PHY5: Housing problems: Percentage of households with children ages 0–17 that reported housing problems by type of problem, selected years 1978–2021

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Household type 1978 1983 1989 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021
All households with children
Number of households (in millions) 32.3 33.6 35.4 35.4 37.2 37.0 37.5 38.6 38.4 38.7 38.1 38.5 37.6 37.2 35.5 36.9 36.1 37.6
Percent with
Any problems 30.0 33.0 33.0 34.0 36.0 36.0 35.0 36.1 36.9 40.3 43.0 44.5 46.4 40.4 38.7 39.4 37.8 39.1
Physically inadequate housingb 9.0 8.0 9.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.7 5.8 5.4 5.1 5.1 5.5 5.0 6.3 5.3 4.9 5.6
Crowded housing 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.3 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.2 7.1 6.4 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.4
Cost burden greater than 30% of incomec 15.0 21.0 24.0 26.0 28.0 28.0 28.0 28.5 30.1 34.2 37.2 39.3 40.7 34.9 32.4 33.4 31.8 32.9
Cost burden greater than 50% of incomec 6.0 11.0 9.0 11.0 12.0 12.0 11.0 11.2 11.5 14.5 15.8 17.5 18.3 15.7 15.1 14.9 13.3 14.7
Severe problemsd 8.0 12.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 11.0 11.0 11.1 11.3 13.8 15.1 16.9 17.6 15.0 14.0 13.6 12.6 14.1
Very-low-income renter households with childrene
Number of households (in millions) 4.2 5.1 5.9 6.6 6.5 6.4 6.2 6.0 6.4 6.5 6.3 6.8 7.6 7.0 7.0 6.2 5.7 5.9
Percent with
Any problems 79.0 83.0 77.0 75.0 77.0 82.0 80.0 79.4 77.5 82.2 82.5 84.3 86.1 83.6 85.5 86.3 85.6 86.4
Physically inadequate housingb 18.0 18.0 18.0 14.0 13.0 16.0 15.0 15.4 12.8 12.2 11.4 11.0 12.0 11.3 12.5 11.2 9.7 12.2
Crowded housing 22.0 18.0 17.0 14.0 17.0 17.0 17.0 15.4 14.5 14.2 14.1 13.5 15.4 14.7 14.1 14.1 13.5 14.8
Cost burden greater than 30% of incomec 59.0 68.0 67.0 67.0 69.0 73.0 70.0 69.5 70.4 75.9 75.9 80.2 81.1 78.5 81.5 82.0 81.2 80.8
Cost burden greater than 50% of incomec 31.0 38.0 36.0 38.0 38.0 41.0 37.0 37.7 36.2 44.9 44.1 49.4 50.9 47.7 50.8 52.1 49.5 52.6
Severe problemsd 33.0 42.0 31.0 33.0 31.0 32.0 29.0 30.2 29.0 35.9 34.6 40.5 42.8 40.3 41.5 41.5 40.2 44.4
Rental assistancef 23.0 23.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 31.0 31.0 30.3 28.1 27.7 27.7 25.0 24.7 26.2 24.8 26.8 25.6 23.8
a Data are available for 1978, 1983, 1989, and biennially since 1993. All data are weighted using the decennial Census that preceded the date of their collection. The comparability of data over time is limited by questionnaire changes in 1997 and 2007 and a redesign and new longitudinal sample drawn in 2015.
b Physically inadequate housing refers to housing with "moderate or severe physical problems." The most common problems meeting the definition are lacking complete plumbing for exclusive use; having unvented room heaters as the primary heating equipment; and multiple upkeep problems such as water leakage, open cracks or holes, broken plaster, or signs of rats. Problems appearing in public halls of multifamily structures are no longer counted beginning in 2007. See definition of Housing Adequacy in Appendix A: Subject Definitions and Table Index of the American Housing Survey for the United States: 2019 (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/tech-documentation/def-errors-changes.html)
c Cost burden refers to expenditures on housing and utilities that exceed the specified proportion, 30% or 50%, of reported income.
d For households not reporting housing assistance, having severe problems is defined as a cost burden of greater than 50% of income or the presence of severe physical problems.
e Very-low-income households are those with incomes at or below one half of the median income, adjusted for family size, in a geographic area.
f Renters are either in a public housing project or have a subsidy (i.e., pay a lower rent because a Federal, state, or local government program pays part of the cost of construction, mortgage, or operating expenses).
NOTE: The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed 2021 values for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release (CBDRB-FY23-0069).
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, American Housing Survey. Tabulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.