Women by Children Under 5 Years Old (Volume II, Part III - Subject Reports)
Definitions and Explanations
Some of the definitions used in 1960 differ from those used in 1950. These changes were made after consultation with users of census data in order to improve the statistics, even though it was recognized that comparability would be affected. The definitions and explanations should he interpreted in the context of the 1960 Censuses, in which data were collected by a combination of self-enumeration, direct interview, and observation by the enumerator.
The definitions below are consistent with the instructions given to the enumerator. As in all surveys, there were some failures to execute the instructions exactly. Through the forms distributed to households, the respondents were given explanations of some of the questions more uniformly than would have been given in direct interviews. Nevertheless, it was not feasible to give the full instructions to the respondents, and some erroneous replies have undoubtedly gone undetected.
More complete discussions of the definitions of population items are given in 1960 Census of Population, Volume I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 1, United States Summary, and in each of the State parts, and in 1960 Census of Housing, Volume I, States and Small Areas.
Own Children Under 5 and 5 To 9 Years Old
In the 1960 Census, the classification of women by number of own children under 5 years old and 5 to 9 years old was based on information on the relationship and age of each person in the household.
The category "child" includes not only natural sons and daughters but also stepchildren and adopted children of the women featured in this report. An examination of data from other reports suggests that stepchildren and adopted children comprise a very small proportion, perhaps less than two or three percent, of own children under 5 years old, so that nearly all of the own children are the women's natural children.1 The data are also affected by a relatively few errors of response; for example, the relationship of a grandchild, nephew, or niece is sometimes misreported as "child". Evidence of this type of error is the fact that the present report shows relatively more own children under 5 years old for women at ages lf0 and over than would be expected from birth registration data, especially for nonwhites.
Women ever married who were not heads or wives in families or subfamilies were classified as having no own children under 5 or 5 to 9 years old; the rules used for family and subfamily coding would have made them either a head or a wife if any own children had been present in a household. However, the family and subfamily coding was limited to persons in households A few of the 151,952 ever married women 15 to years old living in group quarters undoubtedly had children present, but the number could not be determined from the available information. In group quarters, the sample consisted of every fourth person, so that when s woman was in the sample her children usually were not in the sample. The loss to the count of own children was quite trivial, however, because women in group quarters comprised only 0.5 percent of all women ever married 15 to years old in the United States.
Women who were single (never married) were classified as having no own children under 5 or 5 to 9 years old for purposes of the present report. It is thought that most women who had an illegitimate child living with them were reported in the census as separated, widowed, or divorced and hence were included in the data for women classified as ever married. According to a 1960 Census report on families, 2 only 105,541 single women were enumerated as heads of families or subfamilies with at least one Own Child under 18 years old present. It is unlikely that the 105,541 single women with own children under 18 years old had as many as 100,000 children under 5 years old, but even a figure of 100,000 would be relatively small (0.5 percent) when compared with the 19.6 million own children under 5 years old whose mother was reported as married, widowed, divorced, or separated.
The data on own children under 5 years old shown for 1960 have a high degree of comparability with similar data presented in the 1950 Census report P-E, No. 5C, Fertility, and also with the data in the 1940 Census series of special reports on Differential Fertility, 1940 and 1910. Inclusion of the new States of Alaska and Hawaii in 1960 has little effect on the magnitudes of national ratios of own children under 5 per 1,000 women, as can be seen by comparing tables 192 and 193 in Volume I, Part 1, of the 1960 Census of Population. The 1950, 1940, and 1910 data include own children of the relatively few women ever married who lived in group quarters, whereas in the 1960 Census such women are treated as having no own children present. The 1950, 1940, and 1910 Censuses exclude the relatively few stepchildren and adopted children who could be distinguished from natural sons and daughters of a woman, but such children are included in 1960.
In the 1960 Census, there was less tendency than in previous censuses for a relatively few children almost 5 years old to be misreported as age 5 and hence lost to the count of children under 5.3 In the 1960 Census a question was asked on date of birth, and the answers were used to compute the age, whereas in previous censuses the corresponding question related to age at the last birthday.
3In 1960, the count of population under 5 years old was about 98 percent complete for whites and 93 percent for nonwhites; in 1950 the corresponding figures were 96 percent for whites and 91 percent for nonwhites.
Relation to data on population under 5 years old to 9 years old
Table A presents data on the total number of persons counted in the 1960 Census as under 5 years old and as 5 to 9 years old and compares these with the numbers counted as own children of women ever married. To a large degree, the difference between population under 5 (or 5 to 9) and own children of this age represents young persons living apart from their mother. The difference also includes the relatively few children who were not counted as own children because they were living with a never-married mother, because the mother was outside the specified age range of 15 to 49 or 15 to 54, or because there was not sufficient information to identify them as own children of a woman in the same household. A very minor bias also arises from the fact that the color classification for the population under 5 is based on the race noted for the person under 5 years old, whereas that of the Own Child is based on the race noted for the mother; in the. few cases where the mother is white, and the father is nonwhite, the person under 5 years old is classified as nonwhite in the population count but as an Own Child of a white mother in the tabulations of women by number of own children.
Table A shows that about 99 percent of the white population under 5 years old are classified as own children of women ever married, whereas only 86 percent of the nonwhite population are so classified. According to birth registration data for 1960, about 2 percent of white births and 22 percent of nonwhite births in that year were illegitimate. As noted above, the report PC(2)-4A, Families, identifies relatively few single women as having own children present. One may conjecture that in many such cases the children live with a grandmother or other person while the unwed mother works and lives elsewhere; and that in many cases where the children live with their mother, she is reported as having been married.
Table A. Estimated Proportion of the Population Under 5 Years Old and 5 To 9 Years Old Classified As Own Children of Women Ever Married 15 To 54 Years Old, By Color, For the United States: 1960
(Population under 5, and 5 to 9 from 100-percent count. own children from 5-percent sample)
| Subject |
White |
Nonwhite |
| Population under 5 years old |
17,358,552 |
2,962,349 |
| own children |
17,196,324 |
2,553,804 |
| Percent classified as own children |
99.1 |
86.2 |
| Population under 5 to 9 years old |
16,087,542 |
2,604,238 |
| own children |
15,763,035 |
2,254,485 |
| Percent classified as own children |
98.0 |
87 |
Relation to vital statistics
own children under 5 years old and 5 to 9 years old are the survivors of births in the respective periods from April 1, 1955, to March 31, 1960, and from April 1, 1950, to March 31, 1955. With the aid of various adjustments, described in the forthcoming monograph sponsored by the Community and Family Study Center of the University of Chicago, it is possible to use the data to derive average annual age-specific birth rates, total fertility rates, and other measures such as gross and net reproduction rates, for the birth periods. The adjustments make provision for children not living with their mother and for the effect of mortality on women and children between the time the children were born and the date of the census, and also include interpolation and combination of data. By use of these adjustments it is possible to derive birth rates by social and economic characteristics that are available from decennial censuses but not from birth registration data.
Illustrative materials appear in table B. The census data were not adjusted for any undercount of women and children under 5 because there is evidence that nearly equal proportions of women and children were missed in the 1.960 Census.
4 Data by type of residence in the detail given in table B are not available from birth registration data.
Table B. Average Annual age-Specific Birth Rates by color of Woman, For the United States, And By Type of Residence for Native White Women: 1955-1960
| color of woman, data source, and type of residence |
Births per 1,000 women by age of woman |
Total fertility rate |
Net reproduction rate |
| 15 to 19 |
20 to 24 |
25 to 29 |
30 to 34 |
40 to 44 |
| White |
|
| Census data |
83 |
232 |
193 |
112 |
16 |
3,477 |
1,630 |
| Registration data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bases adjusted1
|
80 |
240 |
191 |
112 |
15 |
3,482 |
1,637 |
| Not adjusted |
82 |
246 |
194 |
113 |
15 |
3,542 |
1,665 |
| Nonwhite |
|
| Census data |
152 |
271 |
201 |
128 |
23 |
4,266 |
1,952 |
| Registration data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bases adjusted1
|
151 |
277 |
200 |
132 |
22 |
4,285 |
1,974 |
| Not adjusted |
167 |
300 |
223 |
142 |
22 |
4,709 |
2,169 |
| Native white (Census data) |
|
| United States |
84 |
234 |
195 |
113 |
17 |
3,508 |
1,642 |
| Urbanized Areas |
72 |
216 |
195 |
109 |
15 |
3,322 |
1,554 |
| Central cities |
71 |
200 |
180 |
101 |
14 |
3,088 |
1,445 |
| Urban fringe |
75 |
237 |
213 |
121 |
16 |
3,615 |
1,691 |
| Other urban |
89 |
237 |
190 |
107 |
15 |
3,455 |
1,617 |
| Rural nonfarm |
111 |
270 |
195 |
118 |
20 |
3,881 |
1,816 |
| Rural farm |
82 |
261 |
210 |
137 |
25 |
3,941 |
1,844 |
Source: Monograph in preparation sponsored by the Community and Family Study Center of the University of Chicago.
41960 Census of Population, Vol.I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 1, U.S. Summary.
1 Obtained by multiplying published rates (Vital Statistics of the United States, 1964, Volume I, Nativity, tables 1-D and 1-E) by the relative completeness of the count of women by age and color as estimated from the 1960 Census. The published rates allowed for underregistration of births but not for any undercount of women in the bases.
In general, the urban population comprises all persons living in urbanized areas and in places of 2,500 inhabitants or more outside Urbanized Areas. More specifically, according to the definition adopted for use in the 1960 Census, the urban population comprises all persons living in (a) places of 2,500 inhabitants or more incorporated as cities, boroughs, villages, and towns (except towns in New England, New York, and Wisconsin); (b) the densely settled urban fringe, whether incorporated or unincorporated, of urbanized areas; (c) towns in New England and townships in New Jersey and Pennsylvania which contain no incorporated municipalities as subdivisions and have either 25,000 inhabitants or more or a population of 2,500 to 25,000 and a density of 1,500 persons or more per square mile; (d) counties in States other than the Hew England States, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania that have no incorporated municipalities within their boundaries and have a density of 1,500 persons or more per square mile; and (e) unincorporated places of 2,500 inhabitants or more. The population not classified as urban constitutes the rural population.
The rural population is subdivided into the rural- farm population, which comprises all rural residents living on farms, and the rural-nonfarm population, which comprises the remaining rural population. The "nonfarm" population referred to in tables and 65 comprises persons living in urban areas and rural persons not on farms. In the 1960 Census, the farm population consists of persons living in rural territory on places of 10 or more acres from which sales of farm products amounted to $50 or more in 1959 or on places of less than 10 acres from which sales of farm products amounted to $250 or more in 1959. All persons living in group quarters are classified as nonfarm except the relatively few living in workers' quarters (including quarters for migratory agricultural workers) that are located on a farm or ranch.
An Urbanized Area contains at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants or more in 1960 and the surrounding closely settled incorporated places and unincorporated areas that meet certain criteria relating to population density or land use. An Urbanized Area may be thought of as divided into the central city, or cities, and the remainder of the area, or the urban fringe. All per-sons residing in an Urbanized Area are included in the urban population.
Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Residence
In this report, women shown as residing in a "metropolitan area" are those living in a standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA). Except in New England, an SMSA is a county or group of contiguous counties which contains at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants or more, or "twin cities" with a combined population of at least 50,000. In addition to the county, or counties, containing such a city or cities contiguous counties are included in an SMSA if according to certain criteria, they are essentially metropolitan in character and are socially and economically integrated with the central city in New England, SMSA's consist of towns and cities, rather than counties.
The age classification is based on the age of the person in completed years as of April 1, 1960, as determined from the reply to a question on month and year of birth.
The term "color" refers to the division of population into two groups, white and nonwhite. The color group designated as "nonwhite" consists of such races as the Negro, American Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Hawaiian, Asian Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Malayan races. Persons of Mexican birth or ancestry who are not definitely of Indian or other nonwhite race are classified as white.
In addition to persons of Negro and of mixed Negro and white descent, this classification includes persons of mixed Indian and Negro descent, unless the Indian ancestry predominates or unless the individual is regarded as an Indian in the community,
In addition to full-blooded Indians, persons of mixed white and Indian blood are included if the proportion of Indian blood is one-fourth or more, or if they are regarded as Indian in the community.
Separate statistics are given in this report for Japanese, and Chinese. The category "other races" includes Filipinos, Koreans, Hawaiians, Asian Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, Malayans, etc.
Persons of mixed racial parentage are classified according to the race of the nonwhite parent, and mixtures of nonwhite races are classified according to the race of the father, with the special exceptions noted above.
Comprises persons born in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a possession of the United States; persons born in a foreign country or at sea who have at least one native American parent; and persons whose place of birth was not reported and whose census report contained no contradictory information, such as an entry of a language spoken prior to coming to the United States.
Includes all persons not classified a-s native.
Native of native parentage
Consists of native persons both of whose parents are also natives of the United States.
Native of foreign or mixed parentage
Includes native persons one or both of whose parents are foreign born.
Includes foreign-born persons and native persons of foreign or mixed parentage.
Country of Origin of the Foreign Stock
Persons of foreign stock are classified according to their country of origin-country of birth for the foreign born and parents' country of birth for the native of foreign or mixed parentage. Natives of foreign parentage whose parents were born in different countries are classified according to the country of birth of the father. Natives of mixed parentage are classified according to the country of birth of the foreign- torn parent. The classification by country of origin is based on international boundaries as recognized by the United States Government on April 1, 1960, although there may have been some deviation from the rules where respondents were unaware of changes in boundaries or jurisdiction.
Region of Birth of the Native Population
In this report, the native population is classified by region of birth. Included in the totals, but not shown separately, are native persons born in an outlying area of the United States, persons born abroad or at sea of American parents, and persons whose State of birth was not reported. The 1960 instructions specified that place of birth was to be reported in terms of the mother's usual State of residence at the time of the birth rather than in terms of the location of the hospital if the birth occurred in a hospital.
Persons of Spanish Surname
In order to obtain data on Spanish- and Mexican-Americans for areas of the United States where most of their live, white persons (and white heads of households) of Spanish surname were distinguished separately in five Southwestern States (Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas).
Puerto Ricans comprise persons born in Puerto Rico and persons born in the United States or its possessions with one or both parents born in Puerto Rico.
Year Moved into Present House
The data on Year Moved into Present House refer to the most recent move the person made. Thus, a person who had moved back into the same house (or apartment) in which he had previously lived was asked to give the date at which he began the present occupancy. If a person had moved from one apartment to another in the same building, he was expected to give the year when he moved into the present apartment. The category "always lived here" consists of persons who reported that their residence on April 1, 1960, was the same as their residence at birth and who had never had any other place of residence.
Residence on April 1, 1955, is the usual place of residence five years prior to enumeration. The category "In same house as in 1960" includes women who were reported as living in the same house on the date of enumeration in 1960 and five years prior to enumeration. Included in the group are persons who had never moved during the five years as well as those who had moved but by 1960 had returned to their 1955 residence. The category "different house" includes persons who, on April 1, 1955, lived in a different house from the one they occupied on April 1, 1960. This category was subdivided into four groups according to their 1955 residence, viz., "different house, same county," "different county, same State," "different State or abroad," and "moved, Residence In 1955 not reported."
In the preparation of the record for the 5-percent sample, on which the present report is based, all movers from one borough to another within New York City were classified as movers within the "same county, " whereas in reports based on the 25-percent record, persons who moved across borough lines were classified as movers between counties within the "same State." Hence, the 5-percent sample shows more movers within the same county than would be shown in corresponding figures from the 25-percent sample, and fewer migrants between counties within the same State. This difference should have little influence on the percent distributions by personal characteristics within the various mobility status classes.
Years of School Completed
The data on years of school completed were derived from the answers to the two questions: (a) "What is the highest grade (or year) of regular school he has ever attended?" and (b) "Did he finish this grade (or year)?" Enumerators were instructed to obtain the approximate equivalent grade in the American school system for persons whose highest grade of attendance was in a foreign school system, whose highest level of attendance was in an ungraded school, whose highest level of schooling was measured by "readers," or whose training by a tutor was regarded as qualifying under the "regular" school definition. Persons were to answer "No" to the second question if they were attending school, had completed only part of a grade before they dropped out, or failed to pass the last grade attended.
The number in each category of highest grade of school completed represents the combination of (a) persons who reported that they had attended the indicated grade and finished it, and (b) those who had attended the next higher grade but had not finished it.
The questions on educational attainment applied only to progress in "regular" schools. Regular schooling is that which may advance a person toward an elementary school certificate or high school diploma, or a college, university, or professional degree.
Schooling that was not obtained in a regular school and schooling from a tutor or through correspondence courses were counted only if the credits obtained were regarded as transferable to a school in the regular school system. Schooling which is generally regarded as not regular includes that which is given in nursery schools, in specialized vocational, trade, or business schools; in on-the-job training; and through correspondence courses.
Elementary school, as defined here, includes grades 1 to 8, and high school includes grades 9 to 12, College includes junior or community colleges, regular 4-year collages, and graduate or professional schools.
Marital Status and whether Married More Than Once
This classification refers to the marital status of the person at the time of enumeration. Persons classified as "married" comprise, therefore, both those who have been married only once and those who remarried after having been widowed or divorced. Persons reported as separated (either legally separated or otherwise absent from the spouse because of marital discord) are classified as a subcategory of married persons with spouse absent. The enumerators were instructed to report persons in common-law marriages as married and persons whose only marriage had been annulled as single. Persons "ever married" are those in the categories married (Including separated), widowed, and divorced.
A married woman with "husband present" is a woman whose husband was enumerated as a member of the same household even though he may have been temporarily absent on business or vacation, visiting, in a hospital, etc., at the time of enumeration. Women classified as "married, husband absent" include both those who are separated and those with their husband absent for other reasons.
Whether or not the woman was married more than once was determined by a direct question for all women ever married.
In deriving age at first marriage, the year and quarter of the person's birth was subtracted from the year and quarter of the person's first marriage. Where the result of this subtraction included a fraction (e.g., age at marriage 21 ¼, 21 ½, or 21 ¾), the fraction was dropped, so as to express the result in completed years of age at first marriage. Where the result of the subtraction included no fraction, which was the case when the quarter of birth and first marriage were the same, the result was reduced by 1 year in approximately one-half the cases, namely, those in which the quarter was January to March or October to December. This adjustment was not made, however, when the re suit of the subtraction was 14 years. The adjustment was made in order to eliminate the upward bias in the distribution by age at marriage that would otherwise have occurred.
Years since First Marriage
The number of years since the person's first marriage was derived by subtracting the date of first marriage from April 1, 1960, and represents the interval in completed years.
Difference between age of Husband and age of Wife
The Difference between age of Husband and age of Wife was obtained by subtraction of the age of the wife from the age of the husband, and represents the interval in completed years.
A household consists of all the persons who occupy a housing unit. A house, an apartment or other group of rooms, or a single room, is regarded as a housing unit when it is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters; that is, when the occupants do not live and eat with any other persons in the structure and there is either (1) direct access from the outside or through a common hall or (2) a kitchen or cooking equipment for the exclusive use of the occupants.
All persons who are not members of households are regarded as living in group quarters; that is, in living quarters for institutional inmates or for other groups containing five or more persons unrelated to the person in charge. Most of the persons in group quarters live in rooming houses, college dormitories, military barracks, or institutions.
A family consists of two or more persons in the same household who are related to each other by blood, marriage, or adoption; all persons living together in one household who are related to each other are regarded as one family. For example, if the son of the head of the household and the son's wife are members of the household, they are treated as part of the head's family. A lodger and his wife who are not related to the head of the household, or a resident employee and his wife living in, are considered as a separate family, however. Thus, a household may contain more than one family. A household head living alone or with nonrelatives only is not regarded as a family. Some households, therefore, do not contain a family.
The head of the household or family is the member reported as the head by the household respondent. However, if a married woman living with her husband is reported as the head, her husband is classified as the head for the purpose of census tabulations.
The wife of a head of a household or family is a woman married to and living with the head. This category includes woman in common-law marriages as well as women in formal marriages.
A daughter of the head is a child, stepchild, or adopted child of the head. A daughter-in-law is the wife of the head's son, stepson, or adopted son.
An other relative of the head is a woman related to the head of the household by blood, marriage, or adoption, but not included specifically in another category.
A nonrelative of the head is any member of the household who is not related to the household head. This category includes lodgers (roomers and partners, relatives of such persons, and foster children) and resident employees (maids, hired farmhands, etc.).
The number of children ever born includes children born to the woman before her present marriage, children no longer living, and children away from home, as well as children borne by the woman who were still living in the home. Although the question on children ever born was asked only of women reported as having been married, the data are not limited to legitimate births.
The data on Employment Status relate to the calendar week prior to the date on which the respondents filled their Household Questionnaires or were interviewed by enumerators. This week is not the same for all respondents because not all persons were enumerated during the same week.
Employed persons comprise all civilians 14 years old and over who were either (a) "at work"-those who did any work for pay or profit, or worked without pay for 15 hours or more on a family farm or in a family business; or (b) were "with a job but not at work"- those who did not work and were not looking for work but had a job or business from which they were temporarily absent because of bad weather, industrial dispute, vacation, illness, or other personal reasons.
Persons are classified as unemployed if they were 14 years old and over and not "at work", but looking for work. A person is considered as looking for work not only if he actually tried to find work but also if he had made such efforts recently (i.e., within the past 60 days) and was awaiting the results of these efforts. Persons waiting to be called back to a job from which they had been laid off or furloughed are also counted as unemployed.
The "civilian labor force" includes all persons classified as employed or unemployed, as described above. The "labor force" also includes members of the Armed Forces (persons on active duty with the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard).
Persons "not in the labor force" comprise all those 14 years old and over who are not classified as members of the labor force, including persons doing only incidental unpaid family work (less than 15 hours during the week).
The statistics on hours worked pertain to the number of hours actually worked, and not necessarily to the number usually worked or the scheduled number of hours. For persons working at more than one job, the figures reflect the combined number of hours worked at all jobs during the week. The data on hours worked presented here provide a broad classification of persons at work into full-time and part-time workers. Persons are considered to be working full time if they worked 35 hours or more during the reference week and part time if they worked less than 35 hours. The proportion of persons who worked only a small number of hours is probably understated because such persons were omitted from the labor force count more frequently than were full-time workers. The comparability of data for 1960 and 1950 on hours worked may be affected by the fact that in 1950 a precise answer on number of hours was requested, whereas in 1960 check boxes were provided.
The data on occupation in this report are for employed persons and refer to the job held during the week for which Employment Status was reported. For persons employed at two or more jobs, the data refer to the job at which the person worked the greatest number of hours. The occupation statistics presented here are based on the detailed system developed for the 1960 Census; see 1960 Census of Population, Classified Index of Occupations and Industries, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1960.
Information on income for the calendar year 1959 was requested from all persons 14 years old and over in the sample. "Total income" is the sum of amounts reported separately for wage or salary income, self- employment income, and other income. Wage or salary income is defined as the total money earnings received for work performed as an employee. It represents the amount received before deductions for personal income taxes, Social Security, bond purchases, union dues, etc. Self-employment income is defined as net money income (gross receipts minus operating expenses) from a business, farm, or professional enterprise in which the person was engaged on his own account. Other income includes money income received from such sources as net rents, interest, dividends, social security benefits, pensions, veterans' payments, unemployment insurance, and public assistance or other governmental payments, and periodic receipts from insurance policies or annuities. Not included as income are money received from the sale of property (unless the recipient was engaged in the business of selling such property), the value of income "in kind," withdrawals of bank deposits, money borrowed, tax refunds, and gifts and lump-sum inheritances or insurance payments.
In the statistics on family income, the combined incomes of all members of each family are treated as a single amount. Although the time period covered by the income statistics is the calendar year 1959, the composition of families refers to the time of enumeration. For most of the families, however, the income reported was received by persons who were members of the family throughout 1959.
A housing unit is "owner occupied" if the owner or co-owner lives in the unit, even if it is mortgaged or not fully paid for. The head himself need not be the owner. All other occupied units are classified as "renter occupied," whether or not cash rent is paid. Examples of units for which no cash rent is paid include units occupied in exchange for services rendered, units owned by relatives and occupied without payment of rent, and units occupied by sharecroppers.
In determining the number of units in the structure, the enumerator was instructed to count both occupied and vacant housing units but not to count business units or group quarters. A structure is defined as a separate building that either has open space on all four sides, or is separated from other structures by dividing walls that extend from ground to roof. Structures containing only one housing unit were further classified as detached or attached.
A 1-unit detached structure has open space on all four sides and contains only one housing unit. A 1- unit attached structure contains only one housing unit and has one or more walls extending from ground to roof separating it from adjoining structures. For row houses, double houses, or houses attached to nonresidential structures, each house is a separate attached structure if the dividing or common wall goes from ground to roof. In the present report, trailers are included with 1-unit structures, detached.
The enumerator determined the condition of the housing unit by observation, on the basis of specified criteria related to the extent of degree of visible defects. Although detailed oral and written instructions and visual aids were provided, the application of the criteria involved some judgment on the part of the individual enumerator.
Sound housing is defined as that which has no defects, or only slight defects which are normally corrected during the course of regular maintenance. Deteriorating housing needs more repair than would be provided in the course of regular maintenance. Such housing has one or more defects of an intermediate nature that must be corrected if the unit is to continue to provide safe and adequate shelter.
Dilapidated housing does not provide safe and adequate shelter and in its present condition endangers the health, safety, or well-being of the occupants. Such housing has one or more critical defects, or has a combination of intermediate defects in sufficient number or extent to require considerable repair or rebuilding, or is of inadequate original construction. Critical defects result from continued neglect or lack of repair, or indicate serious damage to the structure.
Value is the respondent's estimate of how much the property would sell for on the current market (April 1960). Value data are restricted to owner- occupied units having only one housing unit in the property and no business. Units in multiunit structures and trailers were excluded from the tabulations, and in rural territory, units on farms and all units on places of 10 acres or more (whether farm or nonfarm) also were excluded.
The present report shows data on gross rent, not on contract rent. Gross rent is based on the information reported for contract rent and the cost of utilities and fuel. Contract rent is the monthly rent agreed upon regardless of any furnishings, utilities, or services that may be included. The computed rent termed "gross rent" is the contract rent plus the average monthly cost of utilities (water, electricity, gas) and fuels such as wood, coal, and oil if these items are paid for by the renter. Thus, gross rent eliminates differentials which result from varying practices with respect to the inclusion of utilities and fuel as part of the rental payment. Rent data exclude rents for units in rural-farm territory.
