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Why We Ask Questions About...
Year Built and Year Moved In

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American Community Survey (ACS)
Within About the ACS
graphical representation of homes in a communinty highlighting moving in and new homes building

We ask questions about when a housing unit was built and when a person moved into that home to create statistics about housing age and availability.

Local, state, tribal, and federal agencies use these data in government programs to analyze whether adequate housing is available and affordable for residents, provide and fund housing assistance programs, and measure neighborhood stability.

Your privacy concerns

We use your confidential survey answers to create statistics like those in the results below and in the full tables that contain all the data—no one is able to figure out your survey answers from the statistics we produce. The Census Bureau is legally bound to strict confidentiality requirements. Individual records are not shared with anyone, including federal agencies and law enforcement entities. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents' answers with anyone, including companies, other federal agencies, and law enforcement.

Questions as they appear on the form

We ask two questions about when a housing unit was built, and when a person moved into that home to produce statistics about housing availability.

Results from these questions

We compile the results from these questions to provide communities with important statistics about housing availability. You can see some of these published statistics here for the nation, states, and your community.

United States

View State and Local Data for a State

View State and Local Data for a County or City / Town in (↑ change state using menu above ↑)

Year built and year moved in data help communities:

Provide Adequate Housing

We ask about the age of housing in a community to understand whether available housing meets the needs of residents. When housing is not sufficient or older than a certain age, housing data help communities:

  • Enroll eligible households in programs designed to assist them (such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program).
  • Qualify for grants from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), and other programs.

Plan Community Development

Information about the ages of homes in combination with whether they are occupied or vacant, helps communities identify opportunities to:

  • Improve tax, assistance, and zoning policies.
  • Reduce tax revenue losses from vacant or abandoned properties.
  • Find older structures in disaster-prone areas during emergency planning and preparation.

Knowing more about the age of the housing stock in combination with the financial situation of residents, including income, employment, and housing costs, can help communities:

  • Qualify for loan and grant programs designed to stimulate economic recovery.
  • Improve housing.
  • Start and maintain job-training programs.
  • Define areas as empowerment or enterprise zones.

Infographic: Number of Housing Units by Decade Built

Click the image to enlarge.

This Old House - Number of Housing Units by Decade Built

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year]

History of year built and year moved in questions

Year built originated with the 1940 Census, while year moved in originated with the 1960 Census. They were transferred to the ACS in 2005 when it replaced the decennial census long form.

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