This report analyzes data from the 2020 Census to highlight the nation’s housing in 2020 and changes in housing characteristics primarily between 2010 and 2020 for the nation, states, core-based statistical areas (CBSAs), and counties.

Between 2010 and 2020, housing characteristics shifted in many parts of the nation as a result of various events and housing market conditions. Chief among these were the ongoing impacts and recovery from the Great Recession and foreclosure crisis of the late 2000s. The decade began during the soft housing markets that followed the Great Recession, as millions of homes continued to work their way through the foreclosure process. In subsequent years, slow construction of new units, historically low interest rates, and home price growth combined to generate concerns about housing affordability and limited housing inventory by the end of the decade. Lastly, the 2020 Census data were collected during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, capturing housing unit characteristics as of April 1, 2020. Data from the 2020 Census reflect the combined effects of these changes, describing housing unit characteristics in 2020 for a wide range of different geographies.