American Housing Survey:
Basic Statistics for Healthy Housing

This is an archived page, last updated in 2015.

The American Housing Survey (AHS) collects data on the nation’s housing, including apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, vacant housing units, household characteristics, income, housing and neighborhood quality, housing costs, equipment and fuels, size of housing unit, and recent movers.

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the survey for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Census Bureau collects national data in odd numbered years, and data for each of 46 selected metropolitan areas about every six years. The national sample covers an average 55,000 housing units. Each metropolitan area sample covers 4,100 or more housing units. The AHS returns to the same housing units year after year to gather data; therefore, this survey is ideal for analyzing the flow of households through housing.

NCHH identified the aspects of the AHS data that are directly related to the health and safety of residents living in the home. From this analysis, NCHH developed a series of reports:

  • Summary of national data.
  • Comparison of 2009 and 2011 national data.
  • Comparison of 47 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).
  • Snapshot of each MSA compared to national data.
  • Trends for each MSA (where MSA has two different years of data available after 1997) (data currently available for 42 cities).
  • Healthy Homes Profiles: NCHH’s Healthy Homes Profiles help communities better understand how their rates of healthy housing problems compare to national averages and how units compare in central city versus non-central city areas within their metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The table is based on MSA data from the American Housing Survey (AHS) for the most recent year available and compared to the same or new closest subsequent year for national data.
  • Relationship Between Interior Problems and Exterior Problems: NCHH’s report to help communities make homes healthier by giving them a better understanding of the direct relationship between exterior programs in single family homes such as a sloping outside wall and interior problems such as rats, large holes in the floor, and water damage that can impact resident health and safety. With this understanding, communities can more effectively and efficiently identify homes with serious health and safety threats and set priorities for assessments of the interior. The table is based on the American Housing Survey (AHS). The AHS tracks some but not all items related to health. For example, it does not track cockroaches, radon, lead-based paint, and carbon monoxide levels every year. Additional healthy housing data was collected for 2011 only. See sheets S-01-AO in the MSA files.
  • Definition of the metropolitan statistical areas as of 2004
  • Definitions of healthy homes terms used by AHS.

Use the table below to find the reports for each of the 47 MSAs. Note that the MSA reports only list the national data if the MSA data is more than 20% higher or lower than the national data and it is more than 0.25 point different. View the Census Bureau full reports. Be advised that the Census Bureau reports are more than 300 pages long.

To run tables on the 2015 data, go to the American Housing Survey data, click on 2015, and then click on “AHS Table Creator.” You can select the year, national, and 41 metro areas. You can select “General Housing” for information such as room housing unit characteristics, rooms; size; amenities; housing quality; heating, air conditioning, and appliances; and many more topics. You can also filter by owner and renter.

Snapshot Trends Interior-
Exterior Relation
ships
Healthy Homes
Profile
Metropolitan Statistical
Data (MSA)
Recent
MSA Year
Comparable National
Year
pdf pdf pdf National – 2011
pdf pdf Midwest – 2011 2011
pdf pdf Northeast – 2011 2011
pdf pdf South – 2011 2011
pdf pdf West – 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Anaheim-Santa Ana, CA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Atlanta, GA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Baltimore 2007 2007
pdf pdf pdf pdf Birmingham, AL 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Boston, MA 2007 2007
pdf pdf pdf pdf Buffalo, NY 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Charlotte, NC-SC 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Chicago 2009 2009
pdf pdf pdf pdf Cincinnati, OH-KN-IN 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Cleveland, OH 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Columbus, OH 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Dallas, TX 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf Denver, CO 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Detroit, MI 2009 2009
pdf pdf pdf pdf Ft. Worth-Arlington, TX 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf Hartford, Ct 2004 2005
pdf pdf pdf pdf Houston, TX 2007 2007
pdf pdf pdf pdf Indianapolis, IN 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Kansas City, MO-KS 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Memphis, TN-AR-MS 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Miami-Hialeah, FL 2007 2007
pdf pdf pdf pdf Milwaukee, WI 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 2007 2007
pdf pdf pdf pdf New Orleans, LA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf New York City, NY 2009 2009
pdf pdf pdf pdf New York area, NY 2009 2009
pdf pdf pdf pdf Northern NJ area 2009 2009
pdf pdf pdf pdf Norfolk-Virginia Beach- Newport News, VA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Oakland, CA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf Oklahoma City, OK 2004 2005
pdf pdf pdf pdf Philadelphia, PA-NJ 2009 2009
pdf pdf pdf pdf Phoenix, AZ 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Pittsburgh, PA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Portland, OR-WA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Providence, RI 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf Rochester, NY 1998 1999
pdf pdf pdf pdf Sacramento, CA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf St. Louis, MO-IL 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT 1998 1999
pdf pdf pdf San Antonio, TX 2004 2005
pdf pdf pdf pdf San Bernardino-
Riverside, CA
2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf San Diego, CA 2011 2011
pdf pdf [df pdf San Francisco, CA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf San Jose, CA 2011 2011
pdf pdf pdf pdf Seattle, WA 2009 2009
pdf pdf pdf Tampa-St. Pete –
Clearwater, FL
2007 2007
pdf pdf pdf pdf Washington, DC-MD-VA 2007 2007
pdf pdf  pdf National – 2009
pdf pdf pdf National – 2007
pdf pdf National – 2005
pdf Midwest 2007
pdf Northeast 2007
pdf South 2007
 pdf West 2007