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




American Housing Survey for the United States: 2001


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Table 3-6. Failures in Equipment--Owner Occupied Units
[Numbers in thousands.  Consistent with the 1990 Census.  ... means not applicable or sample too small.  - means zero or rounds to zero.]
Housing unit characteristics
Physical problems
Household characteristics
In MSAs
Urban
Rural
Regions
Total
occupied
units		 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		 72265 4690 6001 948 2009 6318 4731 17513 5723 6713 72265 16870 39420 15975 49500 4841 22764 11384 11133 12987 18049 26715 14514

Water Supply Stoppage

With hot and cold piped water		 72130 4690 5969 813 2009 6296 4713 17463 5718 6651 72130 16847 39373 15910 49465 4841 22665 11350 11068 12963 18035 26639 14494
No stoppage in last 3 months 69018 4483 5564 769 1833 6072 4535 16842 5452 6300 69018 16191 37604 15223 47615 4687 21402 10638 10536 12519 17341 25400 13759
With stoppage in last 3 months 2310 167 350 38 108 138 147 432 210 237 2310 425 1326 559 1268 120 1041 585 439 331 505 891 583
No stoppage lasting 6 hours or more 953 76 138 11 31 33 44 217 77 70 953 149 601 204 589 50 364 210 154 126 212 361 255
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 925 56 133 21 34 59 56 146 94 94 925 200 451 274 456 47 470 225 227 148 213 331 233
2 times 236 22 46 5 10 21 29 42 18 39 236 35 167 34 108 7 128 100 27 34 44 110 48
3 times 62 6 13 0 9 0 7 10 7 7 62 5 44 14 39 5 23 14 9 13 14 30 4
4 times or more 121 7 21 2 24 20 8 17 13 23 121 34 56 31 69 12 52 33 19 11 21 48 42
Number of times not reported 12 0 0 0 0 5 3 0 0 5 12 2 7 2 7 0 5 2 2 0 2 10 0
Stoppage not reported 802 40 54 5 68 86 32 189 56 114 802 231 444 128 581 34 221 126 93 112 189 349 152

Flush Toilet Breakdowns

With one or more flush toilets		 72172 4690 5987 855 2009 6305 4718 17476 5720 6672 72172 16850 39383 15939 49468 4841 22704 11359 11097 12971 18037 26664 14500
With at least one working toilet at all
times in last 3 months		 70025 4594 5819 772 1756 6048 4523 17062 5472 6336 70025 16272 38267 15486 47935 4693 22090 11052 10792 12660 17571 25759 14035
None working some time in last 3 months 1210 58 99 39 180 150 150 179 187 178 1210 311 629 270 874 101 336 167 169 177 243 490 299
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 523 38 44 12 42 69 67 71 88 72 523 145 284 95 376 34 147 87 60 84 85 234 121
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 508 15 33 20 36 64 55 96 76 63 508 130 247 132 380 55 128 51 77 64 121 186 137
2 times 76 2 7 2 5 7 21 0 8 5 76 14 50 11 55 5 21 14 7 17 10 23 26
3 times 40 3 3 2 37 6 5 2 7 12 40 9 15 15 29 5 10 0 10 8 9 21 2
4 times or more 61 0 12 3 58 3 2 7 8 26 61 11 34 17 32 2 30 15 15 5 18 25 13
Number of times not reported 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Breakdowns not reported 937 38 69 44 73 107 45 236 62 158 937 267 486 183 659 47 278 140 136 134 222 415 166

Sewage Disposal Breakdowns

With public sewer		 52502 3112 2680 674 1402 5308 4190 12797 4434 4600 52502 16212 28571 7720 45457 4514 7045 3758 3205 9146 13572 17838 11946
No breakdowns in last 3 months 51724 3091 2633 653 1330 5195 4081 12641 4344 4508 51724 15945 28196 7583 44780 4436 6944 3720 3147 9051 13350 17531 11793
With breakdowns in last 3 months 778 21 46 21 72 113 109 156 90 92 778 267 374 136 677 78 101 38 58 95 222 308 153
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 302 7 16 5 12 54 37 69 36 29 302 101 143 59 267 33 36 5 26 45 98 107 53
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 362 9 29 10 43 44 48 68 47 43 362 125 169 68 304 35 57 25 32 45 90 150 76
2 times 40 0 0 0 5 7 8 7 3 8 40 20 20 0 35 0 5 5 0 3 20 14 3
3 times 25 0 0 0 2 5 8 2 2 2 25 13 12 0 25 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 13
4 times or more 49 5 1 5 9 3 7 10 3 9 49 8 31 10 46 10 3 3 0 1 7 32 8

With septic tank or cesspool		 19717 1578 3313 231 608 1002 536 4690 1286 2090 19717 658 10828 8231 4038 327 15679 7609 7904 3838 4470 8847 2563
No breakdowns in last 3 months 19443 1553 3291 228 585 986 521 4639 1257 2064 19443 646 10694 8104 3977 323 15466 7520 7781 3791 4422 8703 2527
With breakdowns in last 3 months 274 25 22 2 23 16 15 52 30 25 274 12 134 128 61 5 213 90 123 47 47 144 36
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 103 9 4 2 5 7 5 23 12 12 103 7 56 39 29 2 74 37 37 15 17 50 21
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 134 7 18 0 7 7 8 21 7 8 134 2 66 66 20 0 114 48 66 29 24 71 10
2 times 12 5 0 0 0 2 2 3 3 0 12 3 4 5 9 2 2 0 2 0 2 7 2
3 times 3 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 23 3 0 0 8 0 0 5 5 5 23 0 8 15 3 0 20 5 15 3 5 13 3

Heating Problems

With heating equipment and
occupied last winter		 68482 3838 5578 899 1890 6029 4334 17200 2136 6402 68482 15898 37342 15242 46730 4559 21752 10855 10683 12564 17166 25211 13541
Not uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or
more last winter		 63549 3611 5030 605 1528 5381 3951 16347 1908 5725 63549 14481 34889 14180 43446 4274 20103 9993 9906 11760 16004 23269 12516
Uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or more
last winter@5		 4071 186 483 281 299 552 347 655 170 562 4071 1151 1992 929 2648 244 1424 729 685 678 959 1570 865
Equipment breakdowns 1289 46 138 235 60 200 103 201 47 177 1289 384 639 266 906 77 383 189 189 244 357 416 272
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours
or more		 89 0 3 2 3 10 15 27 5 17 89 35 40 15 73 3 17 5 12 29 15 30 15
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 788 36 81 12 41 134 44 109 30 73 788 232 399 157 543 39 245 125 118 145 235 258 151
2 times 186 2 23 0 16 26 20 31 5 35 186 63 79 45 128 18 58 31 27 20 56 57 53
3 times 92 2 6 92 0 12 5 10 2 10 92 22 46 24 63 10 29 12 14 17 28 29 19
4 times or more 129 5 24 129 0 18 19 21 3 40 129 33 73 23 100 7 29 13 16 32 23 39 34
Number of times not reported 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 5 0 2 2 0 0 5 2 2 2 0 2 0
Other causes 2889 148 362 73 255 368 250 468 122 409 2889 797 1401 691 1804 172 1085 563 519 458 621 1186 625
Utility interruption 1047 55 183 21 38 144 36 187 37 117 1047 221 540 286 534 57 513 280 229 140 180 615 113
Inadequate heating capacity 443 16 41 27 86 64 96 79 27 85 443 160 194 88 310 26 132 70 62 80 99 150 113
Inadequate insulation 409 9 68 26 60 59 49 58 40 66 409 126 175 108 278 37 131 60 72 88 125 106 89
Cost of heating 613 39 49 10 74 54 62 78 21 84 613 173 304 136 441 39 172 75 97 118 131 133 231
Other 636 40 57 14 69 76 58 116 17 109 636 191 288 158 393 41 243 127 116 113 136 244 143
Not reported 37 2 7 0 0 2 7 6 3 5 37 12 20 6 29 5 8 7 1 8 11 11 7
Reason for discomfort not reported 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 0
Discomfort not reported 862 41 65 13 63 96 36 198 58 116 862 267 462 133 636 41 226 132 92 126 203 373 160

Electric Fuses and Circuit Breakers

With electrical wiring		 72200 4683 5994 905 1997 6303 4731 17504 5720 6689 72200 16852 39401 15946 49480 4841 22720 11367 11105 12984 18029 26691 14496
No fuses or breakers blown in last
3 months		 62843 4243 5380 758 1600 5478 4183 15939 4949 5999 62843 14474 34237 14132 42805 4299 20038 9987 9833 11131 15470 23571 12671
With fuses or breakers blown in last
3 months		 7876 379 522 125 319 677 478 1171 664 509 7876 1997 4323 1556 5581 465 2295 1176 1091 1606 2188 2536 1546
1 time 4369 221 297 56 150 335 247 800 390 292 4369 1092 2381 896 3023 248 1346 674 648 872 1229 1405 863
2 times 1767 98 117 19 72 186 122 214 139 101 1767 444 998 324 1297 96 470 242 228 385 467 569 346
3 times 654 25 42 19 16 56 39 90 44 44 654 164 352 137 468 47 186 95 90 119 184 221 129
4 times or more 1074 35 67 31 81 94 63 64 92 70 1074 288 586 200 783 75 291 164 125 228 308 331 207
Number of times not reported 13 0 0 0 0 5 5 2 0 3 13 8 5 0 10 0 2 2 0 3 0 10 0
Problem not reported or don't know 1481 61 91 22 78 148 70 395 107 180 1481 381 842 258 1095 77 386 204 180 246 372 584 279
@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
Contact the American Housing Survey Branch by email or by phone at 301-763-3235 or 1-888-518-7365, or visit ask.census.gov for further information on American Housing Survey Data.

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