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Data Dictionary: ACS 2016 (5-Year Estimates)
you are here: choose a survey survey data set table variable details
Data Source: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau
Universe: Universe: Occupied housing units
Variable Details
A10022. Housing Units by Families and Presence of Own Children
Universe: Universe: Occupied housing units
A10022_001Occupied Housing Units:
Percent base:
None - percentages not computed (variable is table universe)
Aggregation method:
Addition
Formula used to compute this variable:
#ReturnType oretval = new #ReturnType(); oretval = ACS16_5yr:B25012001; return oretval;
Variables used in the formula:
ACS16_5yr:B25012001
Occupied Housing Units
Relevant Documentation:
Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; 2016 ACS 1-year and 2012-2016 ACS 5-year Data Releases: Technical Documentation.
  2016 ACS 1-year and 2012-2016 ACS 5-year Data Releases: Technical Documentation -> Appendix A: Supplemental Documentation -> 2014 Subject Definitions -> Living Quarters -> Housing Unit
Housing Unit
A housing unit may be a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms or a single room that is occupied (or, if vacant, intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any other individuals in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. For vacant units, the criteria of separateness and direct access are applied to the intended occupants whenever possible. If that information cannot be obtained, the criteria are applied to the previous occupants.

Both occupied and vacant housing units are included in the housing unit inventory. Boats, recreational vehicles (RVs), vans, tents, railroad cars, and the like are included only if they are occupied as someone's current place of residence. Vacant mobile homes are included provided they are intended for occupancy on the site where they stand. Vacant mobile homes on dealers' sales lots, at the factory, or in storage yards are excluded from the housing inventory. Also excluded from the housing inventory are quarters being used entirely for nonresidential purposes, such as a store or an office, or quarters used for the storage of business supplies or inventory, machinery, or agricultural products.

Occupied Housing Unit
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A housing unit is classified as occupied if it is the current place of residence of the person or group of people living in it at the time of interview, or if the occupants are only temporarily absent from the residence for two months or less, that is, away on vacation or a business trip. If all the people staying in the unit at the time of the interview are staying there for two months or less, the unit is considered to be temporarily occupied and classified as "vacant." The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated people who share living quarters. The living quarters occupied by staff personnel within any group quarters are separate housing units if they satisfy the housing unit criteria of separateness and direct access; otherwise, they are considered group quarters.

Occupied rooms or suites of rooms in hotels, motels, and similar places are classified as housing units only when occupied by permanent residents, that is, people who consider the hotel as their current place of residence or have no current place of residence elsewhere. If any of the occupants in rooming or boarding houses, congregate housing, or continuing care facilities live separately from others in the building and have direct access, their quarters are classified as separate housing units.

Vacant Housing Unit
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A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it at the time of interview. Units occupied at the time of interview entirely by persons who are staying two months or less and who have a more permanent residence elsewhere are considered to be temporarily occupied, and are classified as "vacant."

New units not yet occupied are classified as vacant housing units if construction has reached a point where all exterior windows and doors are installed and final usable floors are in place. Vacant units are excluded from the housing inventory if they are open to the elements, that is, the roof, walls, windows, and/or doors no longer protect the interior from the elements. Also, excluded are vacant units with a sign that they are condemned or they are to be demolished.

Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; 2016 ACS 1-year and 2012-2016 ACS 5-year Data Releases: Technical Documentation.
  2016 ACS 1-year and 2012-2016 ACS 5-year Data Releases: Technical Documentation -> Appendix A: Supplemental Documentation -> 2014 Subject Definitions -> Population Variables -> Household Type and Relationship -> Average Household Size -> Relationship to Householder -> Family Households
Family Households
A family consists of a householder and one or more other people living in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. All people in a household who are related to the householder are regarded as members of his or her family. A family household may contain people not related to the householder, but those people are not included as part of the householder's family in tabulations. Thus, the number of family households is equal to the number of families, but family households may include more members than do families. A household can contain only one family for purposes of tabulations. Not all households contain families since a household may be comprised of a group of unrelated people or of one person living alone - these are called nonfamily households. Families are classified by type as either a "married- couple family" or "other family" according to the sex of the householder and the presence of relatives. The data on family type are based on answers to questions on sex and relationship that were asked of all people.

  • Married-Couple Family -
 A family in which the householder and his or her spouse are listed as members of the same household.
  • Other Family:

    - Male Householder, No Wife Present -A family with a male householder and no spouse of householder present.

    - Female Householder, No Husband Present - A family with a female householder and no spouse of householder present.

    Family households and married-couple families include same-sex married couples, beginning with the 2013 data.

    • Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; 2016 ACS 1-year and 2012-2016 ACS 5-year Data Releases: Technical Documentation.
      2016 ACS 1-year and 2012-2016 ACS 5-year Data Releases: Technical Documentation -> Appendix A: Supplemental Documentation -> 2014 Subject Definitions -> Population Variables -> Household Type and Relationship -> Average Household Size -> Relationship to Householder -> Own Child
    Own Child
    A never-married child under 18 years who is a son or daughter by birth, a stepchild, or an adopted child of the householder. In certain tabulations, own children are further classified as living with two parents or with one parent only. Own children of the householder living with two parents are by definition found only in married-couple families. (Note: When used in "EMPLOYMENT STATUS" tabulations, own child refers to a never married child under the age of 18 in a family or a subfamily who is a son or daughter, by birth, marriage, or adoption, of a member of the householder's family, but not necessarily of the householder.)