DOI: 10.3886/icpsr36805.v1
title: American Housing Survey, 2015 Metropolitan Data, Including an Arts and Culture Module
title: Version 1

description: The 2015 American Housing Survey marks the first release of a newly integrated national sample and independent metropolitan area samples. The 2015 release features many variable name revisions, as well as the integration of an AHS Codebook Interactive Tool available on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site.
This data collection provides information on representative samples of each of the 15 largest metropolitan areas across the United States, which are also included in the integrated national sample (available as ICPSR 36801). The metropolitan area sample also features representative samples of 10 additional metropolitan areas that are not present in the national sample. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau intend to survey the 15 largest metropolitan areas once every 2 years.
To ensure the sample was representative of all housing units within each metro area, the U.S. Census Bureau stratified all housing units into one of the following categories: (1) A HUD-assisted unit (as of 2013); (2) Trailer or mobile home; (3) Owner-occupied and one unit in structure; (4) Owner-occupied and two or more units in structure; (5) Renter-occupied and one unit in structure; (6) Renter-occupied and two or more units in structure; (7) Vacant and one unit in structure; (8) Vacant and two or more units in structure; and (9) Other units, such as houseboats and recreational vehicles.
The data are presented in three separate parts: Part 1, Household Record (Main Record); Part 2, Person Record; and Part 3, Project Record. Household Record data includes questions about household occupancy and tenure, household exterior and interior structural features, household equipment and appliances, housing problems, housing costs, home improvement, neighborhood features, recent moving information, income, and basic demographic information. The Household Record data also features four rotating topical modules: Arts and Culture, Food Security, Housing Counseling, and Healthy Homes. Person Record data includes questions about personal disabilities, income, and basic demographic information. Finally, Project Record data includes questions about home improvement projects. Specific questions were asked about the types of projects, costs, funding sources, and year of completion.
description: The purpose of the AHS is to provide a current and continuous series of data on selected housing and demographic characteristics.
description: The 2015 American Housing Survey metropolitan sample originally selected approximately 3,000 housing units for interview within each metro area. Several units across each metro area included for interview were found to be ineligible because the units either no longer existed or did not meet the AHS definition of a housing unit. Of the eligible sample units (both occupied and vacant housing units), some were classified as noninterviews because (1) no one was at home after repeated visits, (2) the respondent refused to be interviewed, or (3) the interviewer was unable to find the unit. This classification produced both unweighted and weighted overall response rates.
Every sample unit of the 2015 Metro sample was asked a core set of questions. HUs within the these 25 metro areas were also randomly split into two samples, and each of these samples was asked a separate set of additional questions from four rotating topical modules. One set of the split samples was asked questions on the topical modules of housing counseling, arts and culture, and food security, while the other split sample set was asked questions on the topical module of healthy homes.
Please see "Table 2.1 Sample Size in the 2015 American Housing Survey Metropolitan Areas" found in the 2015 American Housing Survey Metropolitan Sample: Sample Design, Weighting,
and Error Estimation document for more detailed information.
description: The data are not weighted. However, within the Household Record (Part 1) this data collection contains one Final Weight variable (WEIGHT), two Split Sample Weight variables (SP1WEIGHT and SP2WEIGHT), and 480 Replicate Weight variables (REPWEIGHT1-SP2REPWGT160), that should be used in any analysis.
Please see the 2015 American Housing Survey Metropolitan Sample: Sample Design, Weighting,
and Error Estimation document for more detailed information.
description: Response Rates: For complete overall and unweighted response rate information for the 2015 metropolitan sample, please see "Table 2.2 Interview Activity for the 2015 AHS-MS Areas" in the 2015 American Housing Survey Metropolitan Sample: Sample Design, Weighting, and Error Estimation document.
description: For the 2015 survey year, HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau selected an entirely new sample for the American Housing Survey (AHS). The 2015 AHS sample is composed of an integrated national sample and independent metropolitan area samples. The independent Metro samples include:
(1) Representative samples of each of the 15 largest metropolitan areas (referred to as the "Top 15" in the integrated national sample): Atlanta, GA Boston, MA Chicago, IL Dallas, TX Detroit, MI Houston, TX Los Angeles, CA Miami, FL New York, NY Philadelphia, PA Phoenix, AZ Riverside, CA San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA Washington, DC 
(2) Representative samples of 10 extra metropolitan areas (areas not included in the integrated national sample; referred to as the "Next 10"): Cincinnati, OH Cleveland, OH Denver, CO Kansas City, MO Memphis, TN Milwaukee, WI New Orleans, LA Pittsburgh, PA Portland, OR Raleigh, NC 
HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau intend to survey the Top 15 metro samples once every 2 years, thus creating a longitudinal panel with 2-year survey cycles. For 2015, the 10 selected metropolitan areas represent one-half of what HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau refer to as the "Next 20" group of metropolitan areas (the second half will be included in the 2017 AHS). The Next 20 group of metropolitan areas is a subset of metropolitan areas ranging from the 16th to 50th largest by population. HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau intend to survey each member of the Next 20 group of metropolitan areas once every 4 years, thus creating a longitudinal panel with a 4-year survey cycle for the Next 20 group.
Please see the 2015 American Housing Survey Metropolitan Sample: Sample Design, Weighting, and Error Estimation document for more detailed information.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Household Record
DS2: Person Record
DS3: Project Record
description: Residential housing units in the United States within each metro area that exist at the time the survey is conducted. The universe includes both occupied and vacant units but excludes group quarters, businesses, hotels, and motels. Smallest Geographic Unit: Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA)
description: computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI); computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI)Please see the related data collection, American Housing Survey, 2015 National Data, Including an Arts and Culture Module [ICPSR 36801] for additional information on the American Housing 2015 Survey.The linking variable, CONTROL, serves as the control code for the housing unit across the Household Record (Part 1), Person Record (Part 2), and the Project Record (Part 3) datasets. The Person Record and Project Record tables each have a many-to-one relationship with the Household Record table. They can be linked to the Household Record table using the variable CONTROL.Prior to 2015, HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau maintained the American Housing Survey Codebook as a living document that spanned surveys conducted from 1997 through 2013. Starting with the 2015 survey, HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau have implemented an entirely new approach to maintaining the AHS Codebook called the AHS Codebook Interactive Tool that can be found on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site.Users should note that the AHS missing value coding scheme has changed for the 2015 Public Use File. "Not Reported" has been coded as .M and "Not Applicable" has been coded as .N in the AHS Codebook Interactive Tool; these codes are represented in the datasets as numeric missing codes -6 "Not Reported" and -9 "Not Applicable," respectively. Please see the User Guide for additional information.Beginning with the 2015 American Housing Survey Public Use File, many variable name revisions have been made to historically recurring variables. For a detailed description of these changes, please see the 2015 AHS Variable Crosswalk Excel document available for download in the zipped package.Additional information about the American Housing Survey Series can be found at the HUD User Web site and the U.S. Census Bureau Web site.