The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau, has released the 2023 American Housing Survey (AHS). This release marks the 50th anniversary of AHS, which remains a key source for comprehensive data on the nation's housing inventory.
“At HUD we know the importance of detailed, accurate, and timely data to guide our policymaking. We use insights from the American Housing Survey to develop innovative, data-driven, and effective policies to boost affordable housing and lower housing costs for families,” said Solomon Greene, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
The survey is conducted every two years by HUD and the Census Bureau. It covers various topics including housing composition, quality, costs such as rents and mortgages, and neighborhood conditions. The AHS is utilized by policymakers, researchers, and professionals for planning and decision-making purposes. The 2023 release includes a Table Creator for custom tables based on geographic area, demographics, income, among other characteristics; it also includes a Public Use File with household-level responses.
As the largest regular national housing sample survey in the U.S., AHS tracks housing units over time to provide insights into how homes age and how occupants change. Findings from this year's survey are expected to aid in research and evidence-based policy decisions.
Key findings from this year’s survey include:
- Over 3 million homeowners have installed solar panels since 2019.
- Home values have increased since the last survey in 2021 while median renter costs have surpassed median owner costs.
- One in ten homeowners are first-generation homeowners with many being Hispanic.
- The number of housing units has nearly doubled from about 76 million homes in 1973 to more than 145 million in 2023.
- Heating system breakdowns decreased from 8.3 percent in 1973 to 2.7 percent in 2023.
- Roof leaks were reported by fewer households—7.6 percent in 1973 compared to 4.4 percent in 2023.
- Open cracks or holes in walls decreased slightly from six percent in 1973 to five percent in recent years.
- Daily exposure to tobacco smoke inside homes dropped from eight percent in 2015 to six percent in this year's survey.
New areas covered by the AHS include information on housing insecurity, extreme heat events, power outages, health and safety characteristics of housing units, urbanization perceptions, first-generation homeownership details, householder generation data as well as sexual orientation and gender identity of respondents.
Statistics are available for major metropolitan areas including 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), Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (TX), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (DC-VA-MD-WV) among others. Additionally, similar statistics are provided for eleven states including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois among others.
For further details on the American Housing Survey results visit the Census Bureau’s website.
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