1990 Housing 
 Highlights 
 
 DOC. 
 
 C 3.224/3-8: 
 
 CH-S-1-1 
 cop.2 
 
 js- 
 
 CH-S-1-1 
 
 The 1990 census counted 
 102,263,678 housing units in the 
 United States, an increase of 
 15.7 percent in the 1980’s. 
 
 Homeownership rate 
 declined slightly. 
 
 Owner-occupied units rose 14 
 percent during the decade, while 
 renter-occupied units rose 15 
 percent. As a result, the owner- 
 occupancy rate declined from 
 64.4 percent to 64.2 percent. 
 
 The chart below provides home- 
 ownership rates from 1890 to 
 1990. Note the extraordinary 
 jump in the early post-World 
 War II era. 
 
 Households became smaller. 
 
 The average household size in 
 the Nation fell from 2.75 persons 
 per unit in 1980 to 2.63 in 1990. 
 This is due to the decline in 
 household size for owner 
 households, which fell from an 
 average of 2.96 persons to 2.75 
 during the decade. Renter 
 households, on the other hand, 
 rose slightly, from 2.37 persons 
 to 2.42. 
 
 U.S. Department of Commerce 
 
 Economics and Statistics 
 
 Administration 
 
 BUREAU OF THE CENSUS 
 
 The United States Had 102 Million 
 Housing Units in 1990 
 
 Total housing inventory, owner-occupied units, 
 renter-occupied units, and vacant units: 1980 and 1990 
 
 (In thousands) 
 
 102,264 
 
 University of Illinois 
 Library at Urbana- 
 Champaign Facility 
 Oak Street 
 
 8,022 1Q ' 316 
 
 Total 
 
 Owner- Renter- Vacant 
 
 occupied occupied 
 
 The percentage of units with 
 more than one person per 
 room rose in the 1980’s. 
 
 Units with more than one person 
 per room are often considered 
 crowded. This proportion rose 
 from 4.5 percent of the occupied 
 
 inventory in 1980 to 4.9 percent 
 in 1990. This is the first time this 
 percentage has increased 
 since the first Census of Housing 
 in 1940. The 1990 rate is still 40 
 percent below the 8.2 percent 
 recorded in 1970. 
 
 r 
 
 Library U. of i. Urbana-Champaign 
 
Vacancy rates increased. 
 
 The homeowner vacancy rate 
 rose from 1.8 to 2.1 percent, 
 while the rental vacancy rate 
 rose from 7.1 to 8.5 percent. 
 
 Vacant units made up 10 percent 
 of the total housing inventory. 
 Vacant units classified for 
 seasonal, recreational, or 
 occasional use composed 30 
 percent of the vacant inventory in 
 1990, a decline from 35 percent 
 in 1980. Overall, vacant units 
 increased faster than occupied 
 units: 29 versus 14 percent. 
 
 One-family homes made up 
 about 64 percent of the 
 housing inventory. 
 
 One-family houses, detached or 
 attached, increased 13 percent 
 during the last decade. Units in 
 small multiunit structures of 2 to 
 4 units were the slowest growing 
 part of the inventory, increasing 
 only 1 percent. Units in larger 
 buildings of 5 or more units 
 increased 16 percent. 
 
 Mobile homes, the fastest 
 growing type of housing 
 nationally, increased nearly 60 
 percent, but composed only 7 
 percent of the housing inventory 
 
 in 1990. There was a larger 
 absolute net gain of mobile 
 homes, about 2.7 million, than 
 apartments in all multiunit 
 structures, about 2.6 million. 
 
 Value and rent increased 
 faster than inflation. 
 
 Median value of owner-occupied 
 one-family houses increased 5 
 percent during the 1980’s from 
 $75,000 to $79,100. 
 
 Median contract rent rose 19 
 percent during the last decade 
 from $314 to $374. 
 
 The above median value and rent 
 increases reflect adjustment of 
 1980 to 1990 dollars to account 
 
 for the 59 percent rise nationally 
 in the consumer price index. 
 
 The actual 1980 medians were 
 $47,200 for value and $198 for 
 rent. In the charts below, value 
 and rent amounts from 1950 to 
 1990 are shown for actual 
 dollar amounts and for dollar 
 amounts converted to constant 
 1990 dollars. 
 
 Note, the national increase in 
 median value barely kept pace 
 with inflation in the 1960’s and 
 1980’s. In the 1950’s, both value 
 and rent increased almost 
 one-third faster than inflation. 
 
 One-Family Homes Made up 64 Percent 
 of the Housing Inventory in 1990 
 
 (Thousands of units) 
 
 H 1980 
 1990 
 
 Median Housing Value: 1950-1990 
 
 (Adjusted: Constant 1990 dollars) 
 
 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 
 
 Median Contract Rent: 1950-1990 
 
 (Adjusted: Constant 1990 dollars) 
 
 1990 Census Housing Highlights 
 
 CH-S-1-1 July 1991 
 
 This is one of a series of profiles - 
 one for each State, the District of 
 Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 
 outlying areas - that examines 
 housing data from the 1980 and 
 1990 Census of Housing. The data 
 may be subject to various 
 nonsampling errors. A complete 
 description of statistical quality and 
 limitations will be included in the 
 Introduction and appendices of 
 Summary Population and Housing 
 Characteristics, CPH-1-1, available 
 in late 1991. 
 
 For technical information, 
 contact: Robert Bonnette, 
 301-763-8553. For copies of the 
 Housing Highlights, contact 
 Customer Services, 
 
 301-763-4100.