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 in addition to contract rent. Thus gross rent eliminates rent differentials which result from varying practices with respect to the inclusion of heat and utilities as part of the rental payment. In rural territory, rent data exclude rent for farm units.

Renter-occupied units for which no cash rent was paid are shown separately in the tabulation but were excluded from the computation of the median. The median was computed on the basis of more detailed tabulation groups than are shown in the tables.