NEW CONTENT:

November 29, 2023

The Worst Case Needs and HUD-Assisted Status column variable labels were revised to reflect that household income is used to define categories and distinguish some categories as ‘at or below 50% of area median income’ rather than ‘less than 50% of area median income’. User impact is minimal; all previously released estimates remain the same. 

October 19, 2023

Addition of Worst Case Needs Bygroup for 2021

Like 2011-2019, the Worst Case Needs column variable was added to the 2021 Variable 1/Variable 2 drop-down menu. For definitions of Worst Case Needs, visit Subject Definitions. User impact is high because it provides new estimates that were previously unpublished.

Rounding change to Mortgage Characteristics table

A decimal place was removed from the Current Total Loan as Percent of Value stub’s mean and median rows for states and metropolitan areas. This ensures consistency with the rounding used in prior years.

May 4, 2023

Several minor fixes and improvements were made to the AHS Table Creator for years 2011-2021. They include the following:

Mean and median rounding improvements:

Rounding in selected mean and median table rows changed in one of the following ways:

• Added a decimal place to improve the precision of the data,
• Removed a decimal place where it added no value to the data, or
• Corrected an error that caused double rounding of year data.

The table below lists the tables/stubs impacted by this change.
 

Suppression changes:
Changes in suppression methodology impacted the number of cells suppressed in the following 2011-2019 column variables and tables:

• Monthly Housing Cost column variable
• Monthly Housing Cost as a Percentage of Household Income column variable
• Housing Costs table
• Household Demographics table
• Additional Mortgage Characteristics

Margin of Error:
When the Census Division column variable is selected, a small number of margin of error (MOE) calculations in the 2015-2017 National-level Housing Unit Characteristics tables changed from a Z (rounds to zero) to a zero (0) because it was determined their values were true zeros.

Row label change:
The row label for the 2015-2019 'Monthly Homeowner or Condominium Association Fee Amount' in the Housing Cost table was changed from 'Fee paid by owners' to 'Fee paid by occupants' to better reflect who was asked the question.

Rows removed/added:
Selected 2011-2021 table rows were removed or added according to the following criteria:

• Categorical data rows that had no cases in sample for all geographic areas were removed from selected tables because they added no value to the table (e.g. not reported rows with no cases in sample).
• Continuous data rows using numeric variables that had no cases in sample for all geographic areas were added to select table stubs to show all available ranges and improve the readability of the stub (e.g. If the row $30,000 to $39,999 was originally missing from the stub because it had no data, it was added back in so the row ranges did not jump from '$20,000 to $29,999' to '$40,000 to $49,999').

January 26, 2023
 

In 2023, the following features were added to improve the Table Creator’s usability:

Frozen column headings and “Characteristics” column:
Before the migration, when scrolling right or down through a table, the headings would disappear. After the migration, the column headings and “Characteristics” column will stay displayed no matter how far to the right you scroll or how far down you scroll.

Ability to change column width:
With the migration, columns of a table can be resized to be larger/smaller by moving your cursor to the vertical rule in the boxhead at the top of the table until the double-headed arrow appears, then clicking and holding the left mouse button to drag it to the desired column width. A column menu has also been added to the 'Characteristics' column. Users can use this menu to resize this column or all columns with one button click. They can also reset the column widths back to their defaults.

Moving columns within a column variable:
Clicking and holding the left mouse button allows users to drag columns to a different position in the table. Columns cannot be moved outside of their column group. This can also be done using the tool panel.

Tool panel:
A new column tool panel was added, allowing users to collapse, hide, and/or move columns. When selections are made, the table changes to display the column selections made, as do downloaded files.

Row/column highlighting:
The new migration allows for the highlighting of rows and columns based on where you move your cursor in the table. This could help data users locate the row and column headings for a particular data cell.

Footnote tool tips:
When a data user hovers over a row label with a footnote, a tooltip appears displaying the footnote’s text. (Note: The footnotes are also available at the bottom of the table.)

Downloading:
Before migration, downloaded tables included only the table number in the file name. After migration, the file name now shows the survey followed by the date.

Excel and CSV downloads:
Formatting of downloaded files changed slightly, especially CSV downloads, making it easier to read column and row headings.
 

September 29, 2022

This release of Table Creator includes National, State, and Metro-level summary tables for the 2021 American Housing Survey (AHS).  All 2021 geographies can be selected using the “Select Area” drop-down menu in the Table Criteria panel. Only one area may be selected at a time. See below for the list of states and metro areas available for 2021.

Like previous surveys, the 2021 AHS collected “core” data on subjects such as the number and physical condition of housing units, the characteristics of the occupants, housing costs for owners and renters, the persons eligible for and beneficiaries of assisted housing, remodeling and repairs, reasons for moving, the number and characteristics of vacant units, and neighborhoods characteristics.

Topical data on wildfire risk, household pets, secondhand smoke, housing search, intent to move, and delinquent payments and notices are also included in this release.

States in the 2021 AHS:

California

Florida

Illinois

Maryland

Massachusetts

New York

Pennsylvania

Texas

Virginia

Metropolitan Areas in the 2021 AHS:

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

Birmingham-Hoover, AL

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Oklahoma City, OK

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

Richmond, VA

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Rochester, NY

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

NEW CONTENT:

2019 TABLES REMOVED IN 2021:

              Home Accessibility

              Food Security

              Post-Secondary Education

TABLE CHANGES:

Housing Unit Characteristics

Homes Currently for Sale or Rent:

• Some estimates are now suppressed; variables that are not available on the Public Use File are now used to create these estimates.     

Housing Unit Characteristics/General Housing

Year Structure Built:

• Row categories were updated to include the most current year (2021).

Housing Quality

Tobacco Smoke Inside the Home; Second-hand Smoke Entering Home:

• New stubs added.
• Footnotes 5 and 6 were added, some original footnotes may have been renumbered.

Housing Adequacy:

• Collapsed ‘Electric’ and ‘Wiring’ into a new row called 'Electric or wiring'.

Sewage Disposal Breakdowns:

• Collapsed ‘3’ and ‘4 or more’ rows into a new row called '2 or more' to reduce the number of estimates that are suppressed.

Housing and Neighborhood Search and Satisfaction

Renter Housing Search Details; Planning or Thinking About Moving in the next 12 Months:

• New stubs added.
• Footnotes 1 and 4 were added; some original footnotes may have been renumbered.

Household Demographics

Race and Hispanic Origin:

• Fewer estimates are suppressed as a result of a correction to the suppression methodology.

Educational Attainment of Householder:

• Added a decimal place to National median and mean ‘Percent high school graduate or higher’ and ‘Percent bachelor’s degree or higher’ rows to match the Metro and State versions of the table.

Enrollment Status of Householder:

• Changed from using a split-weight in 2019 to a full-weight in 2021. 
• A new subuniverse row was added to show that the data are now restricted to those ages 16 to 54.
• Footnote 3 was reworded to caution data users against comparing 2021 data to 2019 data due to the subuniverse change; footnote 4 from 2019, which explained why the 2019 data did not add to total, was deleted; and other footnotes may have been renumbered as a result. 

Year Householder Immigrated to the United States; Year Householder Moved Into Unit:

• Expanded year ranges to 2021 and updated prior year ranges.

Veteran Status:

• More estimates are suppressed as a result of a correction to the suppression methodology.

Periods of Armed Forces Service:

• Collapsed last three rows into one new row called ‘Served June 1950 or earlier.’

Income Characteristics

Household Income; Income Sources of Families and Primary Individuals:

• Expanded categories at the high end of the range to better reflect current economic conditions.

Housing Costs

Monthly Total Housing Costs; Monthly Cost Paid for Real Estate Taxes:

• Expanded categories at the high end of the range to better reflect current economic conditions.

Monthly Homeowner or Condominium Association Fee Amount:

• Changed the subuniverse label from “Fee paid by owners” to “Fee paid by occupants.”

Value and Purchase Price

Value:

• Collapsed lower value categories.

Year Unit Acquired:

• Expanded year ranges to 2021 and updated prior year ranges. 
• Collapsed earlier years into ‘1950 or earlier’ to reduce the number of suppressed estimates.

Purchase Price:

• Expanded categories at the high end of the range to better reflect current market conditions.
• Collapsed lower price ranges to reduce the number of suppressed estimates.

Down Payment:

• Suppression was discontinued for two Down Payment rows (“No down payment” and “Less than 3 percent”).  They were previously suppressed because one used Major Source of Down Payment (DWNPAYSRC), which was not on the PUF in 2019. DWNPAYSRC was not collected in 2021.

Major Source of Down Payment:

• Deleted from 2021 because this question was no longer asked in the survey.  As a result, the table name changed from 'Value, Purchase Price, and Source of Down Payment' in 2019 and prior to 'Value and Purchase Price' for 2021.

Ratio of Value to Current Income:

• Added a decimal place to National median and mean rows to match the Metro and State versions of the table.

Mortgage Characteristics

The Mortgage part of the questionnaire was redesigned in 2021.  As a result, several variables were deleted, others were added, and some imputations and edits changed. The 2019 Mortgage Characteristics table and the 2019 Additional Mortgage Characteristics table were combined into one 2021 table called Mortgage Characteristics. 

Deletions from the 2019 Mortgage Characteristics table:

• Type of Loan
• Reason Primary Mortgage Refinanced

Deletions from the 2019 Additional Mortgage Characteristics table:

• Number of Years with Fixed Interest Rate on Adjustable Rate Mortgage
• Final Payment Due for Balloon Mortgage
• Mortgage Origination
• Percentage Used for Purchase of Home
• Source of Mortgage Financing
• Subsidized State and Local Mortgages
• Information Needed to Obtain Mortgage
• Principal Included in Mortgage Payment
• Interest Included in Mortgage Payment
• Amount of Private Mortgage Insurance Included in Monthly Payment
• Amount of Other Charges Included in Monthly Payment
• Monthly Payment Change of Mortgage Over Last 12 Months
• Reason Mortgage Payment Changed Over Last 12 Months

 Additions:

• Initial Amount Borrowed or Refinanced

Changes:

• Interest Rate of Mortgage::
  • Added a decimal place to National median and mean rows to match the Metro and State versions of the table.
  • Removed not reported row because this estimate is imputed. This was true in earlier years as well, but that row displayed a ‘.’, representing not applicable or no cases in sample.

• Year Mortgage Obtained:
  • Expanded year ranges to 2021 and updated prior year ranges.

• Total Outstanding Principal Amount; Mortgage Payment Amount:
  • Expanded categories at the high end of the range to better reflect current market conditions.
  • Collapsed lower price ranges to reduce the number of suppressed estimates.

• Items Included in Mortgage Payment:
  • Deleted “Principal and interest only” and “Other” rows because these questions were removed from the survey.

• Primary Mortgage Refinance Status:
  • This stub uses the REFI variable, which was previously used in the deleted 2019 stub called ‘Reason Primary Mortgage Refinanced.’

• Type of Mortgage:
  • Collapsed ‘payment option mortgage,’ ‘balloon mortgage,’ and ‘interest only mortgage’ rows into a new row called ‘Other mortgage’.
  • Deleted ‘interest only adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)’ row due to the question being removed from the survey.

• Cash Received in Primary Mortgage Refinance; Percent of Primary Mortgage Refinanced Cash Used for Home Additions, Improvements, or Repairs:
  • Collapsed some rows to reduce the number of suppressed estimates. 

• Total Remaining Debt Across All Mortgages or Similar Debts:
  • Expanded categories at the high end of the range to better reflect current market conditions.
  • Collapsed lower price ranges to reduce the number of suppressed estimates.

• Current Total Loan as Percent of Value:
  • Added a decimal place to National median and mean rows to match the Metro and State versions of the table.

• Total Home-Equity Line-of-Credit Limit:
  • Collapsed lowest range to reduce the number of suppressed estimates. 

• Home-Equity Line-of-Credit Has a Current Balance:
  • Removed the not reported row due to processing improvements in 2021. Previously the calculation was reset for each loan, causing some units to be assigned a missing value incorrectly. The variable now correctly summarizes the information across up to three loans. 

• Current Line-of-Credit Interest Rate:
  • Collapsed two rows on the high end of the range into one row called ‘7 percent or more’ to reduce the number of suppressed estimates.
  • Added a decimal place to National median and mean rows to match the Metro and State versions of the table.

• Line-of-Credit Monthly Payment:
  • Collapsed some rows to reduce the number of suppressed estimates. 

Home Improvement Characteristics

Gut Rehabilitation in the Last Ten Years:

• Subuniverse was updated to include only homes built before 2011.

Financial Assistance With Disaster Repairs:

• Stub deleted and footnote 1, which explained that the data were only collected for the Houston metro area, was deleted while some other footnotes were renumbered.

Home Improvement Costs

Expenditures rows:

• Corrected cell suppression methodology, which resulted in fewer suppressed estimates.

Rent Subsidies and Rental Property Management

Rent Control or Stabilization:

•  Footnote 1 was updated to drop a 2019 metro area no longer in sample (Portland) and include a new 2021 metro area that is rent controlled (San Jose).

Delinquent Payments and Notices

Eviction Notice in Last Three Months:

• Collapsed 'Failure or inability to pay rent' and 'Other violation of lease' into a new row called 'Violation of lease' to reduce the number of suppressed estimates. Also collapsed 'Landlord wants to use unit for another tenant or purpose', 'Building condemned or due to be demolished', 'Landlord foreclosed on' into 'Other.' A new footnote was added to 'Other' to describe what is included in the row.

Mortgage Payment Activity in Last Three Months and Foreclosure Status:

• Suppression was discontinued for most rows of these stubs because they use variables available on the Public Use File (PUF). As a result, these rows will only get suppressed if the MORTSTAT row gets suppressed.
• Deleted rows 'Home is in foreclosure', 'Home is not in foreclosure'.

COLUMN VARIABLE CHANGES:

Categories in selected bygroups were updated to include the most current year (2021) for selected items within the following column variables:

• Year Built
• Year Householder Moved Into Unit
• Primary Year of Work

Household Income; Monthly Housing Costs:

• Expanded categories at the high end of the range to better reflect current economic conditions.

Monthly Housing Cost as a Percentage of Income bygroup:

• Corrected cell suppression methodology, for 2021, which increased the number of cells suppressed in the bygroup.

HEADNOTE CHANGES:

The headnote of all 2021 tables reflects weighting consistent with Census 2020 instead of Census 2010 (Census 2010 was used for 2019 and prior survey years). In addition, a blended method was used for the Vintage 2021 estimates. For more information, see the Population Estimates Methodology.   

DATA CHANGES:

For information about data processing changes from 2019 to 2021 (e.g. changes to the questionnaire, dependent interviewing, edits and imputations, or recodes), see Historical Changes.

December 15, 2021

The following changes were made to the AHS Table Creator:

2019 only

Like 2011-2017, the Worst Case Needs column variable was added to the 2019 Variable 1/Variable 2 drop-down menu. For definitions of Worst Case Needs, visit Subject Definitions. User impact is high because it provides new estimates that were previously unpublished.

2015 only

New suppression categories were added to the Occupancy/Vacancy Status column variable. This resulted in fewer cells displaying an ‘S,’ which indicates the estimate is suppressed. User impact is medium because it provides new estimates that were previously suppressed.

2011-2019

Housing Unit Characteristics Table:

In the Duration of Vacancy stub, the "Don't know" row label changed to "Not reported" to make the table consistent with other tables. User impact is very low.

In the Homes Currently for Sale or Rent stub, the words "URE units" were added to footnote 2 to make the list of units included more accurate. User impact is low.

Housing Costs Table:

In the Monthly Cost Paid for Homeowner or Renter Insurance stub  (2015-2019), footnote 4 was added for consistency. The same footnote was added to the Property Insurance stub (2011-2013), but was numbered as footnote 3. User impact is low.

2015-2019

Housing Unit Characteristics & General Housing Data Tables:

The Foundation Type stub was redesigned to make the "Foundation  setup in some other way" row discernable between single-family, attached and detached homes and manufactured/mobile homes. Previously this row included both types of homes. User impact is medium because it provides new estimates that were previously combined.

Housing Costs Table:

In the Monthly Cost Paid for Lot/Land Rent stub, the "Fee paid by owners" row label changed to "Fee paid by occupants" because it includes mobile home renters as well. User impact is very low.

Value, Purchase Price, and Source of Down Payment Table:     

Suppression was turned off for the following rows of the Purchase Price and Major Source of Down Payment stubs because they use variables available on the Public Use File: "Home purchased or built", "Received as inheritance or gift", and "Not reported". This in fewer cells displaying an ‘S,’ which indicates the estimate is suppressed. User impact is medium because it provides new estimates that were previously suppressed.

Mortgage Characteristics Table:

The "No remaining debt" indicator appears in both the Total Remaining Debt Across All Mortgages or Similar Debts and Current Total Loan as Percent of Value stubs, but was not identified as a repeated estimate. That has been corrected and, as a result, more rows may display an 'S,' which indicates the estimate is suppressed. For more information on repeated estimates, visit the Cell Suppression section of the Table Creator Help Guide. User impact is medium because it suppresses estimates that were previously displayed.

October 29, 2020

Like 2011-2015, the Worst Case Needs column variable was added to the 2017 Variable 1/Variable 2 drop-down menu.  

There were also minor changes to the HUD-Assisted Status bygroup due to updates to geographic data used to match to HUD’s Area Median Income (AMI), Fair Market Rent (FMR), and income limits files.  

For definitions of Worst Case Needs and HUD-Assisted Status, visit Subject Definitions. 

In addition, new suppression categories were added to the Occupancy/Vacancy Status bygroup. This resulted in fewer cells displaying an ‘S,’ which indicates the estimate is suppressed.

September 16, 2020

This release of Table Creator includes National, State, and Metro-level summary tables for the 2019 American Housing Survey (AHS). All 2019 geographies can be selected using the “Select Area” drop-down menu in the Table Criteria panel. Only one area may be selected at a time. See below for the list of states and metro areas available for 2019.

Like previous surveys, the 2019 AHS collected “core” data on subjects such as the number and physical condition of housing units, the characteristics of the occupants, housing costs for owners and renters, the persons eligible for and beneficiaries of assisted housing, remodeling and repairs, reasons for moving, the number and characteristics of vacant units, and neighborhoods characteristics. 

Topical data on home accessibility, food security, and post-secondary education are also included in this release.

States in the 2019 AHS:

California

Colorado

Florida

Illinois

Massachusetts

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Texas

Metropolitan Areas in the 2019 AHS:

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

Cleveland-Elyria, OH

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

Kansas City, MO-KS

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

Pittsburgh, PA

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Raleigh, NC

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Search tip: The list of metros in the “Select Area” menu stays the same regardless of which year was selected in the “Select Year” menu.  If you select a metro that was sampled in 2019 only, the “Select Year” menu will default to 2019.  If you select a metro that was sampled in both 2017 and 2019, the “Select Year” menu may default to 2017 until you change it to 2019.

New 2019 Rotating Topical Tables (not available for Colorado or Ohio):

Home Accessibility – This topic last appeared in the 2011 AHS.

Food Security – This table last appeared in the 2015 AHS.

Post-Secondary Education – This table is new to the AHS.

Deleted Tables:

• Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
• Delinquent Payments and Notices
• Commuting to Work by Mode of Transportation
  
• Annual Commuting Costs by Type of Commuter

These rotating topics are in 2017, but not 2019. They may rotate back into the AHS in subsequent years.

Additions to Existing Tables:

• Mean rows were added to selected stubs of the following tables:
  • Housing Unit Characteristics
  • Rooms, Size, and Amenities
  • Household Demographics
  • Income Characteristics
  • Housing Costs
  • Value, Purchase, and Source of Down Payment
  • Mortgage Characteristics
  • Additional Mortgage Characteristics
  • Home Improvement Characteristics
  • Home Improvement Costs

Like medians, means are rounded to four significant digits as part of the disclosure avoidance protocol.

• Rooms, Size, and Amenities Table: A new category called Landline Available was added to the Phone Service stub.
• Household Demographics Table:
  • Detailed Hispanic or Latino categories were added to the Race and Hispanic Origin stub.
  • A new stub called Coupled Households was added with data by marital status and sex of partner.
• Home Improvement Characteristics Table: A new stub called Financial Assistance with Disaster Repairs (Houston metro only) was added.

Changes to Existing Tables:

• Column Variables:
  • Occupancy/Vacancy Status – New suppression categories were added in 2019, resulting in fewer cells displaying an ‘S,’ indicating the estimate is suppressed.
  • Units by Structure Type – Large changes between 2015 and 2019 led to new edits, which brought the 2019 estimates closer to ACS estimates.
  • 2013 Metropolitan Area – Principal city status indicators, which used different year delineations for some sample were standardized to the February 2013 OMB delineations.
  • Household Composition by Age of Householder – Changes to same-sex couple edits had a minor effect on estimates.
• Tables:
  • Housing Unit Characteristics
    • Units in Structure – See Units by Structure Type Column Variable above.
  • Rooms, Size, and Amenities
    • Phone Service – Cell phone estimates are higher than 2017 due to a questionnaire change in 2019.
  • Housing Migration
    • Reasons for Leaving Previous Residence – Footnote 5 was deleted.
  • Household Demographics
    • Changes to same-sex couple edits had a minor effect on estimates in the following stubs:
      • Household Composition by Age of Householder
      • Households With Single Children Under 18 Years Old
    • Enrollment Status of Householder – Figures may not be comparable with 2017 because the question wording and universe changed. In addition, 2019 figures were estimated using only half of the sample. Because it is part of a topical split-sample module, this stub is not available for Colorado or Ohio.
    • Other Household Characteristics – The unmarried partner couples row was moved to the new Coupled Households stub.
  • Housing Costs
    • Monthly Cost Paid for Real Estate Taxes – 2017 rounding was removed and noise was added to protect confidentiality.
    • Monthly Cost Paid for Lot/Land Rent –2019 shows a minor increase in not reported estimates and a slight increase in the median compared to 2017 because some of the missing values and a smaller number of positive values that were set to $0 in 2017 were corrected in 2019.
    • Monthly Cost Paid for Fuel Oil – Footnote 3 was corrected to footnote 4.
  • Value, Purchase Price, and Source of Down Payment – Some figures may not be comparable with 2017 because the universe changed.  The following stubs were affected:
    • Major Source of Down Payment
    • Down Payment
    • First-Time Owners
    • Homes Currently for Sale or Rent
    • How Acquired
    • Lead Pipes
    • Purchase Price
    • Year Unit Acquired
  • Mortgage Characteristics – Some figures may not be comparable with 2017 because the universe changed. The following stubs were affected:
    • Current Line-of-Credit Interest Rate
    • Line-of-Credit Amount Used for Home Additions, Improvements, or Repairs
  • Home Improvement Characteristics
    • Gut Rehabilitation in the Last Ten Years – The subuniverse was updated to include homes built before 2009.
  • Rent Subsidies and Rental Property Management
    • Rent Control or Stabilization – Footnote 1 was updated to drop a 2017 metro area no longer in sample (San Jose) and include a new 2019 metro area that is rent controlled (Portland)
  • Row categories in selected stubs were updated to include the most current year (2019) for selected items within the following column variables and tables:
    • Column Variables:
      • Year Structure Built
      • Year Householder Moved Into Unit
      • Primary Year of Work
    • Tables:
      • Housing Unit Characteristics
      • General Housing
      • Household Demographics
      • Value, Purchase Price, and Source of Down Payment
      • Additional Mortgage Characteristics

For a more detailed description of changes from 2017 to 2019, see Historical Changes.

February 25, 2020

Addition of Worst Case Needs Bygroup for 2011 and 2013

Like 2015 and later, the Worst Case Needs column variable was added to the 2011 and 2013 Variable 1/Variable 2 drop-down menu, but is only available at the National level. Slight differences between the Table Creator estimate and HUD’s 2011 and 2013 Worst Case Needs Report are due to minor updates to weighting variables that were implemented after the publication of the HUD report.

HUD-Assisted Status Bygroup Labels Renamed for All Years

Some of the column labels have been renamed and footnotes have been added to provide more information about what is included in each of the HUD-Assisted Status categories. The actual estimates have not changed.

October 9, 2019

Changes to rounding

All 2015 and 2017 estimates are now to the nearest thousand; medians are rounded to four significant digits.

Quality suppression implemented

Quality suppression was added to all tables, meaning cells with a coefficient of variation (CV) greater than or equal to 30% are now suppressed using the symbol ‘S.’ The CV is calculated as follows: CV=Standard Error/Estimate.

Additional changes were made to the suppression algorithm, which corrected issues where some values were being over-suppressed and others were being under-suppressed.

Suppression removed for selected estimates

For the following items, some estimates were previously suppressed. Due to changes in the application of suppression rules, many estimates are no longer suppressed and are now available in the Table Creator.   

Column Variables impacted:

• Year Structure Built
• Square Footage of Unit

Tables and Stubs impacted:

Housing Unit Characteristics

• Year Structure Built
• Stories in Structure
• Manufactured/Mobile Home Size
• Square Footage of Unit
• Lot Size

General Housing

• Year Structure Built
• Stories in Structure
• Manufactured/Mobile Home Size

Rooms, Size, and Amenities

• Square Footage of Unit
• Lot Size

Housing Costs

• Monthly Cost Paid for Real Estate Taxes
•  Monthly Cost Paid for Homeowner or Renter Insurance
•  Monthly Homeowner or Condominium Association Fee Amount
• Monthly Cost Paid for Lot/Land Rent

Value, Purchase Price, and Source of Down Payment

• Value
• Down Payment
• How Acquired
•  First-Time Owners
•  Lead Pipes

Mortgage Characteristics

• Total     
•  Type of Loan
• Total Remaining Debt Across All Mortgages or Similar Debts
• Reason Primary Mortgage Refinanced

Additional Mortgage Characteristics

• Households With At Least One Regular Mortgage
• Interest Rate of Mortgage
•  Mortgage Origination
• Percentage Used for Purchase of Home
• Monthly Mortgage Payment Amount
• Interest Included in Mortgage Payment
•  Items Included in Mortgage Payment

Home Improvement Characteristics

• Routine Maintenance Costs in Typical Year

Rent Subsidies and Rental Property Management

• Type of Government Subsidy (Matched Data)

Revised 2015 estimates

Top 15 Metropolitan Areas menu option added to 2015

Users can now select “Top 15 Metropolitan Areas” from the “Select area” dropdown menu.  This option is new for 2015, but was previously available for 2017.  Selecting this option produces a side-by-side comparison of the 15 largest metropolitan areas, sorted from largest to smallest (according to 2013 American Community Survey (ACS) population totals).

Corrected the 2017 Metropolitan Area column variable data

In 2017, the Metropolitan Area column variable was erroneously omitted when cross-tabulated with the Home Improvement Costs table. That cross-tabulation has now been corrected.

August 7, 2019

Home Improvement Costs:
    This table is now available from the Select Table drop-down menu.

Corrections to cell suppression:
    This release increases the number of cells suppressed in the following tables:

• Rooms, Size, and Amenities (Square Feet Per Person stub)
• Household Demographics (Number of Single Children Under 18 Years Old stub)

July 17, 2019

Revised Weights:

Prior to April 2019, 2011 is the only survey year in which HUD and Census combined the usually separate national and metro samples into one Internal Use File (IUF). The combined file had an identifier that distinguished between national and metro sample, but the weights were designed to use both samples to contribute to national and metro estimates. While combining the files increased the power of the sample, it made it difficult to compare 2011 to other years in the AHS panel. To remedy this, we revised the 2011 IUF, reverting it back to the structure used in 2009 and 2013. The national and metro samples are now split into two separate sets of files, and updated weights using the same methodology as 2009 and 2013 have been applied. As a result, new 2011 Public Use Files (National and Metro v2.0) were released on April 24, 2019 and 2011 summary tables in the AHS Table Creator have now been revised using the new weights.  Excel versions of the summary tables will not be updated using the new separate national and metro weighting, but will remain online for comparative analysis.  Please use the AHS Table Creator for the most current estimates.

Metros Added:

All 29 metros sampled in the 2011 AHS have now been added to Table Creator.  Previously, metro summary tables were only available in Excel on the 2011 AHS data webpage.

More Accurate Interpolated Medians:

In previous releases, the median year built figures were rounding up about 50 percent of the time. This was incorrect. The formula for interpolating medians has been adjusted to round values down, which is more accurate within the context of a calendar year.  As a result, about half of the Year Built medians have decreased by 1 year.

Cell Suppression:

To improve consistency of presentation across survey years, disclosure-based cell suppression has been added to 2011 table cells.  Suppressed cells display as an 'S'.

Symbols Changed:

In 2011, some symbols have changed from how they were originally published in an effort to comply with Census Bureau standards. In the original 2011 tables, a blank cell represented zero or rounds to zero.  Revised data now show that a blank cell represents true zero and a Z represents estimates that round to zero.  Cell suppression was also added to 2011, resulting in a new symbol, S, which represents estimates that did not meet publication standards.  The new headnote for 2011 tables reflects these changes.

Home Improvement Costs:

This table will be released at a later date to ensure data processing methods are consistent with 2013 and later.

Changes to tables:

All Tables

A new column heading called "Estimate" was added to every column.

In addition, blank columns will no longer show in the table when a column variable is selected.  A column will display only if the geography selected has data.

General Housing Data

The Stories in Structure stub was erroneously left out of tables in the original 2011 release.  It has been added back in.

Housing Migration

The Total row at the top of the table was deleted.  The entire table is now restricted to occupied units where the respondent moved during the past year from within the United States.

Disabilities

In the initial 2011 release, there was a table called Disability and Home Accessibility.  These data were part of a topical module that was meant to rotate in and out of the survey.  In 2013, the disability questions became permanent, so a separate Disabilities table was created.  To maintain consistency of presentation across years, we split the original Disability and Home Accessibility table into two tables – 1) Disabilities and 2) Home Accessibility.  Home Accessibility will remain a topical module.  It has only appeared in 2011, but will return in 2019.

In addition, the Households with Disabled Persons stub was missing from 2011.  It was added back in to maintain consistency with the 2013 presentation.

Home Improvement Characteristics

On Dec. 12, 2012 the variable used in the Energy Efficiency stub, ENEFIC, changed after tables were released.  Fewer than 20 cases showed valid responses despite not having a job associated with them. They have been changed to B (blank) and, as a result, the not reported row of this table now reflects that change and sums to total properly.

New to 2011:

HUD-Assisted Status Column Variable

This column variable, accessible via the Variable 1/Variable 2 drop-down menu, was added and is consistent with the 2013 column variable of the same name.  Its categories changed slightly, starting in 2015, when the Worst Case Needs Bygroup was added.  Note that this bygroup is only available at the National level.  It also uses a different weight because control totals from HUD administrative records were required to provide more accurate estimates on households receiving government rental assistance.

Housing Unit Characteristics Table

Like 2013 and later, the Housing Unit Characteristics table was added to the bottom of the 2011 Table drop-down menu. This includes data for “all housing” units, which includes seasonal and vacant units.

April 24, 2019

More Accurate Interpolated Medians

In previous releases, the median year built figures were rounding up about 50 percent of the time. This was incorrect. The formula for interpolating medians has been adjusted to round values down, which is more accurate within the context of a calendar year.  As a result, about half of the Year Built medians have decreased by 1 year.

New Table

Like 2015 and 2017, the Housing Unit Characteristics table was added to the bottom of the 2013 Table drop-down menu. This includes data for “all housing” units, which includes seasonal and vacant units.

Minor Changes to Tables to Improve Consistency with Later Years

• Poverty Level column variable – The not reported category was deleted because there was no data (only '.' was showing for all geographies).
• New Data Column Headings – A new column heading called "Estimate" was added to every column.
• General Housing table – The Access to Structure stub (8 rows) was added to the table.
• Housing Migration table – The Total row at the top of the table was deleted.  The entire table is now restricted to occupied units where the respondent moved during the past year.
• Delinquent Payments and Notices table – A Renter occupied total row was added to the table.

Cell suppression

To improve consistency of presentation across survey years, disclosure-based cell suppression has been added to 2013 table cells.  Suppressed cells display as an 'S'.

Symbols Changed

In 2013, some symbols have changed from how they were originally published in an effort to comply with Census Bureau standards. In the original 2013 tables, a blank cell represented zero or rounds to zero.  Revised data now show that a blank cell represents true zero and a Z represents estimates that round to zero.  Cell suppression was also added to 2013, resulting in a new symbol, S, which represents estimates that did not meet publication standards.  The new headnote for 2013 tables reflects these changes.

January 29, 2019

This release of Table Creator includes the following:

• Revised estimates due to revised weighting

This release of Table Creator includes revised 2017 AHS estimates due to  adjustments to the weights. As a result, all Table Creator estimates have changed slightly from the previous release.

• Public sewer data in two tables have changed due to improved imputation strategy:
  • Impacted rows of the “Type of Sewage System” stub in the Plumbing, Water, and Sewage Disposal table:
    • Public sewer
    • Not reported
  • Public sewer rows of the “Sewage Disposal and Breakdowns” stub in the Housing Quality table were also impacted.
    
    
• Two new topical tables were added to the Table drop-down menu:
  • Commuting to Work by Mode of Transportation
  • Annual Commuting Costs by Type of Commuter
    
    
• Nine states are now available for 2017 from the Area drop-down menu:
  • California
  • Florida
  • Illinois
  • Massachusetts
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • Texas
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • The following topical tables are not available for Maryland and Virginia:
    • Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
    • Commuting to Work by Mode of Transportation
    • Annual Commuting Costs by Type of Commuter

Note: Only these nine states will be released for 2017.  State-level estimates are only available via Table Creator. State data are not available on the PUF due to disclosure reasons. As with other Table Creator variables not shown on the PUF, suppression is applied.

• Ten additional metro areas, derived from independent metropolitan samples, are now available for 2017 from the Area drop-down menu:
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
  • Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
  • Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
  • San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
  • Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
  • San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
  • Oklahoma City, OK
  • Richmond, VA
  • Birmingham-Hoover, AL
  • Rochester, NY
    
    
• A new geography option was added to the 2017 Area drop-down menu called “Top 15 Metropolitan Areas”. This option provides a side-by-side comparison of the 15 largest metropolitan areas, sorted from largest to smallest according to 2013 ACS population totals.
  
  Note: When the Top 15 Metropolitan Areas option is selected, the Variable 1 selection automatically defaults to “Top 15 Metropolitan Areas,” and only 1 additional bygroup may be selected from the Variable 2 drop-down menu.
  

October 2, 2018

This release of Table Creator includes the following:

• A new topical table was added to the Table drop-down menu called Delinquent Payments and Notices.  This table was last available in the 2013 AHS.
• The following rows were deleted from the External Building Conditions stub of the Housing Quality table:
  • None of the above
  • Not reported

The rows in this stub did not add to total prior to this change, so the stub is still mutually exclusive.

• In the previous release, the Primary Year of Work bygroup, found in the Variable 1 and 2 drop-down menus, had incorrect column labels.  Those columns are now correctly labeled.

September 6, 2018

This release of Table Creator includes National-level results from the 2017 American Housing Survey (AHS), as well as summary tables for the 15 largest metropolitan areas.  The 2017 Metros can be selected using the “Select Area” drop-down menu in the Table Criteria panel. Only one area may be selected at a time. See below for the list of 15 metro areas now available for 2017.  Ten additional metro areas will be available later in 2018, as well as state estimates for nine states.

Like previous surveys, the 2017 AHS collected “core” data on subjects such as the amount and types of changes in the housing inventory, the physical condition of the housing inventory, the characteristics of the occupants, housing costs for owners and renters, the persons eligible for and beneficiaries of assisted housing, remodeling and repair frequency, reasons for moving, the number and characteristics of vacant units, and neighborhoods characteristics. Disaster planning data is also included in this release. Additional data on topics such as delinquent payments and notices and commuting costs are forthcoming.

Metropolitan Areas in the 2017 AHS (by population ranking):

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington,  PA-NJ-DE-MD
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,  DC-VA-MD-WV
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Search tip: The list of metros in the “Select Area” menu stays the same regardless of which year was selected in the “Select Year” menu.  If you select a metro that was sampled in 2017 only, the “Select Year” menu will default to 2017.  If you select a metro that was sampled in both 2013 and 2017, the “Select Year” menu may default to 2013 until you change it to 2017.  If you select a metro sampled in 2013 only, the “Select Year” menu will default to 2013.

Changes to the 2017 Tables:

New tables:

Emergency and disaster preparedness – this table last appeared in the 2013 AHS.

• The following items are new since the 2013 version of the table:
  • First Source of Emergency Information During Disaster
  • Home Has Tornado Safe Room or Shelter
  • Home Covered by Flood Insurance
  • Disaster Repairs in the Last Two Years for Renters
• The following items were dropped in the 2017 version of the table:
  • House or Building Number Clearly Visible

Deleted tables:

• Health and Safety Characteristics
• Arts and Culture
• Housing Counseling
• Food Security

These topics may rotate back into the AHS in subsequent years.

Rounding:

• All values in the tables have been rounded to four significant digits.

Additions to existing tables:

• General Housing Table – “Member of Any Type of Cooperative or Association” stub added.
• Rooms, Size, and Amenities Table – “Phone Service” stub added.
• Heating, Air Conditioning, and Appliances Table – “Supplemental Heating Equipment,” “Carbon Monoxide Detector,” and “Solar Panels” stubs added.
• Housing Migration Table – “Reasons for Leaving Previous Residence” stub had new categories added.
• Demographics Table – “Enrollment Status of Householder” stub added.

Deletions from existing tables:

• Housing Unit Characteristics Table - Neighborhood stubs dropped.
• Housing Quality table - Due to new imputations for the component variables of the Housing Adequacy indicator, not reported rows in the following stubs were deleted: “Flush Toilet Breakdowns,” “Heating Problems,” “Electric Fuses and Circuit Breakers,” and “Water Leakage During Last 12 Months.”

Changes to existing tables:

• Household Income Table – “Food Stamps” stub universe now based on individual income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) receipt, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits reported in the prior survey cycle.
• Additional Mortgage Characteristics Table – “Items Included in Mortgage Payment” stub now includes mortgages where the respondent explicitly stated that principal and interest were the only items included in the mortgage payment in the "Principal and interest only" category.

For a complete list of changes from 2015 to 2017, see Historical Changes.

Upcoming Releases:

Future releases of Table Creator will contain an additional ten metro areas, nine states, and new tables featuring delinquent payments and notices (last released in 2013) and commuting costs.  These releases are expected to occur by the end of 2020.

The Worst Case Needs bygroup will also be activated in 2020. This variable is found on the Variable 1 and Variable 2 drop-down menus. For the definition of Worst Case Needs, visit Subject Definitions.

Upcoming Additional Metro Areas:

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Oklahoma City
Richmond, VA
Birmingham, AL
Rochester, NY

Upcoming States:

California
Florida
Illinois
Maryland
Massachusetts
New York
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia

(Note that state-level estimates will only be available via Table Creator. State data are not available on the PUF due to disclosure reasons.)

March 29, 2018

State-level estimates are now available for 2015 for two additional states: Colorado and Ohio.  No other state-level estimates will be available for 2015 due to sample size limitations. Due to disclosure rules, a State indicator variable will not be included in any Public Use File (PUF).

March 20, 2018

Revised estimates due to revised weighting

This release of Table Creator includes revised 2015 AHS estimates due to adjustments to the age variable, which required new weights to be calculated.  As a result, all Table Creator estimates have changed slightly from the previous release. Table sections using the age variable experienced the largest changes, although the changes are minor.

Recent mover data corrected

An error was found in the “Previous Home Owned or Rented by Current Household Member” stub in the 2015 Housing Migration table. The variable MVG1STAT was not properly set to not applicable (N) for mover groups that moved from an "other" structure type who were not asked this question, thus inflating the estimates.  The error has been corrected.

State-level estimates released

State-level estimates are now available for 2015 for five states:  California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Colorado and Ohio will be released at a later date.  No other state-level estimates will be available for 2015 due to sample size limitations. Due to disclosure rules, a State indicator variable will not be included in any Public Use File (PUF).

December 21, 2017

Four DESIGN changes have been made to the 2015 tables in the AHS Table Creator:

1. Margin of error
Users now have the option to display the margin of error (MOE) for each estimate.  MOE’s can be displayed via the new “View” drop-down menu available below the Filter section of the Table Criteria menu panel. For more information on how to interpret MOEs, visit the Table Creator Help Guide.

2. Geographic by-groups and filters for 2015.
Four new geographic by-group variables were enabled for 2015. These variables are found on the Variable 1 and Variable 2 drop-down menus, as well as added to the Geography Filter:

• 2010 Urban Area
• 2013 Metropolitan Area
• 2010 Rural-Urban Commuting Area
• 2013 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes

For definitions of the above geographic areas, visit Subject Definitions.

3. Worst Case Needs by-group
A new Worst Case Needs by-group variable was added for 2015. This variable is found on the Variable 1 and Variable 2 drop-down menus.  For the definition of Worst Case Needs, visit Subject Definitions.

4. Cell suppression
To permit the enabling of additional geographic by-group variables, disclosure-based cell suppression has been added to 2015 table cells.  Suppressed cells display as an ‘S’.

Thirteen MINOR DATA or DISPLAY REVISIONS have been made to the 2015 tables in the AHS Table Creator:

Revised median for Total Vacant Units by Occupancy/Vacancy Status. This is a fix for an issue identified in the February 8, 2017 Release Note.  The cross tabulation of the Total Vacant column of the Occupancy/Vacancy Status by-group and the median rows in the Housing Unit Characteristics table (Year Structure Built and Square Footage of Unit stubs) are now correctly showing actual medians instead of sums of the medians in the other vacant columns.

Revised Monthly Housing Cost variable.  This is a fix for an issue identified in the June 20, 2017 Release Note.  Some components of the Monthly Housing Cost variable had been mistakenly excluded.  Figures in the following table/column variable have been corrected:

• Table: Housing Cost (specifically the "Monthly Total Housing Costs" stub and the "Monthly Total Housing Costs as a Percent of Income" stub).
• Column variable: "Monthly Housing Cost" and "Monthly Housing Cost as a Percent of Income".

Altered Housing Migration table due to improvements in mover group classification. This is a fix for an issue identified in the June 20, 2017 Release Note.  This table reports values for the first member or groups of members of a household who moved.  We developed a new mover group variable, which shifted some movers to different mover groups, resulting in an overall increase to the first mover group.  As a result, the revised table has slightly higher estimates than previously published.  We had previously anticipated this change would affect estimates in the Neighborhood Search and Satisfaction table as well, but the revision seemed to have had no affect at all because unlike the Migration table, this table tallies all mover groups together and the changes to the mover groups resulted in no net change to total movers.

Fixes for Asian race data due to processing. This is a fix for an issue identified in the August 9, 2017 Release Note.  The “Race and Hispanic Origin” stub of the Household Demographics table had an error affecting the eight rows indented under the “Asian alone” row. Specifically, the error was in the Vietnamese category, leading to underreporting of that category. This error has been corrected, leading to an increase in Vietnamese estimates. Users should note that due to imputation processes, most other Asian categories decreased as a result of the increased Vietnamese estimates.  This error did not affect any of the Column Variable by-groups.

Revision to Home Improvement Characteristics table medians. This is a fix for an issue identified in the September 15, 2017 Release Note.  The “Routine Maintenance Costs in Typical Year” stub of the Home Improvement Characteristics table had an error in the median row for the metropolitan areas tables that was erroneously summing all the rows except the “not reported” row and labeling it a median.  That error has been corrected.

More accurate interpolated medians (Year Built).  In previous releases, the median year built figures were rounding up about 50 percent of the time. This was incorrect. The formula for interpolating medians has been adjusted to round values down, which is more accurate within the context of a calendar year.  As a result, about half of the Year Built medians have decreased by 1 year.

Bathrooms stub now displaying all rows for all geographies.  In previous releases, the “Sink and tub present” row of the Housing Unit Characteristics table was not displaying data. After closer inspection, it was discovered that Portland and Cleveland had values for this row.  Data are now displaying for Portland and Cleveland. All other metropolitan areas, as well as the National tables, continue to show “.”, which is correct.

Mold stub now displaying all data for metropolitan areas. A programming error erroneously replaced metropolitan area values in the ‘Not reported’ row of the Mold stub in the Housing Quality table with a “.” for all metropolitan areas.  The error has been corrected.

Symbols changed.  In 2015, some symbols have changed in an effort to comply with Census Bureau standards. In 2011 and 2013 tables, blank cells represent zero and rounds to zero.  In 2015 tables, blank cells represent true zeros and a Z represents estimates that round to zero.  Cell suppression was also introduced in 2015, resulting in a new symbol, S, which represents estimates that did not meet publication standards.  The headnote for 2015 tables reflects these changes.

Full Metropolitan Area names in table titles. The 2015 AHS metropolitan areas exactly match the February 2013 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions of Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs). However, for prior years that is not always the case because geographic boundaries change over time.  To reduce confusion, more detail was added to metropolitan areas names below the table title.  When comparing a metropolitan area between different survey years, use these detailed metropolitan area names to determine if they are comparable.  For a detailed description of changes in geographic boundaries between 2015 and 2013, see Summary of the Differences between the 2015 and 2013 AHS Metro Areas.

New data column headings. Due to the addition of margins of error, a new column heading has been added to every column.  Depending on which Filter View is chosen, the words “Estimate” or “Margin of Error” will appear in every column heading in order to distinguish which data is being displayed.

Date and time stamp on Excel files.  Excel file downloads now display a date and time stamp below the table.  The stamp appears in the following format: “Generated on DDMMMYY” with the current time.  For example, “Generated on: 30NOV17:14:04:54”

Sub-universe added to the Housing Migration table. Due to suggestions from data users, a sub-universe row has been added to the Housing Migration table called “Respondent Moved During Past Two Years” to clarify that the universe for the “Reasons for Leaving Previous Residence” stub is different from the universes of other stubs in the table.  The universe for the “Reasons for Leaving Previous Residence” stub matches the universe of the Housing and Neighborhood Search and Satisfaction table.

September 15, 2017

The “Routine Maintenance Costs in Typical Year” stub of the Home Improvement Characteristics table has an error in the median row for Metros.  The National “Routine Maintenance Costs in Typical Year” median is correct.  The Metro version of this table is erroneously summing all the rows except the “not reported” row and labeling it a median.  The error occurred in summary table processing and does not affect the Public Use File (PUF).  The errors will be corrected in the next release of the AHS Table Creator.

August 9, 2017

The “Race and Hispanic Origin” stub of the Household Demographics table has an error affecting the eight rows indented under the “Asian alone” row, which all use the HHRACEAS and RACEAS variables.   The “Asian alone” row itself was unaffected because it uses a different variable (HHRACE).  The error is a result of an edit that mishandled the Vietnamese (RACEAS=6) category, leading to underreporting of that category.  The correction will impact all other categories due to imputation parameters.   The Public Use File (PUF) has already been corrected.  The errors will be corrected in the AHS Table Creator in the next release.

June 20, 2017

There are two known errors in the 2015 data:

• Some components of the Monthly Housing Cost variable were mistakenly excluded.  Once corrected, figures in the following table/column variable will increase:
  • Table: Housing Cost (specifically the "Monthly Total Housing Costs" stub and the "Monthly Total Housing Costs as a Percent of Income" stub).
  • Column variable: "Monthly Housing Cost" and "Monthly Housing Cost as a Percent of Income".
• A newly developed mover group variable will alter some of the data in the Housing Migration and Housing and Neighborhood Search and Satisfaction tables.

The Public Use File (PUF) has already been corrected.  The errors will be corrected in the AHS Table Creator in the next release.

April 27, 2017

Revised estimates due to revised weighting

This release of Table creator includes revised 2015 AHS estimates due to adjustments to the age variable, which required new weights to be calculated.  As a result, all estimates have changed slightly from the previous release, with stubs using the age variable experiencing the largest changes.

New column variable

A new column variable called HUD-Assisted Units was added for 2015. This variable replaces the old HUD Subsidized Renter Status variable, but category names have changed.  The term “severely burdened” is no longer used, meaning the data no longer take into account housing adequacy or rent burden.

Expansion of Asian and Pacific Islander groups

The “Race and Hispanic Origin” stub of the Household Demographics table has been expanded to include new detail on specific Asian and Pacific Islander groups.

New Veteran Status categories

Categories in the “Veteran Status” stub of the Household Demographics table have added more detail, differentiating between households with one person who served in the military and households with two or more persons who served in the military.

Number of Regular Mortgages deleted

The “Number of Regular Mortgages” stub of the Mortgage Characteristics table has been deleted.

Median Year Built and Square Footage for Total Vacant units

A fix for the error noted in the February 8th Release Notes is still in progress, but to prevent users from using incorrect data, affected cells have temporarily been replaced with ‘.’ (Applies to the cross-tabulation of the “Median year built” and “Median square footage” rows of the Housing Unit Characteristics table and the “Total vacant” column of the Occupancy/Vacancy Status column variable.)

Median Year formatting

Rows showing median year are now properly formatted in all tables for all survey years (e.g. Year Structure Built stub –1,986 corrected to 1986)

February 8, 2017

There is a known error in the 2015 Occupancy and Vacancy Status column variable, which can only be selected in conjunction with the Housing Unit Characteristics table. The Total Vacant column of the Occupancy and Vacancy Status variable is calculated differently from the rest of the columns in that it is a formula that sums all the columns to the right of it (Vacant, for rent; Vacant, for sale only; Vacant, rented or sold; Vacant, occasional use/URE; and Other Vacant).  The error occurs in the cross tabulation of the Total Vacant column and the median rows in the Housing Unit Characteristics table (Year Structure Built and Square Footage of Unit stubs). The values shown are sums of the medians in the other vacant columns instead of actual medians. The error will be corrected in the next release of AHS Table Creator.

January 5, 2017

This release of Table Creator includes the complete set of 2015 Metropolitan Area tables, which includes summary tables for the 15 largest metropolitan areas, plus summary tables for 10 additional metropolitan areas. The 2015 Metros can be selected using the “Select Area” drop-down menu in the Table Criteria panel. Only one area may be selected at a time.

Search tip: The list of metros in the “Select Area” menu stays the same regardless of which year was selected in the “Select Year” menu. If you select a metro that was sampled in 2015 only, the “Select Year” menu will default to 2015. If you select a metro that was sampled in both 2013 and 2015, the “Select Year” menu will default to 2013 until you change it to 2015. If you select a metro sampled in 2013 only, the “Select Year” menu will default to 2013.

December 15, 2016

An error was found in the 2015 National tables involving a variable called FIRSTHOME. This variable is used in the “First-Time Owners” stub in the Value, Purchase Price, and Source of Down Payment table. In 2013 this variable was a yes/no question that read "Have you ever owned a home before?". In 2015 the question text was changed to "Is this the first home you have ever owned?".  The issue is an edit, present in both years, that sets FIRSTHOME to a 1 (Yes) if the primary source of the down payment came from the sale of a previous home. For 2015 it should have been set to a 2 (No) due to the way the question wording was changed. As a result, the Value, Purchase Price, and Source of Down Payment table has been revised.

November 17, 2016

This release of Table Creator includes National-level results from the 2015 American Housing Survey (AHS). Like previous surveys, the 2015 AHS collected “core” data on subjects such as the amount and types of changes in the housing inventory, the physical condition of the housing inventory, the characteristics of the occupants, housing costs for owners and renters, the persons eligible for and beneficiaries of assisted housing, remodeling and repair frequency, reasons for moving, the number and characteristics of vacant units, and neighborhoods characteristics. 

In addition to the “core” data, the AHS collected “topical” data using a series of topical modules.

Major changes in 2015 include the following:

• Five new tables were added to the Table drop-down menu:
  • Health and Safety Characteristics (topical module)
  • Arts and Culture (topical module)
  • Housing Counseling (topical module)
  • Food Security (topical module)
  • Housing Unit Characteristics - This includes data for “all housing” units, which includes seasonal and vacant units.  The new table can be selected from the bottom of the Table drop-down menu.
• Three new variables were added to the Variable 1 and Variable 2 drop-down menus: 
  • Occupancy/Vacancy Status (applies only to the Housing Unit Characteristics table)
  • Main Source of Funding (applies only to the Home Improvement Costs table)
  • Primary Year of Work (applies only to the Home Improvement Costs table)
• Eight tables from the 2013 AHS were deleted because those topical modules were dropped from the 2015 survey:
  • Public Transportation
  • Frequency of Use and Distance to Public Transportation
  • Additional Types of Transportation
  • Community Involvement
  • Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
  • Movers Leaving and Entering Unit
  • Delinquent Payments and Notices

  These topics may rotate back into the AHS in subsequent years.

• Due to significant changes in sample design and weighting methodology, and a re-evaluation of many variables, some “core” tables have changed, with some stubs moving to different tables and some new variables being introduced. In addition, changes to imputation processes for certain variables may make some data incomparable to previous years.

March 17, 2016

This release of Table Creator includes three new variables for the 2013 data:

• Monthly Housing Costs as a Percent of Income
• Monthly Housing Costs
• Subsidized Renter Status

See Subject Definitions for definitions.

December 3, 2015

This release of Table Creator includes the complete set of 2013 Metropolitan tables.  As a result, a new “Select Area” drop-down menu was added to the Table Criteria panel. Users can now select tables for National or Metropolitan areas.  Only one area may be selected at a time.

Rural-Urban Commuting Areas and Continuum Codes have been added to the Table Creator.  See Subject Definitions for definitions.

Additionally, the Urban/Metropolitan geographic designations have been updated.  See “Urban Area” and “Metropolitan/Micropolitan Area,” in Subject Definitions.

May 19, 2015

This release of the Table Creator reflects the complete set of 2011 and 2013 National tables, which have been updated with the following changes:

• Medians were added to selected variables.
• The Census Regions variable has been replaced with Census Divisions.
• Zeros have been replaced with blanks to represent cells that equal or round to zero.
• Table C-2 (Rooms, Size, and Amenities) – Square Footage Per Person now includes all occupied units, not just single detached and manufactured/mobile homes.
• Table C-16 (Home Improvement Costs) was added, along with a new Professional/Do-It-Yourself variable.  While the Home Improvement Characteristics table (C-15) captures the different types of improvements and remodeling/replacements that homeowners made to their homes, the Home Improvement Costs table (C-16) reflects specific questions about each job.  In other words, table C-15 is reported at the housing unit level (where multiple jobs of the same type are counted only once), whereas table C-16 is reported at the job/project level (where each job gets counted individually).  For each job reported, subsequent AHS questions ask about who did the work and how much the job cost.  In order to reflect these additional questions, a new variable was added to the drop-down menu that can only be chosen when the Home Improvement Costs table is selected. The new variable, called “Professional/Do-It-Yourself” appears in the Variable 1 and 2 drop-down menus.

February 12, 2015

The third release of Table Creator includes revised 2011 and 2013 tables. In addition, with the inclusion of 13 more tables (C-08b, C-13, C-14a, C-14b, C-15, S-03, S-04a, S-04b, S-04c, S-05, S-06, S-07, and S-08), Table Creator now reflects the complete set of 2013 tables, except for C-16 (Home Improvement Costs), which will be released in the next version, along with medians for all applicable variables.

As noted below, 2011 tables needed to be revised due to an error in the Urban Area variable (see November 20, 2014 note). The 42 occupied units that were missing an urban/rural code in the first release of Table Creator have now been assigned one. As a result, when choosing Urban Areas as the column variable, the total for occupied housing units is no longer underestimated. The “Urban Area” geography filter has also been corrected.

2013 tables were also revised (see February 5, 2015 note below) due to weighting improvements that more accurately estimate the number of manufactured/mobile homes. 2013 Table Creator data now matches the Excel version of the tables, released on February 5, 2015.

February 5, 2015

Revised versions of the 2013 AHS National Excel Tables and PUF microdata (v1.1) have been released due to weighting improvements that more accurately estimate the number of manufactured/mobile homes. 2013 data in Table Creator has not yet been updated. For the most recent revisions, see AHS_2013_National_Tables_v1.1.xls.

Table Creator is currently being updated with these revisions, which will be published in the next release (expected mid-February).  Until then, when comparing 2013 Table Creator tabulations to the Excel file above, data users will see a slight discrepancy in mobile homes, as well as overall housing unit totals.

November 20, 2014

The AHS Table Creator has a known error in the 2011 "Urban Areas" column variable, as well as the 2011 "In Urban Area" and "Outside Urban Area" geography filters. This error only applies to Table Creator and does not affect the Public Use File or the summary report and tables published in American FactFinder or Excel.

Forty-two occupied units in the 2011 sample are missing an urban/rural (URBRUR90) code, and are therefore not being counted. As a result, when choosing Urban Areas as the column variable, the total for occupied housing units is underestimated by 5,000 weighted units (114,902,000 units instead of 114,907,000 units). The “Urban Area” geography filter is also affected. All but one of the 42 units are considered rural, therefore the count of units for “Outside Urban Area” are more greatly affected than the count of units “In Urban Area.”

Tables using the Urban Area variable and filter are currently being corrected and will be republished in the next release of Table Creator.

The AHS Table Creator’s urban area geography is based on Census’s 1990 Urban Areas. It is important to note that the 2011 National summary tables will not be updated to reflect 2000 Urban Areas.