North Carolina Housing and Household Summary

North Carolina is one of the largest and fastest growing states in the nation. The growth in population drives changes in the housing (ie the physical residential structures - homes, apartments, condos, trailers, etc.) and households (ie the people living in housing structures). The following is a summary of housing and household indicators from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) highlighting this change.

The ACS is a rolling, monthly survey that annually reports socio-economic characteristics of the population. Areas with populations below 65,000 receive ACS estimates based on data collected over 5 years. The year shown in the summary is the final year of the collection period - "2020" data refers to 2016-2020 ACS data. For appropriate analysis, overlapping sample periods were not used in this summary.

Summary displays are available for:

• State and Local Government Summary Data
• County Subdivision (ie Township and Census Tract) Summary Data
• Census Block Group Summary Data

Tenure

Tenure is the condition under which a housing unit is occupied. A housing unit is "owner-occupied" if it is occupied by the owner or co-owner even if there is an unpaid mortgage. A condominium housing unit is only considered owner-occupied if the actual owner, not a tenant, lives in it. All other occupied housing units are considered "renter-occupied" including those with cash rent and those occupied without cash rent.

Occupancy

A housing unit may be a house, apartment, mobile home, a group of rooms or a single room occupied as a separate living quarter. A housing unit is occupied if it is the current place of residence (ie more than two months) for a person or group of people. Seasonal housing units are vacant units intended for weekends or other occasional use such as beach cottages or ski cabins. Year-round housing units is the sum of occupied housing units and vacant units classified as for rent or sale, or rented/sold but not occupied.

Renter Cost

Data on renter costs were collected for renter occupied housing units, vacant housing units for rent, and vacant rented units that were not occupied. Contract rent is monthly rent contracted for regardless of any furnishings, fees, or services included. Gross rent is the contract rent plus average monthly cost of utilities and fuels if these are paid by the renter. Rent-to-income ratio is derived by dividing the sum of monthly housing cost by gross monthly household income and multiplying by 100. High rent-to-income ratio refers to renter occupied units with a rent-to-income ratio of 35% or higher.

Housing Age and Value

Data on year housing unit was built refers to when the building was first constructed, not when it was remodeled, added to, or converted. Manufacturer's model year is the assumed year of construction for mobile homes, houseboats, RVs, etc.. Age of housing data aid in determining substandard housing and provide assistance for forecasting future services such as energy consumption and fire protection.

Value is the estimated value of housing unit and land.

Household Size and Substandard Housing

Any occupied housing unit is considered a household. The householder is the person or one of the persons who owns or is renting the home. If there is no such person in the household, any adult member of the household over 15 could be designated as the householder. Size and family type are designated based on relationship of other persons in the home to the householder.

Selected housing unit conditions - lacking complete plumbing facilities, lacking complete kitchen facilities, with more than 1 occupant per room, or monthly owner costs greater than 30% of household income - as used to assess substandard housing.