U.S. Census Bureau
 American Housing Survey (AHS)




American Housing Survey for the United States: 2001


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American Housing Survey 2001 Using 2000 Controls
Table 2-6. Failures in Equipment--Occupied Units
(Numbers in thousands)
Housing unit characteristics
Tenure
Physical problems
Household characteristics
In MSAs
Urban
Rural
Regions
Total
occupied
units		 Owner Renter New con-
struction
4 years		 Manu-
factured/
mobile
homes		 Severe Moderate Black Hispanic Elderly
(65 years
and over)		 Moved in
past year		 Below
poverty
level		 Total
occupied
units		 Central
cities		 Suburbs Outside
MSAs		 Total Outside
MSAs		 Total Suburbs Outside
MSAs		 Northeast Midwest South West

Total		 105435 71708 33727 5853 7184 2108 4503 13223 9720 21655 17007 14495 105435 31439 53207 20789 78482 7397 26953 13257 13393 20352 24446 37976 22662

Water Supply Stoppage

With hot and cold piped water		 105146 71574 33572 5851 7152 1819 4503 13142 9686 21571 16947 14346 105146 31314 53139 20693 78330 7385 26816 13216 13309 20289 24395 37854 22609
No stoppage in last 3 months 99935 68487 31448 5586 6650 1622 4126 12478 9191 20745 16008 13488 99935 29665 50538 19733 74669 7092 25266 12355 12641 19368 23340 35877 21350
With stoppage in last 3 months 4049 2291 1758 213 427 192 284 483 445 596 780 639 4049 1244 2026 780 2764 227 1286 715 553 728 801 1474 1047
No stoppage lasting 6 hours or more 1607 945 662 90 165 39 85 143 170 303 301 212 1607 441 887 278 1175 98 431 251 180 245 329 584 449
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 1590 918 672 79 159 76 116 197 159 192 318 255 1590 500 707 383 1001 89 589 278 294 292 339 555 404
2 times 451 234 217 26 53 28 32 71 54 55 92 80 451 140 266 45 300 13 151 119 32 89 72 184 106
3 times 140 62 79 6 23 11 12 19 20 17 27 25 140 46 65 30 99 10 41 21 20 39 30 56 15
4 times or more 233 120 113 13 26 37 36 49 36 29 33 58 233 106 86 41 167 17 66 42 25 56 26 83 68
Number of times not reported 27 12 15 0 2 0 3 5 7 0 10 10 27 11 14 2 21 0 7 4 2 6 5 12 5
Stoppage not reported 1162 796 366 52 75 5 94 181 50 230 160 219 1162 406 575 181 897 66 265 146 115 193 254 503 212

Flush Toilet Breakdowns

With one or more flush toilets		 105174 71616 33558 5851 7169 1847 4503 13169 9685 21587 16941 14363 105174 31299 53140 20734 78314 7391 26860 13228 13343 20280 24400 37893 22600
With at least one working toilet at all
times in last 3 months		 100796 69488 31308 5681 6904 1587 3871 12288 9140 20991 15761 13346 100796 29676 51176 19944 74790 7036 26006 12813 12909 19509 23542 36140 21605
None working some time in last 3 months 2973 1198 1775 119 172 176 522 651 468 306 974 729 2973 1119 1331 523 2460 261 513 251 262 535 541 1146 750
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 1340 519 822 73 79 51 115 273 211 143 488 288 1340 483 630 227 1111 126 229 128 101 238 214 538 351
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 1079 502 576 36 52 60 119 215 156 140 321 249 1079 413 458 208 898 102 181 74 106 178 222 388 290
2 times 247 75 172 7 12 28 25 64 55 12 62 69 247 94 124 29 215 15 32 19 14 55 47 90 56
3 times 127 40 88 3 3 13 114 46 19 2 41 46 127 50 52 26 108 13 19 7 12 30 23 56 19
4 times or more 169 61 108 0 27 23 146 51 25 7 56 72 169 74 62 32 119 5 49 21 28 33 30 74 31
Number of times not reported 10 2 9 0 0 0 4 2 2 2 7 5 10 6 5 0 8 0 2 2 0 2 4 2 2
Breakdowns not reported 1405 929 476 51 92 83 109 231 77 290 205 288 1405 505 633 267 1065 94 341 164 173 236 318 607 246

Sewage Disposal Breakdowns

With public sewer		 83178 52060 31118 4195 3221 1770 3668 12012 9019 16654 15018 11791 83178 30688 41163 11327 73969 7031 9209 4785 4296 16039 19562 27872 19706
No breakdowns in last 3 months 81728 51291 30437 4161 3156 1695 3480 11659 8806 16464 14688 11523 81728 30060 40552 11115 72657 6887 9071 4721 4228 15830 19200 27313 19385
With breakdowns in last 3 months 1450 770 681 34 65 75 188 352 213 190 330 269 1450 627 611 212 1312 144 138 64 68 208 362 559 321
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 541 299 241 10 26 6 38 124 75 87 122 93 541 212 236 93 490 65 51 19 28 85 140 203 113
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 638 358 280 15 35 25 87 144 78 83 152 104 638 279 267 92 562 55 76 37 36 87 159 236 157
2 times 101 40 61 4 0 13 16 27 27 9 21 25 101 58 34 8 92 4 9 5 4 12 34 38 16
3 times 67 25 43 0 0 6 21 27 16 2 16 23 67 47 20 0 67 0 0 0 0 12 14 23 18
4 times or more 104 48 56 5 3 25 26 30 16 9 20 24 104 31 54 19 102 19 3 3 0 13 15 60 17

With septic tank or cesspool		 22190 19603 2587 1656 3955 273 835 1195 696 4967 1984 2670 22190 746 12016 9427 4502 366 17688 8453 9062 4311 4874 10059 2946
No breakdowns in last 3 months 21862 19331 2531 1630 3916 271 797 1178 679 4916 1929 2633 21862 735 11845 9282 4427 361 17435 8340 8921 4259 4821 9879 2903
With breakdowns in last 3 months 328 272 56 25 38 2 38 16 17 51 55 37 328 12 171 145 75 4 253 113 141 52 54 180 43
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 122 102 20 9 7 2 7 7 7 23 24 17 122 7 71 44 34 2 88 46 42 18 21 57 26
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 154 133 21 7 23 0 12 7 7 21 12 12 154 2 75 77 27 0 127 50 77 32 26 84 12
2 times 14 11 2 5 0 0 2 2 2 3 3 0 14 3 7 5 11 2 2 0 2 0 2 9 2
3 times 3 3 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 3 0
4 times or more 36 23 13 3 9 0 14 0 0 5 14 7 36 0 19 17 3 0 34 17 17 3 5 26 2

Heating Problems

With heating equipment and
occupied last winter		 93314 67953 25361 4468 6404 1881 3811 11441 8013 20985 5273 12247 93314 26933 47685 18696 68382 6262 24932 12233 12434 18871 21910 33083 19450
Not uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or
more last winter		 84931 63061 21870 4201 5697 1069 3015 9875 7033 19843 4457 10602 84931 23809 43952 17171 62088 5762 22844 11186 11409 16993 20091 30200 17647
Uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or more
last winter@5		 7012 4037 2975 208 614 782 694 1355 906 891 610 1380 7012 2608 3082 1323 5195 410 1818 894 913 1613 1507 2354 1538
Equipment breakdowns 2372 1278 1094 56 174 655 175 536 310 284 183 477 2372 966 1037 370 1882 116 490 229 254 664 566 655 486
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours
or more		 139 89 51 0 7 2 6 18 25 33 9 39 139 57 64 19 121 5 18 5 13 46 26 45 22
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 1222 781 440 46 106 34 100 237 106 147 90 191 1222 436 570 216 907 55 315 152 160 282 333 380 228
2 times 384 184 199 2 24 10 63 91 59 42 26 71 384 176 147 61 309 24 75 35 37 88 99 99 98
3 times 186 91 95 2 5 186 0 54 22 21 18 29 186 82 76 28 152 12 34 15 17 75 40 42 29
4 times or more 423 128 295 5 28 423 0 130 98 39 38 142 423 208 171 44 379 20 44 20 24 160 68 84 110
Number of times not reported 18 5 14 0 2 0 6 6 0 2 2 5 18 7 9 2 14 0 5 2 2 14 0 5 0
Other causes 4857 2865 1992 161 460 222 561 860 634 632 436 964 4857 1764 2105 988 3478 299 1379 687 688 1021 981 1750 1106
Utility interruption 1342 1042 300 60 203 31 70 233 68 225 70 190 1342 366 638 339 742 67 600 325 272 196 213 772 161
Inadequate heating capacity 1053 438 615 21 55 76 220 242 226 116 114 274 1053 484 403 166 868 70 185 89 96 272 214 299 269
Inadequate insulation 947 404 543 14 88 61 163 179 166 78 152 202 947 380 371 196 759 79 189 71 117 243 248 208 248
Cost of heating 979 606 373 39 76 29 112 112 125 101 89 186 979 316 454 209 750 80 229 99 130 196 189 206 387
Other 1157 631 526 40 92 78 158 198 164 174 101 268 1157 446 493 218 839 68 318 169 150 301 231 382 243
Not reported 67 37 30 2 7 4 0 7 21 11 3 17 67 28 31 8 54 5 13 9 4 17 11 24 15
Reason for discomfort not reported 41 2 39 0 0 2 0 17 9 3 8 13 41 22 17 2 37 0 5 2 2 26 8 5 2
Discomfort not reported 1370 855 515 59 93 30 102 212 75 251 205 264 1370 516 652 203 1100 90 271 153 113 264 311 529 266

Electric Fuses and Circuit Breakers

With electrical wiring		 105364 71644 33720 5844 7176 2064 4491 13208 9720 21647 17002 14466 105364 31419 53184 20761 78455 7397 26908 13240 13364 20346 24425 37949 22644
No fuses or breakers blown in last
3 months		 91801 62363 29438 5292 6397 1686 3628 11479 8621 19756 14799 12839 91801 26998 46411 18392 68133 6573 23668 11578 11820 17403 20939 33460 19999
With fuses or breakers blown in last
3 months		 11297 7812 3485 468 661 341 717 1393 906 1394 1854 1210 11297 3657 5626 2014 8532 699 2765 1420 1315 2489 2985 3608 2214
1 time 5989 4334 1655 275 365 125 306 636 495 921 1005 610 5989 1868 3010 1111 4435 366 1554 784 745 1274 1593 1890 1233
2 times 2462 1752 710 114 132 66 142 350 196 272 362 239 2462 805 1240 417 1900 133 562 276 284 599 625 790 448
3 times 992 648 343 33 69 52 57 140 72 104 155 116 992 322 487 183 744 67 248 132 116 173 280 347 192
4 times or more 1829 1064 764 46 96 98 210 257 136 93 329 240 1829 650 877 301 1432 133 396 226 168 435 484 571 339
Number of times not reported 25 13 12 0 0 0 1 10 8 4 3 4 25 12 11 2 21 0 4 2 2 9 4 10 3
Problem not reported or don't know 2266 1469 797 84 119 37 146 336 193 497 349 417 2266 764 1148 355 1790 125 476 243 230 453 501 882 431
@5Other causes and equipment breakdowns may not add to total as both may be reported.

Go to American Housing Survey for the United States: 2001

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division
Last Revised: February 18, 2005