 and 64 years old than the share of such 

households in the overall renter population, 55.4 compared with 47.6 percent. Only 33.5 percent 

of households in privately owned subsidized units were in this age range (Table 4-3).

Table 4-3: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Age of Householder, 2011

Age of 

Householder

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters (%)

All Renters 

(%) All HUDAssisted (%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Under 35 27.7 29.4 27.6 26.4 36.8 40.0

35 to 64 47.4 47.0 55.4 33.5 45.8 47.6

65 or older 25.0 23.6 17.0 40.3 17.4 12.4

Median age 48 48 46 57 42 40

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. NA = data not available.

Notes: The medians in this table were hand calculated from the age of householder data reported in Summary Table 2. They are not 

based on the less aggregated data available on the AHS internal use file.

The median age data highlight how the privately owned subsidized housing programs have 

concentrated on serving an elderly population. The median age in these programs is 57 years,

compared with 48 in public housing and 46 in the voucher program.
14

As the relative importance of the voucher program increased over time, the share of all HUDassisted units with elderly householders fell nearly steadily from 35 percent in 1989 to 28 percent 

in 2013 (Table 4-4).

Table 4-4: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Age of Householder

All HUD-Assisted 

Renters/Age of 

Householder

AHS Survey Year

1989 1991 1993 2003 2007 2009 2011 2013

Under 35 29 31 34 29 24 27 28 25

35 to 64 36 33 34 43 48 45 47 47

65 or older 35 36 32 28 28 28 25 28

Median age (in years) 50 50 44 48 50 49 48 NA

AHS = American Housing Survey. HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

NA = data not available.

Education of Householder

The last two columns in Table 4-5 emphasize the link between education and income. Incomeeligible renter households are much less educated than all renter households. Among incomeeligible renter households, 27.4 percent had householders without high school degrees compared 

with 18.2 percent among all renter households; 39.0 percent of income-eligible households have 

householders with education beyond the high school level compared with 51.5 percent among all 

renter households. Because of this important linkage, we present data on educational attainment 

by race and ethnicity.

The high school graduation rates are low in all three HUD programs (58.8 percent in public 

housing, 68.8 percent in the voucher program, and 63.2 percent in privately owned housing) 

compared with 72.6 percent among all income-eligible renter households and 81.8 percent 

among all renter households. These results are consistent with the finding in the Household 

Characteristics section that HUD-assisted households have lower incomes than income-eligible 

renter households overall.

When the educational attainment data are disaggregated by race or ethnicity, the patterns are 

similar among the White alone and Black alone populations. Among the Hispanic population, the 

level of educational attainment measured by the percent of high school graduates is lower than 

that of the White alone or Black alone populations (some of whom are Hispanic by ethnicity).
15

Table 4-5: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Education Attainment of Householder by Race 

and Ethnicity, 2011

Educational Attainment of 

Householder by Race and

Ethnicity

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

(%)

Less than 9th grade—all 

households 11.3 12.4 9.5 13.8 9.0 5.8

White alone 15.5 18.3 13.6 16.5 10.4 6.3

Black alone 5.7 6.0 4.0 8.7 5.0 3.8

Other races 17.9 21.2 13.7 22.7 10.5 6.0

Hispanic 27.0 29.2 31.6 23.4 22.2 17.5

9th to 12th grade, no diploma—

all households 23.8 29.0 21.7 23.1 18.4 12.4

White alone 22.5 29.3 21.5 19.5 17.6 11.8

Black alone 26.2 29.6 23.5 27.6 22.1 16.3

Other races 17.9 21.2 13.1 23.9 13.0 8.2

Hispanic 25.7 30.7 20.9 25.1 24.1 20.2

High school graduation 

(includes equivalency)—all 

households

35.1 31.9 35.7 36.8 33.6 30.3

White alone 33.8 27.4 35.8 35.2 33.1 30.1

Black alone 37.1 35.1 36.9 39.8 36.2 33.4

Other races 31.6 37.9 29.4 30.7 29.4 24.2

Hispanic 28.0 22.6 24.9 32.8 30.0 30.0

More than high school 

graduation—all households 29.8 26.8 33.0 26.5 39.0 51.5

White alone 28.1 25.1 29.1 28.8 38.9 51.8

Black alone 30.9 29.2 35.6 23.9 36.6 46.4

Other races 32.6 19.7 43.8 22.7 47.1 61.6

Hispanic 19.3 17.5 22.6 18.8 23.7 32.3

High school graduate—all 

households 64.9 58.8 68.8 63.2 72.6 81.8

White alone 62.0 52.5 64.8 64.0 72.0 81.9

Black alone 68.0 64.3 72.4 63.7 72.8 79.8

Other races 64.2 57.6 73.2 53.4 76.5 85.7

Hispanic 47.3 40.1 47.5 51.6 53.7 62.4

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Years in Same Unit

Because housing assistance is not an entitlement, one might expect households receiving assistance

to be reluctant to move if moving means giving up assistance. Table 4-6 supports that presumption.

The bolded rows report the percentages for all householders, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, or 

disability. Householders who have lived in the unit fewer than 3 years constitute 44.6 percent of 

income-eligible renter households, compared with 31.7 percent in public housing, 32.8 percent 

among voucher recipients, and 28.7 percent in privately owned housing. Approximately 19

percent of public housing households have householders who have lived in the unit for more than 

12 years compared with 11.4 percent among income-eligible renter households. Both incomeeligible renters and all renters show shorter tenancies than assisted households.
16

Table 4-6: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Householder Years in Unit by Race, Ethnicity, and 

Elderly and Disability Status, 2011

Year in Unit, 2011

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUD 

Assisted 

(%)

Tenants 

in Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipien

ts (%)

Tenants 

in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

(%)

0 to 2—All householders 31.4 31.7 32.8 28.7 44.6 47.0

White alone 31.4 33.9 32.0 28.6 45.7 47.9

Black alone 32.4 31.5 33.7 31.0 41.9 43.3

Other races 27.0 19.0 35.1 18.6 44.5 48.5

Hispanic 29.9 27.8 34.3 23.4 44.2 45.6

Under 65 36.4 36.6 36.8 35.3 50.1 50.8

Over 65 16.6 15.9 13.7 19.1 18.6 20.0

Without a disabled person 35.0 35.5 36.8 31.1 48.4 49.5

With a disabled person 25.5 24.8 25.9 25.6 33.8 35.6

3 to 7—All householders 40.6 34.8 43.6 40.2 34.1 34.7

White alone 38.1 32.7 41.4 36.3 33.0 33.9

Black alone 43.6 36.4 47.0 45.1 37.3 38.0

Other races 39.0 33.3 39.1 43.0 33.2 33.0

Hispanic 41.2 34.4 44.9 42.3 36.8 37.0

Under 65 43.1 37.5 45.5 43.3 34.6 35.0

Over 65 33.0 25.9 34.3 35.6 32.1 32.2

Without a disabled person 40.1 35.5 41.1 42.5 33.5 34.4

With a disabled person 41.5 33.5 48.1 37.1 36.0 35.8

8 to 12—All householders 13.7 14.0 13.4 14.0 9.8 8.8

White alone 15.6 14.0 15.3 17.1 9.7 8.7

Black alone 10.7 12.7 10.7 8.7 9.3 8.7

Other races 19.7 27.0 16.6 19.8 11.9 9.8

Hispanic 11.8 12.7 10.6 13.1 8.8 8.5

Under 65 10.9 11.5 11.2 9.6 8.1 7.6

Over 65 22.2 22.0 24.4 20.6 17.8 16.9

Without a disabled person 12.6 12.8 12.2 12.9 8.8 8.0

With a disabled person 15.7 16.3 15.4 15.5 12.8 12.0

More than 12: All 

householders 14.2 19.5 10.1 17.1 11.4 9.6

White alone 15.0 19.4 11.3 18.0 11.5 9.6

Black alone 13.2 19.4 8.6 15.2 11.4 10.1

Other races 14.3 20.6 9.3 18.6 10.3 8.7

Hispanic 17.1 25.0 10.3 21.1 10.3 8.9

Under 65 9.6 14.3 6.5 11.9 7.2 6.6

Over 65 28.2 36.2 27.6 24.7 31.5 31.0

Without a disabled person 12.4 16.2 9.8 13.6 9.3 8.0

With a disabled person 17.3 25.4 10.6 21.8 17.3 16.6

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Notes: The Census Bureau does not tabulate “years in unit”; rather, it reports the year the household moved into the unit in 5-year 

blocks. For 2011, the blocks include 2000–2004, 2005–2009, and 2010–2011. This presentation translates into 0 to 2 years, 3 to 7

years, 8 to 12 years, and more than 12 years categories for years in unit. Because the size of the initial category depends on the 

survey year, the 2011 results can be compared only with tabulations from 1991 match study.

As one might expect, differences exist between the two assistance paradigms—the public 

housing and privately owned program in which the subsidy attaches to the unit and the voucher 
17

program in which the subsidy moves with the tenant. The voucher program has the most 

turnover; for example, only 10.1 percent of householders have lived in their units more than 12

years, roughly the same as all income-eligible householders. The voucher program does not 

match the turnover pattern among all renters probably because moving is expensive, and voucher

participants can carry their subsidies only to units whose landlords will participate in the voucher 

program. 

The race, ethnicity, age, and disability breakouts are best understood by looking down the 

columns within each “years in unit” category. In the all renters and the income eligible columns, 

the differences across race and ethnicity are minor, but elderly householders and householders 

with a disabled person in the household display lower turnover, that is, lower rates of short 

tenure (0–2 years) and higher rates of long tenures (more than 12 years).

The same patterns are apparent among householders in the assisted housing programs.

Because of the way that the AHS collects data on years in units, one can compare only data 

across the 1991 and 2011 studies (see Table 4-7 note). Table 4-7 shows that turnover is less in 

2011 than in 1991; that is, fewer householders had moved within the past 2 years and more had 

lived in their units for 12 years or more.

Table 4-7: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Households by Years in Unit by Householder

Years in Unit All HUD-Assisted Renters

1991 (%) 2011%

0 to 2 33.9 31.4

3 to 7 39.1 40.6

8 to 12 14.3 13.7

More than 12 12.6 14.2

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Notes: More detailed information on householder characteristics can be found in Summary Table 2 in the Detailed Summary Tables 

section. Years in unit are derived from year-moved-in data. For assisted units, year moved in is reported in decade or one-halfdecade intervals. For the 1991 and 2011 surveys, the first of these intervals corresponds to 0–2 years in units. For the 1993 and 

2013 surveys, the first of these intervals corresponds to 0–3 years in unit.
18

Household Characteristics

The Household Characteristics section describes key characteristics of HUD-assisted households, 

focusing primarily on characteristics that relate to need for housing assistance. This section 

draws on information from Summary Table 3. One should not expect significant year-to-year 

changes in the characteristics of HUD households or householders. Only new units and turnover 

among assisted units can alter the mix of households. In the 24 years covered by these studies, 

the number of assisted units has increased by only 11 percent, and the previous section showed 

that turnover is low.

Household Income

Eligibility for assisted housing is based primarily on household income. Eligibility is determined 

by comparing household income with Median Family Income in the locality; typically, a 

household is eligible if it earns less than 50 percent of the median income of families in that 

locality adjusted for family size. Within a group of lower-income households, HUD agents may 

in some circumstances look at additional criteria, such as being homeless or displaced, in 

prioritizing households for the limited number of units available at a given time.

In 2011, the median income of all renters nationally was $28,000, based on AHS data.

Households in HUD programs had median incomes substantially less than that of all renters. The 

median income of voucher recipients was 42.6 percent of that for all eligible renters, and the 

ratios were even lower in public housing (36.7 percent) and privately owned subsidized housing 

(34.3 percent). Individually the HUD programs are generally serving households from the lower 

end of the distribution of renter households. See Table 5-1.

Table 5-1: Median Income of Households by Assistance Status, 2011

Median 

Household 

Income

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

All 

All HUD- Renters

Assisted 

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing

Voucher 

Recipients 

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

Median household 

income NA $10,300 $11,900 $9,600 NA $28,000 

Percent of all renter 

households NA 36.7 42.6 34.3 NA 100

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. NA = data not available.

Table 5-2 reveals no clear overall trend in how HUD-assisted housing programs functioned

during the 1989-to-2011 period. The ratios of the median incomes of households served by the 

public housing and voucher programs to renter median income have remained relatively flat 

during the period, with the voucher ratio being higher than the public housing ratio. The ratio of 

median income in the privately owned assisted stock to the median income of all renters declined 

steadily from 1989 to 2009. During that period, the stock of privately owned assisted housing 

decreased by approximately 300,000. The Introduction noted that some components of the 

privately owned assisted rental stock had rents that could be greater than 30 percent of tenant 

income. In recent years, particularly 1995 to 2005, many of these units—rent supplements, 

Section 236, and the old 202 program—left the programs, a fact that may explain the downtrend 

in the ratio of median incomes among households in the privately owned stock.
19

Table 5-2: Trends in Median Income of Households by Assistance Status

Group Median Income 

as Percent of Renter 

Median Income

AHS Survey Year

1989 1991 1993 2003 2007 2009 2011 2013

All HUD-assisted 41 39 38 39 36 37 NA NA

Tenants in public housing 37 36 35 37 33 32 37 36

Voucher recipients 42 39 39 40 38 42 43 39

Tenants in privately 

owned housing 43 42 40 39 37 34 37 34

AHS = American Housing Survey. HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. NA = data not available.

Income Sources

HUD-assisted households differ substantially from other households in how they obtain their 

income. Only 39.4 percent of HUD-assisted households have wage and salary income compared 

with 55.8 percent of income-eligible renter households and 72.6 percent of all renters.

Controlling for the age of the householders does not eliminate this difference, with 50.3 percent 

of assisted households with householders under 65 having wage and salary income compared 

with 65.2 percent among nonelderly eligible households and 79.9 percent among all nonelderly 

renters.

Among elderly households, the percentage receiving social security income differs little between 

assisted renters and either eligible renters or all renters. However, the percentage of elderly 

households receiving income from private pensions or survivor benefits varies by assistance 

status. Only 17.4 percent of elderly assisted households receive income from these sources 

compared with 22.4 percent among eligible renters and 31.8 percent among all renters.

The income source information reinforces the inference drawn from the median income ratios 

that HUD programs serve the poorer of the poor. For example, 13.0 percent of HUD-assisted 

households reported receiving welfare compared with 8.0 percent of income-eligible households 

and 4.6 percent of all renter households. In addition, 52.7 percent of HUD-assisted households 

reported receiving food stamps compared with 32.7 percent of income-eligible households and

17.4 percent of all renter households. Controlling for the age of householders alters the observed 

percentages but not the difference between assisted renters and either all income-eligible renters 

or all renters. For example, 32.4 percent of elderly renters and 21.8 percent of nonelderly renters 

in assisted housing received supplement security income compared with 12.3 percent and 7.2

percent respectively among all renter households (Table 5-3).
20

Table 5-3: Income Sources for Renter Households by Assistant Status and by Elderly/Nonelderly, 2011

Income Sources

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

(%)

Wages and salaries 39.4 39.0 45.1 29.8 55.8 72.6

Under 65 50.3 47.9 53.1 46.1 65.2 79.9

Over 65 6.8 10.3 6.1 5.6 11.3 20.5

Social Security 

income 28.8 27.3 22.9 40.6 21.7 15.8

Under 65 12.6 10.9 12.2 15.5 9.1 6.3

Over 65 77.5 80.3 75.1 77.8 81.6 83.0

Retirement or 

survivors pensions 5.6 5.3 4.1 8.5 5.3 6.0

Under 65 1.7 1.1 1.9 1.9 1.7 2.4

Over 65 17.4 18.9 15.1 18.3 22.4 31.8

Supplemental 

Security Income 24.5 24.6 25.1 23.3 12.3 7.2

Under 65 21.8 22.5 22.8 18.7 10.9 6.2

Over 65 32.4 31.3 36.2 30.1 18.4 14.4

Welfare 13.0 13.5 15.1 8.9 8.0 4.6

Under 65 15.6 15.5 16.9 12.5 9.0 4.8

Over 65 5.4 6.9 6.7 3.7 3.4 2.8

Food stamps 52.7 53.6 52.6 52.0 32.7 17.4

Under 65 57.5 55.6 56.9 61.0 35.0 17.6

Over 65 38.4 47.2 31.9 38.7 21.7 15.8

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Household Composition

Household composition provides further evidence that HUD-assisted housing programs serve a 

clientele different from the typical renter household. In 2011, 26.7 percent of renter households 

consisted of married couple households, and the percentage among all income-eligible renter 

households was 20.1 percent, whereas the percentage across all HUD programs ranged between 

10.6 and 11.3 percent.

Combining the fourth (other female householder) and last (female householder) rows of Table 5-4

provides some additional insight to whom HUD programs serve. Approximately 70 percent of 

HUD-assisted households are female-headed compared with 53 percent among income-eligible

households and 42 percent among all renter households.

Finally, Table 5-4 reveals some important differences across HUD programs in the households 

served. Approximately one-half of all voucher recipient households were two-or-more-person, 

female-headed households (twice the rate among all renter households), although only 30.7

percent of households in privately owned subsidized units were. In the previous section, we 

noted that the privately owned subsidized housing program served elderly households at a much 

higher rate than their share of the income-eligible renter household population.
21

Table 5-4: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Household Composition, 2011

Household 

Composition

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Two-or-more-person 

households 58.2 57.1 65.8 45.7 60.8 64.5

Married couple families, 

no nonrelatives 11.0 10.6 11.3 10.8 20.1 26.7

Other male 

householder 5.1 4.5 5.4 4.9 10.0 13.3

Other female 

householder 42.2 42.0 49.1 30.0 30.7 24.5

One-person 

households 41.8 42.9 34.2 54.4 39.2 35.5

Male householder 13.6 15.8 11.1 16.0 16.9 17.7

Female householder 28.2 27.1 23.1 38.2 22.2 17.8

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

With the exception of the privately owned housing program, HUD-assisted housing serves 

households with children at a higher rate than their share of the population. Overall 44.1 percent 

of assisted households have children compared with 35.5 percent of all renter households.

Slightly more than one-half of voucher households contain children under 18, although 33.0

percent of assisted households in privately owned housing have children. In addition, the 

percentage of households with three or more children is higher in the public housing (15.1

percent) and the voucher program (15.9 percent) than among all income-eligible renter 

households (10.8 percent). See Table 5-5.

Table 5-5: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Number of Children in Household, 2011

Number of 

Single 

Children 

Under 18 

Years

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters (%)

All Renters 

(%) All HUDAssisted (%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

None 55.9 55.8 49.7 67.0 60.4 64.5

One 15.9 16.7 15.7 15.4 15.1 14.9

Two 13.8 12.4 16.6 10.0 13.1 12.1

Three 8.7 9.1 10.7 4.8 7.3 5.7

Four 3.7 4.0 4.4 2.3 2.8 2.0

Five 1.6 1.2 0.2 4.2 0.3 0.7

Six or more 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.2

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Despite the observed program differences and the noted change in program mix over time, 

virtually no change has occurred during the past 24 years in the type of households served by all 

three HUD programs combined. All the rows in Table 5-6 appear to contain only random 

movements.
22

Table 5-6: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Household Composition

Household 

Composition

AHS Survey Year

1989 1991 1993 2003 2007 2009 2011 2011

Two-or-more-person 

households 57 56 58 54 53 55 58 55

Married couple 

families, no 

nonrelatives

13 15 13 11 10 9 11 10

Other male 

householder 4 4 3 2 4 3 5 4

Other female 

householder 39 36 42 41 40 42 42 40

One-person 

households 43 44 42 46 47 45 42 45

Male householder 10 13 13 14 13 13 14 15

Female 

householder 33 32 29 32 34 33 28 30

AHS = American Housing Survey. HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Household Size and Overcrowding

The AHS data on household size highlights the differences among the HUD programs. Overall,

HUD-assisted households have a household size distribution similar to that of all income-eligible 

renter households but with slightly smaller households. Assisted households include a higher 

percentage of one-person households (41.8 versus 39.2 percent) and a lower percentage of twoto-four-person households (46.9 versus 49.2 percent). Households with five or more persons

account for 11.3 percent of HUD-assisted households and 11.7 income-eligible households

(Table 5-7).

Table 5-7: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Household Size and the Incidence of 

Overcrowding, 2011

Household Size

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

One person 41.8 42.9 34.2 54.4 39.2 35.5

Two to four persons 46.9 46.5 51.0 40.0 49.2 54.5

Five or more persons 11.3 10.5 14.8 5.7 11.7 10.0

Overcrowded 4.0 5.2 4.4 2.2 6.2 4.5

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Taken individually, the programs have sharply different household size distributions. The 

privately owned housing program has by far the highest percentage of one-person households; 

public housing also has a high percentage of one-person households. The voucher program has 

the highest percentage of large (five-or-more-person) households.

One problem that assisted housing is intended to address is overcrowded housing conditions. For 

purposes of this report, an overcrowded house is defined as one in which more persons live in the 

households than the units have rooms. Nationally, 4.5 percent of renter households were 

overcrowded in 2011. Overcrowding was more prevalent among income-eligible renter 

households, of which 6.2 percent were overcrowded.
23

HUD-assisted households experienced less overcrowding than either income-eligible households

or all renter households. Among HUD-assisted households, overcrowding was highest among 

households in public housing (5.2 percent).

Households With a Disabled Member

Table 5-8 shows that HUD-assisted housing serves households with one or more disabled

members at a rate (37.7 percent) substantially higher than the rate among either income-eligible 

renter households or all renter households. Income-eligible renter households were more likely 

than a typical renter household to contain a disabled member, 26.0 percent compared with 18.6

percent. The privately owned assisted housing programs contained the highest percentage of 

households with a disabled member, 41.4 percent.

Table 5-8: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Disability Status of Members, 2011

Households by Disability 

Status of Members

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants 

in Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

With a disabled member 37.7 36.0 36.4 41.4 26.0 18.6

Without a disabled member 62.3 64.0 63.6 58.6 74.0 81.4

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Housing Cost as Percent of Income

The primary objective of assisted housing is to make decent housing affordable for needy 

households. The traditional measure of affordability is the ratio of monthly housing costs to 

monthly household income, whereby housing costs include both rent and utility expenses. A 

ratio of 0.3 is generally considered acceptable, although a ratio greater than 0.4 is considered 

excessive (Eggers and Moumen, 2008).

The rent-to-income data from the 2011 AHS clearly illustrated why housing assistance is needed.

Among income-eligible renter households, 61 percent have excessive rent burdens; that is, ratios 

greater than 40 percent. Excessive rent burdens affect 36 percent of HUD-assisted households, a 

rate less than that for all renter households (39 percent). See Table 5-9.

Table 5-9: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Ratio of Housing Costs to Income, 2011

Monthly Housing 

Cost-to-Income 

Ratio

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters

(%)

All HUDAssisted (%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Less than 20% 11 16 10 10 5 16

40% or more 36 28 43 31 61 39

Median rent burden 32 28 34 31 37 32

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Notes: The bottom row in this table is the median of the individual ratios of housing cost to income, not a ratio of medians. For the 

2011 report, the medians were hand calculated from the data in Summary Table 3.
24

By the same rent-to-income measure, the HUD-assisted housing programs have made housing 

more affordable for their clients. Nearly 60 percent of all HUD renter households have ratios less 

than or equal to 34 percent compared with 30 percent for income-eligible renters.

8

In all previous analyses of HUD-assisted housing using AHS data, Table 5-9 generated 

unnecessary confusion. The AHS data on how HUD programs function appear to be at odds with 

program rules. Since the early 1980s, HUD has generally required tenants to contribute 30 

percent of their income toward rent and related expenses. No such uniformity exists in Table 5-9.

According to AHS data, a number of households in each of the HUD programs spend

considerably less than 30 percent, and a number spend considerably more than 30 percent.

The reported results should not be considered surprising. For one thing, HUD rules allow for 

some variation around 30 percent. As noted previously, approximately one-quarter of households 

in privately owned subsidized housing do not pay rent based on the 30 percent of income 

requirement. Another important exception applies to the voucher program, in which recipient 

households are allowed to rent units more expensive than the payment standard if the households 

incur all the added rental costs. Finally, public housing also enables PHAs to establish minimum

rent contributions that can exceed 30 percent of income for families with very small incomes.

Second, one should never expect the AHS data collection process to correspond to the process by 

which HUD agents collect information on tenant incomes and set tenant rents. The HUDmandated process is more formal and detailed and is focused solely on determining program 

eligibility and setting tenant rent. HUD agents require households to present corroborating

information on income. The AHS collects data on income and rent within an instrument that also 

gathers information on other household characteristics and unit and neighborhood characteristics.

The AHS interview may be separated by as much as a year from the income recertification 

process carried out by HUD agents. Measurement errors, misreporting, and month-to-month 

variation in both income and housing-related expenses affect both HUD agents and the AHS.

A recent HUD-funded study showed the rent-to-income ratio can vary significantly between

surveys for the same household and demonstrated how normal variation and measurement error 

might account for a large portion of the survey-to-survey variation (Eggers and Moumen, 2010).

Table 5-10 examines how the median rent-to-income ratio varied over time among various 

components of the rental housing stock. The numbers in Table 5-10 are all medians, meaning 

that one-half of the renters in that category had ratios less than or equal to the reported ratio, and 

one-half had ratios greater than or equal to the reported ratio.

For all renter households as a group, the ratio of rent to income increased steadily from 1991 until 

2011, when it declined slightly. Among income-eligible renters, more than one-half of the group 

began to experience excessive rent burdens of more than 40 percent sometime between 1993 and 

2003 and remained greater than one-half through 2009, the most recent year for which a median 

for this group is available.9 Throughout the six periods for which comparable data are available, 

the median ratios in each of the HUD programs were substantially less than the median reported 

for all income-eligible renter households. Finally, consistent with the special voucher exception, 

the voucher program had the highest median ratio among the HUD programs in all eight periods.

 8 Derived from Table 3 in the Detailed Summary Tables section.

9 The 81-percent median rent burdens for all eligible households in 2003 seems an anomaly.
25

Table 5-10: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Ratio of Housing Costs to Income

Median Monthly 

Housing Cost-toIncome Ratio

AHS Survey

1989 1991 1993 2003 2007 2009 2011 2013

All HUD-assisted 30 31 29 32 34 35 32 34

Tenants in public 

housing 30 30 29 27 30 35 28 30

Voucher recipients 32 34 32 40 39 40 34 39

Tenants in privately 

owned housing 30 31 28 32 31 30 31 31

Total incomeeligible renters 39 36 38 81 51 52 37 52

All renters 28 27 28 30 33 34 32 33

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Note: More detailed information on household characteristics can be found in Summary Table 3 in the Detailed Summary Tables 

section.
26

Unit Quality and Tenant Satisfaction

The preceding two sections show that HUD-assisted housing programs serve households that, for 

the most part, have substantially lower incomes than all renter households and serve elderly 

households, female-headed households, and larger households at a rate higher than their share of 

either all income-eligible renter or all renter households. HUD-assisted households experience 

lower rent-to-income ratios than all income-eligible households. This section examines the 

quality of the housing provided in the assisted housing programs. The section presents 

information from Summary Tables 4 and 5; it also reports some information found in Summary 

Table 1.

Structure Type 

Structure type can affect quality of life, but households differ in what they consider the most 

desirable structure type. Elderly people and small renter households generally favor units in 

garden or highrise apartments that are safe and low maintenance, although households with 

children generally favor single-family units, either detached or attached (for example, 

townhouses). See Table 6-1.

Table 6-1: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Structure Type, 2011

Structure Type

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

(%)

Single-family 23.8 20.3 34.8 7.6 30.0 35.4

Detached 15.2 7.8 26.5 1.7 23.4 28.6

Attached 8.6 12.5 8.3 5.9 6.7 6.8

2 to 4 units 20.5 20.2 24.7 13.3 21.4 19.4

5 to 9 units 14.0 13.3 11.8 18.5 13.3 12.3

10 to 19 units 10.1 8.1 11.1 10.1 11.4 11.6

20 to 49 units 9.4 8.5 7.8 12.7 9.4 8.5

50 or more units 20.5 28.8 7.6 36.3 9.8 8.8

Manufactured/mobile 

home or trailer 1.7 1.0 2.1 1.5 4.6 3.9

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In 2011, structure type varied markedly across HUD-assisted housing programs. Large buildings 

(10 or more units) dominated the privately owned subsidized program (59.2 percent) and, to a 

lesser extent, public housing (45.4 percent). The voucher program, on the other hand, had a 

distribution of structure types that has an even higher distribution of units in housing with four or 

fewer units than the distribution of units occupied by all renter households (59.5 versus 54.8

percent), reflecting the fact that vouchers can be used to access single family housing that rents 

at or below the voucher payment standard.

Equipment Failures

The AHS collects detailed information about deficiencies in individual sample units. A series of 

questions focuses on breakdowns in various housing systems. Although one should be careful 

about drawing conclusions from small differences in 1 survey year, some interesting patterns 

appear in Table 6-2.
27

Table 6-2: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Breakdowns in Housing Systems, 2011

Breakdowns in Housing 

Systems

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

(%)

Equipment failures in last 3 months

Water supply stoppage 5.6 6.9 4.8 6.0 5.2 5.0

Flush toilet—none 

working 4.2 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.0 3.4

Public sewage disposal 

breakdowns 1.7 2.0 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.5

Electric fuse and circuit 

breaker failures 8.2 7.3 10.5 5.0 8.7 9.3

Heating equipment 

breakdown last winter 13.0 16.2 13.4 9.7 11.1 9.6

Water leakage

Leakage from inside 

structure 12.5 14.9 12.1 11.3 11.5 11.1

Leakage from outside 

structure 8.8 8.7 9.3 7.9 10.1 9.8

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For five of the reported system breakdowns (water supply stoppage, no working flush toilets, 

public sewage disposal breakdowns, heating equipment breakdowns, and leaking water from 

inside unit), the incidence of problems was higher for HUD-assisted units as a group than for all 

rental units. In four of the five categories (public sewage disposal breakdowns being the 

exception), the incidence of problems among total eligible renters was intermediate between 

assisted renters and all renters. The differences are small from a substantive perspective, but the 

sample sizes are large enough for some (for example, heating equipment breakdowns) to qualify 

as statistically significant.

For problems with fuses and circuit breakers, the highest incidence appears among all renters and 

was smallest among renters in privately owned assisted units. For leakages from outside the 

structure, the highest incidence is among voucher units and the lowest incidence among units in 

privately owned assisted housing. The leakages from outside results are not surprising given the 

high percentage of voucher households living in detached single-family detached structures and 

the concentration of privately owned assisted units in large structures (see Table 6-1).

In most but not all categories, households in privately owned subsidized units report a lower 

incidence of problems than households in other assisted programs, although households in public 

housing report the highest incidence. However, voucher recipients report the highest incidence of 

problems with fuses and circuit breakers. Differences in structure type probably account for 

some of the variation across program types. For example, privately owned assisted housing 

frequently serves elderly households in small units, although the voucher program frequently 

serves larger households in single-family structures. Single-family structures are more likely to 

have multiple bathrooms and therefore less likely to have no working toilets.
28

Selected Deficiencies

When we examine specific unit deficiencies, we find that HUD-assisted units as a group have 

rates of occurrence that are similar to those among all eligible renters but slightly higher in 

general than among all renters. For all six categories of selected deficiencies, Table 6-3 shows 

the highest incidence of deficiencies in public housing, but some of the differences are 

substantively small.10 For four of the five deficiencies, the incidence among voucher recipients 

and households in privately owned subsidized units is less than or equal to the incidence among 

all income-eligible renter households.

Table 6-3: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Selected Deficiencies, 2011

Selected Deficiencies

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Signs of mice in last 12 

months 12.3 14.7 11.2 12.1 10.8 10.0

Holes in floors 2.0 3.7 1.3 1.6 2.0 1.6

Open cracks or holes 

(interior) 7.8 13.0 7.2 4.5 8.2 7.1

Broken plaster or peeling 

paint (interior) 4.0 8.9 2.4 2.4 3.6 3.1

Exposed wiring 2.2 2.8 2.2 1.6 2.5 2.1

Rooms without electric 

outlets 1.1 1.5 0.8 1.1 1.1 1.0

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Indices of Physical Problems

HUD and the Census Bureau use AHS data to construct two indices of physical problems—one 

reports the incidence of severe physical problems, and one reports the incidence of moderate 

 10 Because of the large samples, some of the differences across programs are statistically significance, for example, 

the difference between public housing and privately owned assisted housing with respect to open cracks and holes. 
29

physical problems.11 Over time the structure of the indices and the variables used to construct 

them have changed.12,13

On both the index of severe physical problems and the index of moderate physical problems, 

HUD-assisted housing has a slightly lower incidence of problems than units occupied by all 

income-eligible households but a higher incidence than all occupied rental units. Within HUDassisted housing, public housing units have the highest incidence of both severe physical 

problem and moderate physical problems (Table 6-4).

Table 6-4: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Indices of Physical Problems, 2011

Physical Problems

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

(%)

Severe physical problems 3.5 4.8 2.7 3.6 3.8 3.1

Moderate physical problems 7.3 9.2 7.1 6.1 8.2 6.7

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Because the definitions of severely inadequate and moderately inadequate have changed over time,

one cannot use the indices to see whether the adequacy of HUD-assisted housing has improved or 

worsened. However, one can use the indices to assess whether HUD-assisted housing has 

improved or worsened relative to other rental housing. Because a unit cannot be classified as both 

severely inadequate and moderately inadequate, Table 6-5 reports the percentage of units that are 

either severely inadequate or moderately inadequate for a given survey.

Prior to the change in definitions of inadequacy in 2009, the percentage of units that were either 

severely inadequate or moderately inadequate was lower among HUD-assisted units as group 

than among all rental units and markedly lower than the percentage among units occupied by all 

income-eligible renter households. In 2009, 2011, and 2013, HUD-assisted units still have a 

lower incidence of inadequacy than units occupied by income-eligible households, but their 

incidence is higher than that of all occupied rental units.

 11 A unit is considered severely inadequate if any of the following criteria apply: (1) Unit does not have hot and cold 

running water; (2) Unit does not have a bathtub or shower; (3) Unit does not have a flush toilet; (4) Unit shares 

plumbing facilities; (5) Unit was cold for 24 hours or more and more than two breakdowns of the heating equipment 

have occurred that lasted longer than 6 hours; (6) Electricity is not used; (7) Unit has exposed wiring, not every 

room has working electrical plugs, and the fuses have blown more than twice; (8) Unit has five or six of the 

following structural conditions: (a) Unit has had outside water leaks in the past 12 months, (b) Unit has had inside 

water leaks in the past 12 months, (c) Unit has holes in the floor, (d) Unit has open cracks wider than a dime, (e)

Unit has an area of peeling paint larger than 8 by 11 inches, (f) Rats have been seen recently in the unit. A unit is 

considered moderately inadequate room if the unit has not been identified as being severely inadequate and meets 

one of the following conditions: (1) there have been more than two breakdowns of the toilet that lasted longer than 6 

hours; (2) The main heating equipment is unvented heaters burning kerosene, gas, or oil; or (3) The unit is lacking 

complete kitchen facilities.

12 The definition changed with the 2009 AHS. See the AHS Codebook Interactive Tool at 

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/tech-documentation/codebooks.html. 13 For a discussion of the index of severe physical problems and what deficiencies cause units to be classified as 

severely inadequate, see Eggers and Moumen (2013).
30

Table 6-5: Trends in the Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Indices of Physical Problems

Severe or Moderate 

Physical Problems

AHS Survey Year

1989 1991 1993 2003 2007 2009 2011 2013

All HUD-assisted 10 10 7 8.8 9.0 9.7 10.8 9.4

Tenants in public 

housing 12 14 12 10.0 8.7 15.4 14.0 11.4

Voucher recipients 13 11 9 8.6 8.4 9.6 9.8 9.0

Tenants in privately 

owned housing 7 6 4 8.1 10.1 5.8 9.7 8.3

Total income-eligible 

renters 16 13 10 12.2 11.3 11.0 12.0 10.9

All renters 12 11 10 10.6 9.9 9.2 9.8 9.1

AHS = American Housing Survey. HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Notes: In previous tables using all eight surveys, we did not report percentages to one-tenth of a percentage point, because that 

level of precision is not available for the first three surveys. Because of the smallest of the percentages, we use tenths of a 

percentage point in this table for the surveys when that level of precision was available.

Previous research has shown that inadequacy is not a persistent characteristic (Eggers and 

Moumen, 2013) for occupied units as a group, but no study of the persistence of inadequacy 

among HUD-assisted households has been conducted.

Tenant Satisfaction

The AHS asks respondents to rate their structure and their neighborhood on a scale from 1 to 10,

on which 10 is considered the best. Households receiving HUD assistance consistently gave their 

units a 10 more frequently than either all income-eligible renter households or all renter

households. Voucher recipients gave the 10 rating most frequently. The worst rating of 1 was also 

more common among HUD-assisted households, but the differences in percentages are small.

Tenants in privately owned housing had the highest percentage of “worst” ratings (Table 6-6).

Table 6-6: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Tenant Ratings as Best or Worst, 2011

Overall Opinion

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

(%)

Structure

10 (best) 29.3 28.2 32.0 28.3 23.2 21.2

1 (worst) 1.9 1.4 1.5 2.4 1.5 1.0

Neighborhood

10 (best) 25.6 20.7 28.4 26.5 24.5 23.7

1 (worst) 5.3 9.1 5.7 3.1 2.7 1.7

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Although assisted households overall were more likely to rate their neighborhoods a 10 than 

either income-eligible renters or all renters, public housing households were the least likely of all 

groups to do so, and 9.1 percent of public housing tenants gave their neighborhood the worst 

rating.

Recent Movers

The AHS gathers additional information on households in which the respondent had moved into 

the unit during the past year. In the Householder Characteristics section, we saw that 
31

householders tended to remain in assisted units much longer than householders in incomeeligible households or all renters. The same pattern holds when we look at recent movers. Recent 

mover households occupy only 22.7 percent of HUD-assisted units compared with 33.7 percent 

of all renter households (Table 6-7).

Table 6-7: Distribution of HUD-Assisted Housing by Percent of Recent Movers, 2011

Recent Mover 

Households

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Respondent moved 

during past year 22.7 21.8 24.1 21.0 32.4 33.7

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The AHS asks a detailed series of questions about why recent-mover respondents moved into the 

units. Table 6-8 discusses some key reasons given by respondents; Summary Table 5 reports all 

the reasons given.

Table 6-8: Distribution of Recent Movers Into HUD-Assisted Housing by Key Reasons Given for Move, 

2011

Reasons for 

Moving

HUD-Assisted Renters Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing (%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing (%)

Displaced 5.7 8.8 4.9 4.5 4.9 5.0

New job, closer to 

job, school, or other 

financial/employment 

reasons

13.5 10.7 12.3 18.6 24.1 29.8

To establish own 

household 13.2 12.6 9.4 21.5 14.1 12.4

Needed larger house 

or apartment 13.4 11.6 16.0 9.9 10.9 11.3

Wanted better home 16.3 10.2 19.4 15.3 11.0 10.2

Change from owner 

to renter 1.1 0.0 1.4 1.2 0.8 1.1

Wanted lower rent or 

maintenance 9.9 10.2 8.4 12.8 9.6 8.5

Other housingrelated reasons 5.2 2.8 6.1 5.4 5.6 5.1

Other 40.0 47.4 38.9 35.5 34.4 32.2

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Displaced,” the first reason listed, means the recent mover was forced to leave the previous unit 

by private action, government action, fire, natural disaster, or eviction. Between 4 and 9 percent 

of recent movers were displaced across all the groups. Thirty percent of respondents from the all 

renters group say their move resulted from a new job or transfer, a desire to be closer to an 

existing job or to a school, or another financial or employment reason. Among HUD-assisted 

households, respondents gave the location-related reasons at a much lower rate.
32

Reflecting the greater flexibility of tenant-based assistance, voucher respondents were the most 

likely to give improved housing reasons, namely “needed larger house or apartment” and 

“wanted better home.”

When asked to compare their current units with previous homes, recent mover respondents in 

HUD-assisted units were more likely to rate the HUD-assisted unit as better and less likely to 

rate the HUD-assisted unit as worse than their previous units (Table 6-9).

Table 6-9: Distribution of Recent Movers Into HUD-Assisted Housing by Comparison of Current and 

Previous Home and Neighborhood, 2011

Comparison of 

Current and 

Previous Home and 

Neighborhood

HUD-Assisted Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters 

(%)

All 

Renters 

(%)

All HUDAssisted 

(%)

Tenants in 

Public 

Housing 

(%)

Voucher 

Recipients 

(%)

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing 

(%)

Current home

Better 59.9 54.4 65.2 54.1 48.5 47.3

Worse 10.8 10.2 10.2 12.4 19.5 19.7

Current neighborhood

Better 45.1 36.7 52.1 38.4 38.2 37.3

Worse 14.2 16.3 12.1 16.5 15.5 14.6

HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

When asked to compare their current neighborhoods with their previous neighborhoods, recent 

mover respondents in HUD-assisted units were more likely to rate their current neighborhood as 

better than their previous neighborhoods. Recent movers in public housing units were more 

likely to rate their neighborhood as worse.

More detailed results on unit quality can be found in Summary Table 4 and on tenant satisfaction 

in Summary Table 5.
33

Detailed Summary Tables

This section contains six tables that present detail information on eight sets of rental households. 

The six tables are—

Summary Table 1: 2011 Structural Characteristics.

Summary Table 2: 2011 Householder Characteristics.

Summary Table 3: 2011 Household Characteristics.

Summary Table 4: 2011 Unit Conditions.

Summary Table 5: 2011 Tenant Opinions

Summary Table 6: Breakdown of Householder and Household Characteristics by Race, 

Ethnicity, Age, and Disability Status. 

The nine columns in each table contain counts by—

1. All assisted households.

2. Public housing tenants.

3. Voucher recipients.

4. Tenants in privately owned assisted housing units.

5. Eligible (income at or below 50 percent of Area Median Income) but not subsidized 

households.

6. All income-eligible renters.

7. Total renters.

8. Worst case needs households.

9. Not eligible renters.

Previous reports (1989, 1991, 1993, 2003, and 2005) contained special tabulation prepared by 

the Census Bureau. The 2009, 2011, and 2013 reports do not contain these Census Bureau 

tabulations.
34

Summary Table 1. 2011 Structural Characteristics

2011 Structural Characteristics

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing

Eligible 

Unassisted, Not 

Worst Case 

Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

Total households 4,168 987 2,028 1,153 6,771 19,736 38,814 8,797 19,079

Structure type

One, detached 634 77 537 20 1,696 4,614 11,099 2,284 6,485

One, attached 360 123 169 68 386 1,313 2,654 567 1,342

2 to 4 853 199 501 153 1,542 4,231 7,530 1,836 3,299

5 to 9 584 131 240 213 897 2,630 4,789 1,149 2,159

10 to 19 423 80 226 117 768 2,244 4,511 1,053 2,267

20 to 49 390 84 159 147 594 1,864 3,294 880 1,430

50 or more 856 284 154 418 411 1,928 3,425 661 1,497

Manufactured / mobile home or 

trailer 69 10 42 17 477 912 1,512 366 600

Year built

1919 or earlier 209 23 153 33 644 1,608 3,141 755 1,533

1920 to 1929 150 15 117 18 410 1,067 2,014 507 946

1930 to 1939 151 33 95 23 361 1,011 2,008 499 997

1940 to 1949 265 85 140 40 454 1,373 2,451 654 1,079

1950 to 1959 406 165 187 54 602 1,741 3,357 733 1,617

1960 to 1969 565 220 233 112 886 2,555 4,917 1,104 2,362

1970 to 1974 576 182 216 178 756 2,228 3,927 896 1,701

1975 to 1979 577 100 226 251 890 2,511 4,507 1,044 1,996

1980 to 1984 383 49 107 227 406 1,307 2,470 518 1,162

1985 to 1989 201 21 118 62 432 1,230 2,714 597 1,484

1990 to 1994 131 15 65 51 239 717 1,497 347 780

1995 to 1999 177 29 105 43 289 862 1,861 396 999

2000 to 2004 187 16 133 38 218 776 1,887 371 1,111

2005 to 2009 178 30 129 19 173 700 1,917 349 1,218

2010 to 2014 16 6 4 6 10 54 147 28 92

Region

Northeast 1,154 363 470 321 1,200 4,049 7,585 1,695 3,537

New England 295 74 126 95 307 1,009 1,785 407 776

Middle Atlantic 859 289 344 226 893 3,039 5,800 1,287 2,761

Midwest 810 194 322 294 1,484 3,938 7,651 1,644 3,713

East North Central 551 132 205 214 990 2,723 5,250 1,182 2,529

West North Central 259 63 117 79 494 1,215 2,400 462 1,184

South 1,350 336 634 380 2,310 6,664 13,464 3,004 6,799

South Atlantic and East South 

Central 962 255 413 294 1,522 4,513 9,027 2,029 4,514

West South Central 390 82 222 86 788 2,153 4,437 975 2,285

West 853 93 602 158 1,777 5,084 10,114 2,454 5,030

Metropolitan status

Inside metropolitan statistical 

areas 3,495 832 1,704 959 5,426 16,288 32,069 7,367 15,780

In central city 2,230 666 936 628 2,815 9,046 16,609 4,001 7,564

In suburbs 1,266 166 769 331 2,611 7,244 15,460 3,367 8,216
35

2011 Structural Characteristics

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in 

Privately 

Owned 

Housing

Eligible 

Unassisted, Not 

Worst Case 

Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

Outside metropolitan areas 672 155 323 194 1,344 3,445 6,746 1,429 3,299

Number of bedrooms

None 79 29 13 37 216 526 840 231 314

One 1,442 336 500 606 2,020 5,980 10,336 2,518 4,357

Two 1,404 331 762 311 2,850 7,866 15,458 3,612 7,592

Three 987 228 586 173 1,340 4,201 9,262 1,874 5,060

Four or more 255 63 166 26 345 1,161 2,917 561 1,755

Number of complete bathrooms

None 19 4 6 9 46 201 304 155 84

One 3,144 855 1,336 953 4,853 10,690 24,148 5,837 10,313

One and one half 411 63 216 132 594 1,377 3,834 783 2,046

Two or more 592 64 470 58 1,278 3,299 10,528 2,021 6,635

NA = data not available. – represents or rounds to 0.
36

Summary Table 2. 2011 Householder Characteristics

2011 Householder Characteristics

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

Total households 4,168 987 2,028 1,153 6,772 19,737 38,816 8,797 19,080

Race and origin of householder

White alone 2,037 427 1,005 605 4,899 13,033 27,463 6,097 14,431

White alone Hispanic 632 170 305 157 1,451 3,965 6,547 1,882 2,581

White alone Non-Hispanic 1,404 257 699 448 3,448 9,066 20,916 4,214 11,850

Black alone 1,825 495 870 460 1,250 5,067 8,033 1,992 2,965

Black alone Hispanic 67 26 31 10 45 209 369 97 160

Black alone Non-Hispanic 1,758 469 839 450 1,206 4,859 7,664 1,895 2,805

American Indian or Alaskan Native only 71 14 46 11 139 335 556 125 220

Asian only 145 27 59 59 280 824 1,907 399 1,083

Hawaiian, Pacific Islander only 8 1 7 0 32 90 170 50 79

Two or more races 82 23 42 17 170 387 688 135 301

Hispanic or Latino (any race) 740 212 177 351 1,598 4,410 7,311 2,072 2,902

Age of householder

Under 25 years old 301 75 95 131 988 2,734 4,570 1,445 1,836

25–29 years old 416 106 198 112 834 2,371 5,615 1,121 3,244

30–34 years old 437 109 267 61 784 2,157 5,351 936 3,194

35–44 years old 643 136 396 111 1,224 3,443 7,585 1,576 4,143

45–54 years old 731 175 433 123 1,100 3,223 6,420 1,392 3,197

55–64 years old 600 153 295 152 781 2,374 4,467 993 2,094

65–74 years old 478 102 175 201 500 1,596 2,365 618 770

75 years old and older 565 131 170 264 561 1,842 2,443 716 603

Educational attainment of the 

householder

Less than 9th grade 473 122 192 159 555 1,781 2,240 753 459

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 993 286 441 266 1,161 3,628 4,813 1,474 1,186

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 1,464 315 725 424 2,395 6,632 11,756 2,773 5,126

Additional vocational training 191 35 100 56 201 723 1,321 331 598

Some college, no degree 751 177 384 190 1,379 4,126 7,981 1,996 3,856

Associate's degree 235 43 143 49 435 1,223 3,037 553 1,814

Bachelor's degree 187 31 108 48 622 1,743 6,201 934 4,458

Graduate or professional degree 67 14 35 18 224 605 2,789 314 2,182

High school graduate or higher 2,704 580 1,395 729 5,055 14,329 31,764 6,570 17,436

Bachelor's degree or higher 255 45 143 67 846 2,349 8,989 1,248 6,640

Citizenship of householder

Citizen of the United States 3,904 929 1,896 1,079 5,655 16,951 34,090 7,392 17,139

Naturalized Citizen of the United States 354 74 154 126 486 1,483 2,770 643 1,288

Not a citizen of the United States 264 58 132 74 1,116 2,785 4,725 1,405 1,940

Year householder moved into unit

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA 2 2 2 NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 4 0 4

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 12 16 26 4 11

1950 to 1959 4 4 NA NA 35 51 67 12 16

1960 to 1969 12 8 3 1 51 84 139 21 55
37

2011 Householder Characteristics

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

1970 to 1974 15 7 6 2 47 101 141 39 40

1975 to 1979 36 10 19 7 45 132 229 51 97

1980 to 1984 46 12 17 17 63 169 295 60 126

1985 to 1989 55 14 20 21 74 242 434 113 191

1990 to 1994 190 62 68 60 199 552 879 163 326

1995 to 1999 234 75 72 87 315 901 1,521 352 619

2000 to 2004 573 139 272 162 674 1,938 3,405 691 1,467

2005 to 2009 1,693 343 885 465 2,279 6,740 13,450 2,768 6,710

2010 to 2011 1,310 312 666 332 2,975 8,809 18,225 4,524 9,416

NA = data not available. – represents or rounds to 0.
38

Summary Table 3. 2011 Household Characteristics

2011 Household Characteristics

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

Total households 4,168 987 2,028 1,153 19,737 38,816 6,772 8,797 19,080

Number of persons in household

One person 1,743 423 693 627 7,729 13,769 2,506 3,480 6,041

Two persons 858 189 417 252 4,462 10,524 1,621 1,983 6,061

Three persons 636 151 357 128 2,958 5,974 985 1,337 3,016

Four persons 461 119 261 81 2,287 4,669 882 944 2,382

Five persons 274 57 179 38 1,404 2,403 520 610 999

Six persons 114 22 73 19 542 905 145 283 363

Seven persons or more 82 25 48 9 357 572 114 161 217

Number of persons per room

0.50 or fewer 2,582 594 1,169 819 11,720 23,980 3,834 5,304 12,260

0.51 to 1.00 1,422 343 770 309 6,786 13,097 2,460 2,904 6,311

1.01 to 1.50 156 48 86 22 996 1,429 372 468 433

1.51 or more 9 3 3 3 236 311 106 121 76

Number of children under 18 

years

None 2,331 551 1,007 773 11,915 25,017 4,117 5,467 13,103

One 662 165 319 178 2,986 5,801 1,077 1,247 2,815

Two 574 122 337 115 2,588 4,696 918 1,096 2,108

Three 362 90 217 55 1,448 2,200 476 610 753

Four 155 39 90 26 562 761 136 271 199

Five 65 12 5 48 65 256 0 0 0

Six or more 21 8 11 2 63 86 14 28 24

Household composition

Two-or-more-person households 2,426 564 1,335 527 12,009 25,047 4,266 5,317 13,038

Age of householder

Under 25 years old 264 66 83 115 1,898 3,327 702 932 1,429

25–29 years old 371 87 188 96 1,810 4,028 631 808 2,217

30–34 years old 398 97 249 52 1,708 4,066 592 718 2,358

35–44 years old 536 115 336 85 2,704 5,776 953 1,215 3,072

45–54 years old 443 94 278 71 1,969 4,129 668 858 2,161

55–64 years old 208 46 118 44 998 2,132 361 429 1,132

65–74 years old 119 32 53 34 525 950 209 197 426

75 years old and older 88 27 31 30 397 639 150 159 243

Married couple families, no 

nonrelatives 458 105 229 124 3,974 10,345 1,758 1,758 6,371

Age of householder

Under 25 years old 50 15 24 11 394 689 195 149 320

25–29 years old 50 15 24 11 522 1,418 246 226 896

30–34 years old 53 10 38 5 574 1,837 268 253 1,264

35–44 years old 86 18 48 20 973 2,718 404 483 1,747

45–54 years old 84 19 49 16 672 1,804 290 298 1,132

55–64 years old 52 11 22 19 388 994 164 172 606

65–74 years old 62 16 25 21 265 515 102 101 250

75 years old and older 48 11 18 19 213 369 89 76 156
39

2011 Household Characteristics

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

Other female householder 1,757 415 996 346 6,065 9,527 1,676 2,632 3,463

Age of householder

Under 25 years old 194 54 55 85 963 1,512 288 481 550

25–29 years old 296 65 154 77 979 1,542 261 422 563

30–34 years old 309 80 188 41 925 1,462 230 386 538

35–44 years old 413 88 271 54 1,383 2,113 379 591 730

45–54 years old 325 66 212 47 1,018 1,617 269 424 600

55–64 years old 137 32 84 21 453 749 122 194 295

65–74 years old 49 14 23 12 195 309 68 78 114

75 years old and older 35 16 10 9 150 223 57 58 73

Other male householder 211 44 110 57 1,970 5,174 832 927 3,204

Age of householder

Under 25 years old 47 5 24 18 567 1,126 218 302 559

25–29 years old 25 8 9 8 309 1,067 124 160 758

30–34 years old 37 7 24 6 211 767 94 80 556

35–44 years old 38 9 18 11 351 944 171 142 595

45–54 years old 34 9 17 8 280 709 109 137 429

55–64 years old 19 3 12 4 156 389 74 63 231

65–74 years old 7 2 4 1 63 126 38 18 62

75 years old and older 3 0 2 1 32 47 4 25 14

One-person households 1,743 423 693 627 7,729 13,769 2,506 3,480 6,041

Age of householder

Under 25 years old 38 10 12 16 837 1,243 286 513 407

25–29 years old 46 19 11 16 562 1,587 203 313 1,027

30–34 years old 39 12 18 9 449 1,284 192 218 836

35–44 years old 107 21 60 26 739 1,809 271 361 1,071

45–54 years old 289 81 155 53 1,255 2,291 432 534 1,036

55–64 years old 390 107 176 107 1,373 2,336 419 564 962

65–74 years old 359 70 122 167 1,071 1,414 292 420 344

75 years old and older 477 104 139 234 1,445 1,804 411 557 360

Male householder 1-person 566 156 225 185 3,338 6,868 1,286 1,486 3,531

Age of householder

Under 25 years old 12 1 7 4 386 604 145 229 217

25–29 years old 14 5 4 5 286 879 99 173 593

30–34 years old 13 3 8 2 259 803 121 125 544

35–44 years old 53 10 30 13 436 1,119 179 204 684

45–54 years old 122 33 67 22 670 1,317 280 268 647

55–64 years old 133 43 49 41 593 1,130 210 250 537

65–74 years old 95 17 27 51 372 553 134 143 181

75 years old and older 124 44 32 48 335 465 118 93 129

Female householder 1-person 1,176 267 468 441 4,390 6,901 1,220 1,994 2,510

Age of householder

Under 25 years old 25 9 4 12 449 640 141 283 190

25–29 years old 32 14 7 11 275 709 103 140 434

30–34 years old 26 9 10 7 191 482 72 93 292

35–44 years old 53 11 30 12 302 690 92 157 388
40

2011 Household Characteristics

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

45–54 years old 167 48 88 31 586 974 153 266 389

55–64 years old 257 64 127 66 780 1,205 209 314 424

65–74 years old 263 52 95 116 697 861 157 277 163

75 years old and older 352 60 106 186 1,108 1,340 293 463 231

Households with children 1,838 436 1,021 381 7,822 13,799 2,654 3,330 5,977

Children in household with one adult 1,094 265 591 238 3,150 4,259 803 1,253 1,108

With relatives not spouse or children 417 100 241 76 2,021 3,713 768 836 1,693

With nonrelatives 211 32 136 43 2,588 6,653 1,012 1,365 4,066

Disability status

With a disabled member 1,570 355 738 477 5,131 7,237 1,455 2,106 2,102

Without a disabled member 2,597 631 1,290 676 14,601 31,578 5,315 6,689 16,979

Median monthly household 

income NA $10,264 $11,910 $9,600 NA $27,982 $19,982 $11,964 $51,956

Income sources of families and 

primary individuals

Wages and salaries 1,644 385 915 344 11,018 28,166 4,281 5,093 17,149

Self-employment 140 21 80 39 1,194 3,186 360 694 1,992

Interest 73 14 28 31 838 2,945 286 479 2,106

Dividends 12 3 5 4 204 966 55 137 762

Rental income 21 5 10 6 169 648 43 105 479

Social Security or Railroad 

Retirement 1,204 269 465 470 4,292 6,149 1,362 1,726 1,857

Retirement or survivor pensions 235 53 84 98 1,056 2,331 400 421 1,275

Supplementary Security Income 

(SSI) 1,020 242 509 269 2,418 2,797 530 868 379

Child support or alimony 415 86 239 90 1,348 2,227 342 591 880

Public assistance or public welfare 543 133 307 103 1,579 1,775 332 704 196

Food stamp benefits 2,198 529 1,068 601 6,452 6,736 1,454 2,800 284

Food Stamps

Did not receive Food Stamps 1,233 287 537 409 9,673 11,697 3,518 4,922 2,023

Household members received Food 

Stamps 2,198 529 1,068 601 6,452 6,736 1,454 2,800 284

Not reported 736 170 423 143 3,611 20,383 1,800 1,075 16,772

Median monthly housing cost 

(excludes no cash rent) NA $302 $562 $291 NA $842 $657 $857 $999

Monthly cost as a percentage of 

current income

Less than 5% 20 9 5 6 40 199 18 2 159

5 to 9% 90 50 29 11 153 897 59 4 743

10 to 14% 139 48 55 36 228 2,081 87 2 1,852

15 to 19% 214 55 102 57 343 2,992 120 9 2,650

20 to 24% 289 86 126 77 551 3,689 247 15 3,138

25 to 29% 615 184 210 221 1,168 3,988 507 46 2,820

30 to 34% 505 125 223 157 1,339 3,250 799 35 1,911

35 to 39% 338 56 178 104 1,387 2,676 1,005 44 1,289

40 to 49% 394 68 224 102 2,299 3,732 1,853 52 1,433
41

2011 Household Characteristics

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

50 to 59% 172 37 92 43 1,968 2,630 247 1,549 662

60 to 69% 150 30 94 26 1,353 1,674 58 1,145 323

70 to 99% 216 29 129 58 2,288 2,645 88 1,984 357

100% or more 584 117 334 133 4,192 4,638 137 3,471 446

Zero or negative income 178 46 78 54 1,064 1,454 667 219 390

No Cash Rent 267 48 150 69 1,366 2,271 878 221 905

NA = data not available. – represents or rounds to 0.
42

Summary Table 4. 2011 Unit Conditions

2011 Unit Conditions 

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

Total households 4,168 987 2,028 1,153 6,772 19,737 38,816 8,797 19,080

Severe physical problems 144 47 55 42 0 753 1,207 609 454

Plumbing 90 23 32 35 0 461 797 371 336

Heating 51 19 23 9 0 259 365 208 105

Electric 0 0 0 0 0 9 16 9 7

Upkeep 8 6 2 0 0 42 57 34 14

Moderate physical problems 305 91 144 70 653 1,611 2,601 653 989

Plumbing 20 2 15 3 26 79 138 33 59

Heating 18 4 10 4 152 265 424 95 159

Upkeep 97 37 43 17 167 458 700 194 243

Kitchen 188 54 85 49 332 876 1,438 356 561

Selected deficiencies

Signs of rats in last 12 months 49 16 26 7 111 335 510 175 175

Signs of mice in last 12 months 512 145 227 140 773 2,131 3,867 846 1,735

Signs of rodents, not sure which kind, in last 12 

months 19 4 11 4 57 187 328 111 142

Holes in floor 82 37 27 18 94 398 608 222 209

Cracks in walls or ceiling 327 128 147 52 530 1,621 2,769 764 1,148

Broken plaster or peeling paint 165 88 49 28 246 709 1,214 298 505

No electrical wiring 8 2 3 3 11 58 80 39 21

Exposed wiring 90 28 44 18 163 484 822 231 338

Rooms without electric outlets 45 15 17 13 76 221 378 100 157

Equipment failures in last 3 months

Water supply stoppage 235 68 98 69 359 1,034 1,958 440 924

Flush toilet—none working 177 43 84 50 245 790 1,308 368 517

Public sewage disposal breakdowns 71 20 33 18 114 352 587 167 234

Electric and circuit breaker failures 342 72 212 58 598 1,721 3,599 781 1,879

Heating equipment breakdown last winter 543 160 271 112 608 2,188 3,723 1,037 1,534

Leakage from outside the structure 365 86 188 91 676 1,984 3,785 943 1,801

Leakage from inside the structure 523 147 246 130 702 2,264 4,301 1,039 2,038

NA = data not available. – represents or rounds to 0.
43

Summary Table 5. 2011 Tenant Opinions

2011 Tenant Opinions

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

Total households 4,168 987 2,028 1,153 6,772 19,737 38,816 8,797 19,080

Overall opinion of structure

1 (Worst) 79 14 48 17 81 288 398 128 109

2 45 15 17 13 45 190 256 100 66

3 69 21 24 24 102 299 467 128 168

4 90 30 38 22 160 403 666 153 263

5 349 96 161 92 574 1,676 2,805 753 1,130

6 273 67 139 67 571 1,502 2,883 658 1,380

7 564 130 292 142 1,080 3,066 6,611 1,422 3,544

8 876 189 435 252 1,748 4,885 10,411 2,261 5,526

9 480 112 235 133 745 2,164 4,748 939 2,584

10 (Best) 1,220 278 573 369 1,418 4,574 8,220 1,936 3,646

Not Reported 120 33 65 22 247 687 1,352 320 664

Overall opinion of 

neighborhood

1 (Worst) 219 90 63 66 144 529 663 166 135

2 95 21 49 25 87 322 482 140 160

3 106 35 40 31 129 435 695 200 260

4 155 47 67 41 200 659 1,053 304 394

5 441 123 205 113 634 1,795 3,033 720 1,238

6 271 72 120 79 516 1,354 2,671 567 1,317

7 484 121 250 113 916 2,635 5,526 1,235 2,891

8 775 155 399 221 1,543 4,231 9,107 1,913 4,874

9 405 78 224 103 737 2,168 4,936 1,026 2,767

10 (Best) 1,069 204 538 327 1,595 4,836 9,189 2,172 4,354

No Neighborhood 9 1 5 3 11 35 50 15 15

Not Reported 138 40 68 30 261 738 1,411 339 673

Recent mover from inside U.S. 946 215 489 242 2,144 6,389 13,073 3,299 6,684

Reason for leaving previous 

unit

Private Displacement 9 1 3 5 66 147 337 72 190

Owner taking over unit 3 0 0 3 14 37 106 20 68

Unit was going condo/co-op 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 2 4

Unit closed for repairs 0 0 0 0 4 5 19 1 13

Other 5 1 2 2 47 101 203 49 102

Not Reported 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3

Government Displacement 26 7 17 2 13 62 105 23 43

Government using land/unit 3 2 1 0 4 9 14 2 6

Unit was condemned 11 0 9 2 0 18 19 7 2

Other 14 6 7 1 9 37 72 14 35

Not Reported 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Financial/employment related

Foreclosure reasons 16 3 12 1 31 129 246 82 117

New job or job transfer 18 2 8 8 128 365 1,449 219 1,083
44

2011 Tenant Opinions

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

To be closer to 

work/school/other 57 12 35 10 292 881 1,907 532 1,026

Other financial/employment 

reasons 53 9 17 27 91 293 534 149 241

Family/person related

Marital status change 34 17 8 9 136 326 722 156 397

Other family/personal reasons 120 27 71 22 189 636 1,128 327 493

Housing related

Establish own household 125 27 46 52 336 900 1,619 439 720

Needed larger unit 127 25 78 24 242 694 1,483 325 789

To obtain higher quality unit 154 22 95 37 200 701 1,332 347 632

To change tenure 10 0 7 3 14 53 145 29 92

Less expensive 

rent/maintenance 94 22 41 31 210 611 1,107 307 495

Other housing related reasons 49 6 30 13 113 358 667 196 308

Eviction 6 2 0 4 29 76 114 41 38

Disaster loss 13 9 4 0 9 31 92 9 60

Some other reason 202 49 102 51 340 1,038 1,966 496 928

Not Reported 22 9 9 4 92 198 397 84 200

Choice of present home

Financial reasons 339 98 130 111 920 2,473 4,795 1,214 2,322

Room layout/design 228 47 133 48 417 1,507 3,302 862 1,796

Kitchen 43 4 33 6 97 316 694 176 378

Size 208 39 120 49 382 1,341 2,983 751 1,643

Exterior appearance 102 12 58 32 156 611 1,415 353 803

Yard/trees/view 63 4 34 25 149 450 1,167 238 717

Quality of Construction 80 8 50 22 122 444 963 242 518

Only one available 76 22 36 18 128 419 716 215 296

Other 202 46 105 51 493 1,447 3,046 752 1,599

Not Reported 36 11 20 5 81 221 464 104 244

Main reason for choice of 

present home

All reasons equal 123 26 60 37 229 792 1,780 440 989

Financial reasons 258 74 92 92 735 1,875 3,498 882 1,623

Room layout/design 98 25 57 16 203 733 1,525 432 792

Kitchen 5 0 5 0 14 33 88 14 53

Size 118 22 71 25 198 706 1,515 390 810

Exterior appearance 19 4 10 5 42 144 348 83 203

Yard/trees/view 15 3 9 3 49 122 322 58 200

Quality of construction 29 1 28 0 54 161 325 78 164

Only one available 61 10 34 17 109 354 592 184 238

Other 176 39 97 40 419 1,205 2,525 610 1,320

Not reported 2 NA 2 NA NA 2 3 NA 0

Not applicable 42 11 24 7 92 261 552 127 291

Recent mover comparison to 

previous home
45

2011 Tenant Opinions

(000s)

All 

Assisted 

Renters

Tenants in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All 

Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not 

Eligible

Renters

Better 567 117 319 131 969 3,098 6,178 1,562 3,080

Worse 102 22 50 30 464 1,248 2,574 682 1,325

About the same 252 68 109 75 637 1,832 3,863 943 2,031

Not reported 22 8 10 4 73 200 442 105 241

Not applicable 2 0 NA 2 1 10 16 7 7

Choice of present 

neighborhood

Convenient to job 95 23 56 16 425 1,042 2,890 522 1,848

Convenient to friends or relatives 156 30 71 55 378 1,095 2,027 561 932

Convenient to leisure activity 25 8 7 10 129 319 865 165 547

Convenient to public 

transportation 51 17 15 19 103 362 675 208 313

Good schools 103 6 82 15 222 653 1,234 328 581

Other public services 69 25 24 20 89 267 472 109 206

Looks/design of neighborhood 116 19 58 39 217 699 1,619 366 920

House was most important 

consideration 109 18 60 31 200 610 1,284 301 674

Other reasons 184 52 80 52 374 1,185 2,209 627 1,025

Not reported 301 86 158 57 665 1,993 3,986 1,027 1,992

Main reason for choice of 

neighborhood

All reasons equal 72 24 28 20 132 424 941 220 516

Convenient to job 56 14 31 11 301 709 1,991 352 1,281

Convenient to friends or relatives 96 14 45 37 225 675 1,189 354 513

Convenient to leisure activities 3 NA 2 1 33 84 207 48 123

Convenient to public 

transportation 14 2 4 8 37 116 176 65 59

Good schools 70 2 61 7 135 425 771 220 345

Other public services 32 11 13 8 29 104 145 43 41

Looks/design of neighborhood 61 5 33 23 115 375 839 199 465

House was an important 

consideration 73 12 41 20 136 433 925 224 491

Other 164 45 71 48 334 1,038 1,888 540 850

Not applicable 303 86 158 59 665 2,002 4,002 1,034 1,999

Not reported 0 NA NA NA 0 0 0 NA NA

Recent mover comparison to 

previous neighborhood

Better 427 79 255 93 788 2,438 4,876 1,223 2,437

Worse 134 35 59 40 318 990 1,909 538 918

About the same 301 80 140 81 842 2,380 5,111 1,237 2,733

Same neighborhood 58 12 24 22 116 356 691 182 334

Not reported 24 9 11 4 80 216 470 112 254

Not applicable 2 0 NA 2 1 10 16 7 7

NA = data not available. – represents or rounds to 0.
46

Summary Table 6. Breakdown of Householder and Household Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, Age, and Disability Status

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

Total Households 4,168 987 2,028 1,153 6,772 19,737 38,816 8,797 19,080

Educational attainment of 

householder

Race and origin of householder

All

Less than 9th grade 473 122 192 159 555 1,781 2,240 753 459

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 993 286 441 266 1,161 3,628 4,813 1,474 1,186

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 1,464 315 725 424 2,395 6,632 11,756 2,773 5,126

Additional vocational training 191 35 100 56 201 723 1,321 331 598

Some college, no degree 751 177 384 190 1,379 4,126 7,981 1,996 3,856

Associate's degree 235 43 143 49 435 1,223 3,037 553 1,814

Bachelor's degree 187 31 108 48 622 1,743 6,201 934 4,458

Graduate or professional degree 67 14 35 18 224 605 2,789 314 2,182

High school graduate or higher 2,704 580 1,395 729 5,055 14,329 31,764 6,570 17,436

Bachelor's degree or higher 255 45 143 67 846 2,349 8,989 1,248 6,640

White alone

Less than 9th grade 315 78 137 100 458 1,356 1,730 583 375

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 459 125 216 118 845 2,294 3,228 990 934

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 689 117 359 213 1,727 4,317 8,273 1,901 3,955

Additional vocational training 92 9 55 28 155 484 957 237 473

Some college, no degree 344 72 174 98 985 2,705 5,594 1,376 2,888

Associate's degree 89 9 51 29 295 754 2,142 370 1,388

Bachelor's degree 96 15 47 34 443 1,202 4,567 663 3,365

Graduate or professional degree 44 11 20 13 145 402 1,929 213 1,527

High school graduate or higher 1,262 224 651 387 3,595 9,380 22,505 4,523 13,123

Bachelor's degree or higher 140 26 67 47 588 1,604 6,496 876 4,892

White alone Hispanic

Less than 9th grade 190 54 82 54 335 918 1,183 393 265

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 167 55 80 32 347 966 1,354 452 388

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 161 31 93 37 439 1,181 1,970 581 789

Additional vocational training 17 1 9 7 21 98 171 60 73

Some college, no degree 77 21 37 19 195 533 987 261 454

Associate's degree 16 4 8 4 56 154 396 82 243

Bachelor's degree 20 4 6 10 64 170 479 86 310

Graduate or professional degree 3 3 NA 0 15 46 178 28 132

High school graduate or higher 277 63 144 70 769 2,084 4,010 1,038 1,928

Bachelor's degree or higher 22 6 6 10 79 215 657 114 442

White alone Non-Hispanic

Less than 9th grade 125 24 55 46 123 438 548 190 110

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 292 70 136 86 498 1,328 1,874 538 546

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 527 85 266 176 1,290 3,138 6,303 1,321 3,166
47

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

Additional vocational training 74 7 46 21 135 387 786 178 400

Some college, no degree 268 51 138 79 790 2,173 4,607 1,115 2,434

Associate's degree 74 5 44 25 238 601 1,746 289 1,145

Bachelor's degree 76 11 41 24 379 1,031 4,088 576 3,056

Graduate or professional degree 42 9 20 13 130 357 1,751 185 1,394

High school graduate or higher 987 161 509 317 2,827 7,300 18,495 3,486 11,195

Bachelor's degree or higher 119 20 62 37 509 1,389 5,839 761 4,450

Black alone

Less than 9th grade 105 30 35 40 42 256 309 109 54

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 479 147 205 127 237 1,122 1,312 406 191

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 678 174 321 183 467 1,834 2,681 689 849

Additional vocational training 85 20 43 22 31 195 287 79 93

Some college, no degree 361 100 178 83 267 1,098 1,796 470 698

Associate's degree 126 31 79 16 97 362 693 139 330

Bachelor's degree 58 11 38 9 98 299 877 143 577

Graduate or professional degree 20 3 15 2 42 99 364 37 266

High school graduate or higher 1,243 319 631 293 971 3,692 6,411 1,478 2,720

Bachelor's degree or higher 78 14 53 11 141 399 1,241 180 843

Black alone Hispanic

Less than 9th grade 2 1 0 1 5 18 36 11 19

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 15 9 5 1 5 47 61 27 13

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 28 11 13 4 10 55 87 17 29

Additional vocational training 2 0 2 0 0 6 15 4 7

Some college, no degree 14 3 10 1 14 46 89 18 43

Associate's degree 5 2 1 2 3 19 40 11 19

Bachelor's degree 0 NA NA 0 8 20 49 12 28

Graduate or professional degree 0 0 NA 0 NA 0 8 0 7

High school graduate or higher 47 16 24 7 35 140 273 58 126

Bachelor's degree or higher 1 0 NA 1 8 21 57 12 36

Black alone Non-Hispanic

Less than 9th grade 103 29 35 39 37 238 273 98 35

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 464 138 200 126 232 1,075 1,252 379 177

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 648 162 306 180 457 1,776 2,595 671 820

Additional vocational training 82 20 40 22 31 188 273 75 86

Some college, no degree 347 97 168 82 254 1,053 1,707 452 655

Associate's degree 120 29 78 13 94 342 653 128 311

Bachelor's degree 58 11 38 9 90 279 828 131 549

Graduate or professional degree 20 3 15 2 42 99 357 37 258

High school graduate or higher 1,193 302 605 286 937 3,549 6,140 1,419 2,593

Bachelor's degree or higher 78 14 53 11 132 378 1,185 168 808

American Indian or Alaskan Native 

only

Less than 9th grade 3 2 NA 1 8 24 34 13 10
48

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 23 7 9 7 33 80 103 24 23

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 18 3 12 3 55 101 188 28 88

Additional vocational training 4 2 2 NA 1 10 12 5 2

Some college, no degree 10 0 9 1 23 66 116 33 50

Associate's degree 12 2 10 0 16 46 63 18 17

Bachelor's degree 5 0 5 0 4 17 37 8 20

Graduate or professional degree 0 NA NA NA 1 1 14 0 13

High school graduate or higher 45 5 36 4 99 231 418 87 188

Bachelor's degree or higher 5 0 5 0 5 18 51 8 32

Asian only

Less than 9th grade 37 6 15 16 20 92 105 35 14

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 18 4 5 9 22 75 101 35 26

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 45 11 17 17 76 219 354 98 135

Additional vocational training 4 2 0 2 6 16 34 6 18

Some college, no degree 14 1 8 5 50 117 238 53 120

Associate's degree 3 0 0 3 21 39 81 15 41

Bachelor's degree 23 5 13 5 58 183 602 102 419

Graduate or professional degree 4 NA 1 3 34 98 426 60 328

High school graduate or higher 90 17 39 34 239 659 1,701 330 1,042

Bachelor's degree or higher 27 5 14 8 92 281 1,028 162 747

Hawaiian, Pacific Islander only

Less than 9th grade 0 0 0 NA 7 9 9 2 0

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 1 NA 1 NA 6 12 16 5 5

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 5 1 4 0 8 30 58 17 28

Additional vocational training 0 NA 0 NA 2 2 4 0 2

Some college, no degree 2 0 2 0 9 27 50 16 22

Associate's degree 0 NA NA NA 1 2 9 1 6

Bachelor's degree 0 NA 0 NA 1 8 19 7 11

Graduate or professional degree 0 NA NA NA NA 1 8 1 7

High school graduate or higher 6 1 5 0 20 69 145 43 75

Bachelor's degree or higher 0 NA 0 NA 1 9 27 8 18

Two or more races

Less than 9th grade 15 6 6 3 21 47 52 11 5

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 13 3 5 5 18 46 53 15 7

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 29 10 12 7 63 131 202 39 72

Additional vocational training 6 2 0 4 7 16 27 3 11

Some college, no degree 19 4 13 2 44 110 187 47 78

Associate's degree 3 0 2 1 6 17 48 8 31

Bachelor's degree 5 1 4 0 16 33 99 12 66

Graduate or professional degree 0 NA NA NA 3 6 47 3 41

High school graduate or higher 55 14 31 10 131 294 582 108 288

Bachelor's degree or higher 5 1 0 4 19 39 146 15 107
49

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

Hispanic

Less than 9th grade 200 62 56 82 357 980 1,276 423 296

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 190 65 37 88 371 1,061 1,475 500 414

High school graduate (includes 

equivalency) 207 48 44 115 492 1,324 2,197 625 874

Additional vocational training 25 6 7 12 23 115 197 67 82

Some college, no degree 92 24 21 47 218 607 1,141 297 533

Associate's degree 25 6 7 12 62 181 457 94 275

Bachelor's degree 22 4 11 7 81 208 571 105 363

Graduate or professional degree 4 3 1 NA 16 48 195 28 147

High school graduate or higher 350 84 84 182 870 2,369 4,561 1,149 2,192

Bachelor's degree or higher 25 6 12 7 97 255 766 133 510

Year householder moved into unit

Race and origin of householder

White alone

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA 2 2 2 NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 2 0 2

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 12 14 25 2 11

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA 35 44 57 9 13

1960 to 1969 0 0 NA 0 41 57 102 16 45

1970 to 1974 9 2 6 1 38 78 105 31 27

1975 to 1979 19 5 11 3 40 88 170 29 82

1980 to 1984 19 1 7 11 48 101 194 34 92

1985 to 1989 35 8 17 10 53 165 293 77 128

1990 to 1994 90 26 26 38 157 339 587 92 247

1995 to 1999 133 41 46 46 226 612 1,097 253 486

2000 to 2004 317 60 154 103 471 1,270 2,384 482 1,113

2005 to 2009 775 140 416 219 1,607 4,301 9,303 1,919 5,001

2010 to 2011 639 145 321 173 2,167 5,958 13,143 3,152 7,185

White alone Hispanic

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA 0 0 3 0 2

1960 to 1969 0 NA NA 0 2 7 13 5 5

1970 to 1974 3 2 NA 1 8 21 26 10 5

1975 to 1979 10 5 3 2 5 33 44 18 11

1980 to 1984 12 0 5 7 8 30 43 10 12

1985 to 1989 15 6 4 5 16 48 70 17 22

1990 to 1994 30 15 5 10 31 81 116 20 35

1995 to 1999 42 17 16 9 57 189 264 90 74

2000 to 2004 76 19 35 22 121 347 560 150 213

2005 to 2009 255 58 133 64 560 1,456 2,440 641 985

2010 to 2011 188 49 103 36 642 1,752 2,969 922 1,217

White alone Non-Hispanic

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA 2 2 2 NA NA
50

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 2 0 2

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 12 14 25 2 11

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA 35 44 54 9 11

1960 to 1969 0 0 NA NA 39 50 89 11 39

1970 to 1974 6 NA 6 0 30 57 79 21 23

1975 to 1979 8 0 8 0 35 54 126 11 71

1980 to 1984 7 1 2 4 40 71 151 24 80

1985 to 1989 20 2 13 5 37 117 223 60 106

1990 to 1994 60 11 21 28 127 259 471 72 212

1995 to 1999 90 24 30 36 169 422 834 163 412

2000 to 2004 241 40 119 82 351 924 1,824 332 900

2005 to 2009 522 83 283 156 1,047 2,847 6,863 1,278 4,016

2010 to 2011 451 96 218 137 1,525 4,206 10,174 2,230 5,968

Black alone

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 2 NA 2

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 0 1 1 1 0

1950 to 1959 4 4 NA NA 0 7 9 3 3

1960 to 1969 9 6 3 0 8 22 32 5 11

1970 to 1974 6 5 NA 1 9 23 29 8 7

1975 to 1979 15 5 6 4 5 38 48 18 10

1980 to 1984 21 10 5 6 12 58 83 25 26

1985 to 1989 19 6 3 10 12 53 89 22 36

1990 to 1994 84 30 37 17 20 159 214 55 54

1995 to 1999 83 30 21 32 58 218 302 77 85

2000 to 2004 196 63 93 40 115 473 697 162 224

2005 to 2009 797 180 409 208 473 1,893 3,051 623 1,158

2010 to 2011 592 156 293 143 539 2,126 3,473 995 1,348

Black alone Hispanic

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1960 to 1969 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1970 to 1974 0 NA NA NA NA 3 3 3 NA

1975 to 1979 4 NA 4 NA NA 4 4 NA NA

1980 to 1984 0 NA NA NA 5 7 9 2 2

1985 to 1989 0 NA NA NA 0 2 5 2 2

1990 to 1994 4 4 NA 0 0 4 10 0 5

1995 to 1999 1 0 NA 1 1 12 18 10 5

2000 to 2004 4 2 1 1 3 16 21 9 5

2005 to 2009 32 10 15 7 18 74 138 24 63

2010 to 2011 22 9 11 2 17 85 162 46 77

Black alone Non-Hispanic

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 2 NA 2
51

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 0 1 1 1 0

1950 to 1959 4 4 NA NA 0 7 9 3 3

1960 to 1969 9 6 3 0 8 22 32 5 11

1970 to 1974 6 5 NA 1 9 20 26 5 7

1975 to 1979 11 5 2 4 5 34 44 18 10

1980 to 1984 21 10 5 6 8 52 74 23 23

1985 to 1989 19 6 3 10 11 49 85 19 34

1990 to 1994 80 26 37 17 20 155 204 55 49

1995 to 1999 82 30 21 31 56 204 285 66 80

2000 to 2004 192 60 92 40 113 457 676 152 219

2005 to 2009 765 170 394 201 455 1,819 2,914 599 1,095

2010 to 2011 570 147 282 141 521 2,040 3,311 949 1,271

American Indian or Alaskan Native 

only

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1960 to 1969 0 NA NA NA NA 0 0 0 NA

1970 to 1974 0 NA NA NA 0 0 3 NA 3

1975 to 1979 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1980 to 1984 2 0 2 0 0 2 6 NA 4

1985 to 1989 0 NA NA NA 4 10 16 6 6

1990 to 1994 0 0 NA NA 11 16 18 5 2

1995 to 1999 3 2 1 0 7 11 24 1 13

2000 to 2004 13 8 5 0 27 47 67 7 20

2005 to 2009 30 3 20 7 36 99 167 33 68

2010 to 2011 22 1 17 4 56 151 255 73 105

Asian only

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 0 0 0 NA NA

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA NA 0 1 NA 1

1960 to 1969 2 2 NA NA 2 4 4 NA NA

1970 to 1974 0 NA NA NA 0 0 3 NA 3

1975 to 1979 0 NA NA 0 NA 4 6 4 2

1980 to 1984 0 NA 0 0 0 0 3 0 2

1985 to 1989 1 0 NA 1 5 12 33 6 20

1990 to 1994 11 2 4 5 4 26 40 11 14

1995 to 1999 14 2 3 9 16 46 62 16 16

2000 to 2004 31 7 11 13 37 91 155 23 64

2005 to 2009 50 9 17 24 80 250 622 120 370

2010 to 2011 34 4 23 7 136 389 978 219 590

Hawaiian, Pacific Islander only

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA
52

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1960 to 1969 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1970 to 1974 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1975 to 1979 0 NA NA NA NA 0 2 NA 2

1980 to 1984 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1985 to 1989 0 NA NA 0 NA 0 0 0 0

1990 to 1994 0 NA NA NA 0 1 5 1 4

1995 to 1999 0 NA NA NA 0 0 5 0 5

2000 to 2004 0 0 0 0 6 15 30 9 14

2005 to 2009 4 0 4 0 11 29 53 14 23

2010 to 2011 3 0 3 NA 15 44 75 26 31

Two or more races

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1960 to 1969 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1970 to 1974 0 NA NA NA NA 0 0 NA 0

1975 to 1979 2 0 2 0 NA 2 2 NA 0

1980 to 1984 3 1 2 NA 2 5 8 NA 3

1985 to 1989 0 NA NA 0 0 3 3 3 0

1990 to 1994 4 4 0 0 7 11 16 0 4

1995 to 1999 1 0 0 1 8 15 30 6 15

2000 to 2004 15 2 9 4 18 42 73 9 31

2005 to 2009 33 9 18 6 72 164 254 59 90

2010 to 2011 22 7 10 5 63 143 301 58 158

Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

1920 to 1929 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1950 to 1959 0 NA NA NA 0 0 3 0 2

1960 to 1969 0 NA NA 0 2 7 13 5 5

1970 to 1974 3 2 NA 1 8 24 32 13 8

1975 to 1979 13 5 6 2 5 36 48 18 11

1980 to 1984 12 0 5 7 15 39 55 12 15

1985 to 1989 15 6 4 5 17 51 77 19 26

1990 to 1994 38 23 5 10 31 90 131 21 40

1995 to 1999 45 17 16 12 60 206 290 101 84

2000 to 2004 87 27 37 23 134 388 623 167 235

2005 to 2009 304 73 157 74 615 1,619 2,708 700 1,089

2010 to 2011 220 59 120 41 710 1,945 3,331 1,015 1,386

Not Hispanic or Latino (of any 

race)

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA 2 2 2 NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 4 0 4
53

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 12 16 26 4 11

1950 to 1959 4 4 NA NA 35 51 64 12 14

1960 to 1969 11 8 3 0 49 76 126 16 50

1970 to 1974 12 5 6 1 39 77 109 26 33

1975 to 1979 21 5 12 4 40 95 181 34 86

1980 to 1984 34 12 12 10 48 130 240 48 111

1985 to 1989 41 9 16 16 58 193 357 94 164

1990 to 1994 152 39 63 50 168 462 748 142 286

1995 to 1999 188 58 55 75 255 693 1,230 250 536

2000 to 2004 487 112 236 139 540 1,551 2,782 524 1,233

2005 to 2009 1,388 269 728 391 1,664 5,120 10,742 2,068 5,621

2010 to 2011 1,090 253 546 291 2,265 6,863 14,893 3,508 8,030

Age of householder

64 or younger

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 1 1 2 NA 1

1950 to 1959 2 2 NA NA 3 8 12 3 4

1960 to 1969 5 2 3 0 12 21 38 4 17

1970 to 1974 4 4 NA 0 16 27 46 7 19

1975 to 1979 18 7 6 5 14 49 109 17 60

1980 to 1984 22 5 7 10 30 67 151 15 85

1985 to 1989 25 6 13 6 44 127 273 58 147

1990 to 1994 99 36 40 23 134 328 575 95 247

1995 to 1999 125 46 41 38 199 543 1,041 219 498

2000 to 2004 341 87 188 66 494 1,324 2,593 489 1,269

2005 to 2009 1,348 283 767 298 1,974 5,634 11,902 2,312 6,268

2010 to 2011 1,138 276 619 243 2,790 8,172 17,265 4,244 9,093

65 or older

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA 2 2 2 NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 4 0 4

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 10 14 24 4 10

1950 to 1959 2 2 NA NA 32 43 55 9 13

1960 to 1969 7 6 0 1 40 63 101 16 38

1970 to 1974 11 3 6 2 31 74 95 32 22

1975 to 1979 18 3 13 2 31 83 120 34 37

1980 to 1984 24 7 10 7 34 102 143 44 41

1985 to 1989 30 8 7 15 31 117 161 56 44

1990 to 1994 92 26 28 38 66 226 304 68 79

1995 to 1999 110 29 31 50 116 359 480 133 121

2000 to 2004 231 51 84 96 180 613 811 202 199

2005 to 2009 344 60 118 166 305 1,105 1,548 456 443

2010 to 2011 173 37 47 89 185 638 960 280 323

Disability status of household

Disabled person in household

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA 2 2 2 NA NA
54

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 2 0 2

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 11 13 20 2 6

1950 to 1959 2 2 NA NA 21 30 38 7 7

1960 to 1969 4 4 0 0 26 35 57 5 22

1970 to 1974 7 3 3 1 21 43 51 15 7

1975 to 1979 17 3 10 4 9 31 39 5 9

1980 to 1984 21 8 8 5 25 78 111 32 33

1985 to 1989 25 6 15 4 33 108 155 50 47

1990 to 1994 84 30 15 39 70 225 283 71 57

1995 to 1999 112 34 27 51 91 324 440 121 116

2000 to 2004 246 58 114 74 193 658 872 219 213

2005 to 2009 651 119 355 177 449 1,848 2,589 748 741

2010 to 2011 401 88 191 122 504 1,736 2,578 831 842

No disabled person in household

1920 to 1929 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA NA

1930 to 1939 0 NA NA NA NA 0 2 NA 2

1940 to 1949 0 NA NA NA 0 1 6 1 5

1950 to 1959 2 2 NA NA 14 20 29 4 9

1960 to 1969 7 4 3 0 25 48 82 16 33

1970 to 1974 8 4 3 1 25 57 90 24 33

1975 to 1979 19 7 9 3 36 101 189 46 89

1980 to 1984 26 5 9 12 38 92 184 28 93

1985 to 1989 31 8 6 17 42 136 279 63 143

1990 to 1994 106 31 53 22 129 328 596 93 269

1995 to 1999 122 41 44 37 224 576 1,081 230 504

2000 to 2004 326 81 158 87 481 1,278 2,533 471 1,255

2005 to 2009 1,041 224 530 287 1,830 4,891 10,861 2,020 5,970

2010 to 2011 909 224 475 210 2,471 7,073 15,646 3,693 8,574

Income sources of families and 

primary individuals

Age of householder

64 or younger

Wages and salaries 1,573 361 894 318 4,108 10,630 27,181 4,949 16,552

Self-employment 129 17 78 34 339 1,117 3,026 649 1,908

Interest 31 5 18 8 184 557 2,277 342 1,719

Dividends 5 0 5 0 31 112 692 76 579

Rental income 20 5 9 6 27 130 541 83 411

Social Security or Railroad 

Retirement 395 82 206 107 459 1,484 2,159 630 674

Retirement or survivor pensions 53 8 32 13 108 285 800 124 515

Supplementary Security Income 

(SSI) 683 170 384 129 408 1,785 2,106 694 321

Child support or alimony 402 84 237 81 330 1,309 2,184 577 874

Public assistance or public welfare 487 117 284 86 300 1,461 1,642 674 181

Food stamp benefits 1,798 419 958 421 1,318 5,704 5,974 2,588 269

65 or older
55

2011 Householder and Household 

Characteristics by Race, Ethnicity, 

Age, and Disability Status 

(000s)

All Assisted 

Renters

Tenants 

in

Public

Housing

Voucher

Recipients

Tenants in

Privately

Owned

Housing

Eligible

Unassisted,

Not Worst

Case Renters

Total 

Eligible 

Renters

All Renters

Worst Case

Needs

Households

Not Eligible

Renters

Wages and salaries 71 24 21 26 173 388 986 144 597

Self-employment 11 4 2 5 21 76 160 44 84

Interest 41 8 10 23 102 279 668 136 387

Dividends 6 2 0 4 24 91 274 61 183

Rental income 1 0 1 0 16 39 107 22 67

Social Security or Railroad 

Retirement 808 187 259 362 903 2,807 3,990 1,096 1,183

Retirement or survivor pensions 181 44 52 85 292 770 1,531 297 760

Supplementary Security Income 

(SSI) 338 73 125 140 122 634 691 174 58

Child support or alimony 13 2 2 9 12 39 43 14 5

Public assistance or public welfare 56 16 23 17 32 117 133 29 15

Food stamp benefits 400 110 110 180 135 746 762 211 15

NA = data not available. – represents or rounds to 0.
56

References

Casey, Connie H. 1992. Characteristics of HUD-Assisted Renters and Their Units in 1989. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy 

Development and Research.

———. 1997. Characteristics of HUD-Assisted Renters and Their Units in 1991. Washington, 

DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and 

Research.

Eggers, Frederick J. 2017a. Characteristics of HUD-Assisted Renters and Their Units in 2011.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy 

Development and Research.

———. 2017b. Characteristics of HUD-Assisted Renters and Their Units in 2013. Washington, 

DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and 

Research.

Eggers, Frederick J., and Fouad Moumen. 2008. “Trends in Housing Costs: 1985–2005 and the 

30-Percent-of-Income Standard.”

http://www.huduser.org/portal/publications/ahsrep/trends_inhousing.html.

———. 2010. “Investigating Very High Rent Burdens Among Renters in the American Housing 

Survey.” http://www.huduser.org/portal/publications/ahsrep/investing_veryhigh.html.

———. 2013. American Housing Survey: Housing Adequacy and Quality As Measured by the 

AHS. Report prepared for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy 

Development and Research. Washington, DC: Econometrica, Inc.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/ahsrep/AHS_hsg_adequacy.html.

———. 2017. Characteristics of HUD-Assisted Renters and Their Units in 2009. Washington, 

DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and 

Research.

McGough, Duane T. 1997. Characteristics of HUD-Assisted Renters and Their Units in 1993. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy 

Development and Research.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 2008. Characteristics of HUDAssisted Renters and Their Units in 2003. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research.

———. 2016. “Low-Income Tax Credit Housing Tax Credits.” 

http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/lihtc.html#data.

Weicher, John C. 2012. Housing Policy at a Crossroads. Washington, DC: AEI Press.