Author: Simona Balazs, Blueprint Kentucky Research Director

Definitions:

Housing Characteristics:

Total housing units: total separate living quarters (i.e., a house, an apartment, a mobile home or trailer, a group of rooms or a single room, which have direct access from outside or through a common hall). 

Owner-occupied housing units: percent housing units that have the owner or co-owner living in them, with or without mortgage. 

Renter-occupied housing units: percent housing units that are rented. 

Homeowner vacancy rate: percent of homeowner housing inventory that is vacant for sale. Rental vacancy rate - percent of rental inventory that is vacant for rent. 

Other vacant housing units: percent housing units that are not lived in at the time of the survey, nor for sale or for rent. This may include seasonal properties that are not lived in at the time of the survey.

Current & Projected Population & Housing Change:

Population change: percent change in population between 2018 and 2023. 

Projected population change: percent change population between 2028 (projected) and 2023. 

Housing change: percent change in housing units between 2018 and 2023. 

Projected housing change: percent change in housing units between 2028 (projected) and 2023.

Housing by Year Built:

Percent of total housing units by year in which the structure was first built (not when it was remodeled, added to or converted).

Household Income vs. Housing Value:

Percent distribution of housing units by household income (top bar chart) and housing value (bottom bar chart).

Owner-occupied Housing Characteristics:

Owner-occupied housing units: total number of housing units that have the owner or co-owner living in them, with or without mortgage.

Median mortgage: median annual dollar amount paid for the mortgage.

Median property tax: median annual dollar amount paid in property taxes for the county.

Median home value: median owner-occupied home value.

Housing units with a mortgage: percent of housing units that have a mortgage. A mortgage refers to all forms of debt for the property (e.g., home-equity line of credit, home-equity lump sum, lien arrangements).

Housing burden (costs >30% of income): percent households with monthly owner costs (mortgage, utilities, etc.) greater than 30% of income. The general rule of thumb is that owner costs less than or equal to 30% allow a family to still have enough income for other nondiscretionary spending. According to U.S. Census, housing costs greater than 30% of income are considered a housing burden.

Renter-occupied Housing Characteristics:

Renter-occupied housing units: total number of housing units that are rented.

Median monthly rent: rent amount at the midpoint of the monthly rent values. Half of the renters pay less than the median rent and half pay more.

Rent $499 or less: percent of households that pay less than $500 in rent, per month.

Rent $500 - $999: percent households that pay between $500-$999 in rent, per month.

Rent $1,000 or more: percent households that pay more than $1,000 in rent, per month.

Housing burden (rent > 30%): percent households with monthly rent costs greater than 30% of income. Similar to owner costs, rent costs greater than 30% of income are considered a housing burden.

The rent may or may not include furnishings, utilities, fees or services. For vacant units it is the monthly rent asked for the rental unit at the time of interview.

People Commuting to Work in the County (In-commuters):

Total in-commuters: number of people living outside the selected county and commuting to work in the county.

In-commuters with income $15K or less: percent in-commuters with annual average income of less than $15,000.

In-commuters with income $15K-$40K: percent in-commuters with annual average income of $15,000-$39,999.

In-commuters with income $40K or more: percent in-commuters with annual average income of $40,000 or more.

Data Sources:

1. US Census, 2019-2023 5 Year Estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS), https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs 
2. US Census, 2021 OnTheMap, https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/ 
3. ESRI, 2023 ArcGIS Business Analyst, https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-business-analyst/overview