Hi rnd13-ga,
The US Government Census Bureau is a wealth of information, both
current and historical, on housing and housing trends. This is what
makes it such a valuable resource, and at the same time such a
difficult resource from which to extract information. The sheer amount
of information amassed in the decennial census process is staggering.
The first housing census was taken in 1940, so that will be our
earliest data point. The Census Bureau has compiled the historical
data by decade, of course, as that is the frequency of the census. So
that means that we will have seven data points for comparison
purposes. The reports reflect US data, and then are further broken
down by state, should you be interested in that level of detail. As
housing concepts and terms have changed, and as the information
collected has varied, the Census Bureau has attempted to make the data
comparable in so far as that is possible. The table is annotated to
reflect this.
“The types of homes Americans live in have changed over the past 50
years. On a percentage basis, one-family detached houses had their
heyday in 1960, when they made up over two-thirds of the total housing
inventory. Since then, detached houses have steadily declined; by
1990, they made up a bit under 60 percent of the inventory.
“One-family attached houses (rowhouses, townhouses, and duplexes)
increased a little from 1980 to 1990, but their share of the inventory
was highest in 1940, at the time of the first housing census. Units in
small apartment houses with 2 to 4 apartments had their high water
mark in 1950, when they made up almost one-fifth of the total housing
stock. By 1990, they had shrunk to less than one-tenth of the
inventory.
“Units in larger apartment buildings of 5 or more apartments have
become increasingly more popular in recent decades. Note the big
increase in these types of units from 1960 to 1980.
“However, the biggest story is the explosive growth of mobile homes.
In 1940, they were a mere afterthought, lumped into the "Other"
category with boats and tourist cabins. By 1990, mobile homes made up
7 percent of the total housing stock.”
The information in the tables are shown for the number of housing
units in structures of specified type and size, not by the number of
buildings of each type. After each type of housing (single detached,
single attached, 2-4 unit, 5+unit, mobile home and other, etc.), you
will find the number of units of that type, and the percentage.
-2000-
1-unit, detached 69,865,957 60.3%
1-unit, attached 6,447,453 5.6%
2 units 4,995,350 4.3%
3 or 4 units 5,494,280 4.7%
5 to 9 units 5,414,988 4.7%
10 to 19 units 4,636,717 4.0%
20 or more units 10,008,058 8.6%
Mobile home 8,779,228 7.6%
Boat, RV, van,etc. 262,610 0.2%
-1990-
1, detached 60383409 59.0%
1, attached 5378243 5.3%
2 to 4 9876407 9.7%
5 or more 18104610 17.7%
Mobile home 7399855 7.2%
Other 1121154 1.1%
-1980-
1, detached 53595586 61.8%
1, attached 3587019 4.1%
2 to 4 9681832 11.2%
5 or more 15478306 17.8%
Mobile home 4401056 5.1%
Boat, tent, van 14918 0.0%
-1970-
1, detached 44800684 66.2%
1, attached 1989867 2.9%
2 to 4 9006950 13.3%
5 or more 9828696 14.5%
Mobile home 2072887 3.1%
-1960-
1, detached 40103346 68.8%
1, attached 3655210 6.3%
2 to 4 7551865 13.0%
5 or more 6237798 10.7%
Mobile home 766565 1.3%
-1950-
1, detached 29115698 63.3%
1, attached 2798632 6.1%
2 to 4 8676183 18.9%
5 or more 5077667 11.0%
Mobile home 315218 0.7%
-1940-
1, detached 23730637 63.6%
1, attached 2835176 7.6%
2 to 4 5723658 15.3%
5 or more 3928298 10.5%
1-4 with business 940726 2.5%
Other 166975 0.4%
Notes:
1990 data are for all housing units.
The "other" category was intended to be living quarters such as
houseboats, railroad cars, campers, vans, and caves. This category
was far overstated; see the "boat, tent, van, etc." category below for
1980.
1980 counts are restricted to "year-round" housing units -- seasonal
and migratory vacants were excluded.
1970 counts are restricted to "year-round" housing units -- seasonal
and migratory vacants were excluded.
In 1970 and earlier censuses, mobile homes had to be occupied to be
counted as housing units.
1, attached units in 1950 include row houses (3 or more attached
houses) and semi-detached (2 units side-by-side); in the latter case,
the units might not be completely separated (a complete wall from
basement through attic).
1, attached units in 1940 include row houses (3 or more attached
houses) and semi-detached (2 units side-by-side); in the latter case,
the units might not be completely separated (a complete wall from
basement through attic).
Other" units in 1940 include trailers, tourist cabins, and boats whose
occupants have no other usual place of residence.
The entire report, including all state numbers for all years, can be
viewed below. I apologize in advance if the formatting does not
survive the posting of this answer. We have very limited formatting
capabilities, but the full report is nicely formatted and can be
referenced if these numbers are at all difficult to read.
Source for historical data (1940-1990):
Historical Census of Housing Tables
Units in Structure
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/census/historic/units.html
Source for current census data (2000):
DP-4. Profile of Selected Housing Characteristics: 2000
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?ds_name=D&geo_id=D&qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_DP4&_lang=en
Additional historical information related to housing has been compiled
by the Census Bureau. From the link listed below, you can view reports
similar to the Units in Structure report above on a variety of
subjects such as: Ownership Rates, Recent Movers, Home Ownership,
Vacation Homes, and many other topics.
Housing Then and Now
50 Years of Decennial Censuses
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/census/histcensushsg.html
Should you require any clarification of any of the above, rnd13-ga,
please do not hesitate to ask. Good luck on your project.
Regards,
Beth
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