Vacant housing units - H026_001 - Vacant Year Structure Built - Summary Tape File 3 (STF3) - Survey Census 1990

Data Dictionary:

Census 1990

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Survey: Census 1990

Data Source:

U.S. Census Bureau

Data set: Summary Tape File 3 (STF3)

Table:

H26. Vacant Year Structure Built [9]

Universe: Vacant housing units

Variable Details

H26.	Vacant Year Structure Built
	Universe: Vacant housing units
	H026_001Vacant housing units Percent base: None - percentages not computed (variable is table universe) Aggregation method: Addition

Relevant Documentation:

Excerpt from:	Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; Census of Population and Housing, 1990: Summary Tape File 3 on CD-ROM [machine-readable data files] / prepared by the Bureau of the Census. Washington: The Bureau [producer and distributor], 1991.
	Summary Tape File 3 -> Appendix B. Definitions of Subject Characteristics -> Housing Characteristics -> Living Quarters -> Vacant Housing Units

Vacant Housing Units

A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it at the time of enumeration, unless its occupants are only temporarily absent. Units temporarily occupied at the time of enumeration entirely by persons who have a usual residence elsewhere also are classified as vacant. (For more information, see discussion under "Usual Home Elsewhere.")

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 if they are open to the elements; that is, the roof, walls, windows, and/or doors no longer protect the interior from the elements, or if there is positive evidence (such as a sign on the house or in the block) that the unit is condemned or is to be demolished. Also excluded 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.

Excerpt from:	Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; Census of Population and Housing, 1990: Summary Tape File 3 on CD-ROM [machine-readable data files] / prepared by the Bureau of the Census. Washington: The Bureau [producer and distributor], 1991.
	Summary Tape File 3 -> Appendix B. Definitions of Subject Characteristics -> Housing Characteristics -> Year Structure Built

Year Structure Built

The data on year structure built were obtained from questionnaire item H17, which was asked at both occupied and vacant housing units. This item was asked on a sample basis. Data on year structure built refer to when the building was first constructed, not when it was remodeled, added to, or converted. For housing units under construction that met the housing unit definition--that is, all exterior windows, doors, and final usable floors were in place--the category "1989 or March 1990" was used. For a houseboat or a mobile home or trailer, the manufacturer's model year was assumed to be the year built. The figures shown in census data products relate to the number of units built during the specified periods that were still in existence at the time of enumeration.

Median Year Structure Built

The median divides the distribution into two equal parts. The median is rounded to the nearest calendar year. Median age of housing can be obtained by subtracting median year structure built from 1990. For example, if the median year structure built is 1957, the median age of housing in that area is 33 years (1990 minus 1957).

Limitation of the Data--Data on year structure built are more susceptible

to errors of response and nonreporting than data on many other items because respondents must rely on their memory or on estimates by persons who have lived in the neighborhood a long time. Available evidence indicates there is underreporting in the older-year-structure- built categories, especially "Built in 1939 or earlier." The introduction of the "Don't know" category (see the discussion on "Comparability") may have resulted in relatively higher allocation rates. Data users should refer to the discussion in Appendix C, Accuracy of the Data, and to the allocation tables.

Comparability--Data on year structure built were collected for the first

time in the 1940 census. Since then, the response categories have been modified to accommodate the 10-year period between each census. In 1990, the category, "Don't Know," was added in an effort to minimize the response error mentioned in the paragraph above on limitation of the data.