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




American Housing Survey for the United States: 2003


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American Housing Survey 2003
Table 2-6. Failures in Equipment--Occupied Units
Numbers in thousands. Weighting consistent with the 2000 Census.

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 alone 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		 105842 72238 33604 5691 6854 1970 4320 13004 11038 21627 17242 13960 105842 31300 53765 20778 78369 7486 27474 13856 13291 20133 24488 38145 23077

Water Supply Stoppage

With hot and cold piped water		 105617 72132 33485 5687 6817 1745 4320 12959 11012 21566 17193 13841 105617 31240 53675 20702 78256 7470 27361 13803 13232 20091 24448 38040 23038
No stoppage in last 3 months 100694 69257 31437 5474 6241 1608 3923 12317 10488 20786 16251 13038 100694 29797 51267 19630 74832 7187 25862 13122 12443 19157 23397 36255 21884
With stoppage in last 3 months 3614 2013 1601 169 500 121 290 426 429 518 728 554 3614 1031 1760 823 2393 173 1221 545 650 600 793 1299 922
No stoppage lasting 6 hours or more 1324 688 636 61 148 39 85 128 189 298 236 206 1324 417 653 253 949 64 374 174 190 203 240 511 369
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 1515 958 557 68 227 39 109 157 152 144 301 168 1515 364 752 399 932 82 583 254 317 266 375 514 359
2 times 372 172 200 22 65 7 39 63 52 32 106 76 372 115 169 88 236 10 135 54 78 63 91 127 91
3 times 126 55 72 3 21 12 14 18 16 9 34 29 126 54 47 26 93 5 34 13 21 16 33 43 35
4 times or more 246 124 122 14 32 24 42 53 17 24 47 70 246 78 121 47 164 10 82 45 37 49 47 92 58
Number of times not reported 31 18 14 0 6 0 2 6 4 11 4 6 31 3 18 10 18 2 13 5 8 3 7 11 10
Stoppage not reported 1309 863 447 44 77 17 107 217 95 262 214 250 1309 412 648 249 1031 111 278 137 138 334 257 486 232

Flush Toilet Breakdowns

With one or more flush toilets		 105703 72191 33512 5691 6854 1831 4320 12980 11028 21593 17205 13883 105703 31243 53729 20731 78304 7486 27399 13832 13245 20117 24468 38088 23030
With at least one working toilet at all
times in last 3 months		 101824 70332 31493 5580 6653 1549 3732 12251 10473 20996 16199 12963 101824 29801 52043 19980 75144 7108 26680 13496 12872 19256 23737 36660 22171
None working some time in last 3 months 2275 860 1415 59 86 122 464 455 401 258 738 559 2275 909 936 430 1915 234 360 158 196 421 427 836 591
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 962 334 627 18 25 38 102 171 171 129 346 220 962 389 402 170 830 100 132 62 71 189 157 328 288
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 857 400 457 25 43 33 116 169 124 92 251 204 857 299 373 185 680 88 177 74 96 151 189 310 207
2 times 203 71 132 9 5 12 46 48 44 14 77 49 203 101 64 38 183 27 20 10 11 34 42 77 50
3 times 53 10 43 0 0 6 47 21 13 6 14 8 53 37 15 2 51 0 2 0 2 13 14 20 5
4 times or more 182 42 141 7 12 35 148 40 44 10 45 64 182 78 77 28 156 14 26 12 14 31 25 88 38
Number of times not reported 17 2 15 0 0 0 5 7 5 7 5 15 17 5 6 7 15 5 2 0 2 3 0 12 3
Breakdowns not reported 1604 999 605 52 116 160 124 274 153 339 268 362 1604 533 750 321 1245 144 359 178 177 441 304 592 268

Sewage Disposal Breakdowns

With public sewer		 84064 53069 30996 4237 3108 1634 3546 11863 10317 16655 15382 11446 84064 30578 41935 11551 74137 7094 9927 5319 4457 15989 19737 27953 20386
No breakdowns in last 3 months 82808 52406 30402 4217 3037 1562 3400 11611 10102 16482 15120 11183 82808 30013 41442 11352 73003 6949 9804 5254 4403 15811 19403 27519 20075
With breakdowns in last 3 months 1256 663 593 20 71 72 147 252 215 173 262 263 1256 565 493 199 1134 144 123 65 55 178 334 433 311
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 436 257 180 4 23 19 20 79 83 79 61 77 436 206 176 54 401 42 36 24 12 86 93 156 101
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 548 302 247 11 39 27 55 101 65 71 143 104 548 214 246 88 484 57 65 31 31 57 181 160 150
2 times 107 42 65 2 5 6 18 30 25 12 22 28 107 59 26 22 100 19 7 5 2 10 20 52 24
3 times 45 17 28 3 4 5 13 7 11 0 17 19 45 29 9 7 38 0 7 0 7 3 12 17 13
4 times or more 119 47 73 0 0 15 40 35 31 11 19 35 119 57 34 28 112 26 8 6 2 22 29 47 22

With septic tank or cesspool		 21697 19129 2568 1453 3744 257 774 1132 717 4942 1839 2463 21697 705 11808 9184 4209 393 17488 8521 8791 4138 4735 10149 2675
No breakdowns in last 3 months 21358 18855 2503 1446 3677 256 737 1117 707 4877 1809 2401 21358 697 11618 9043 4132 385 17226 8392 8658 4070 4670 9982 2635
With breakdowns in last 3 months 339 274 65 8 67 1 37 15 10 65 31 63 339 8 190 141 77 8 262 129 133 68 65 167 39
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours or more 103 77 26 3 27 0 8 3 0 20 12 25 103 0 77 26 28 0 75 49 26 21 15 46 21
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 201 171 30 5 31 0 17 12 10 40 12 36 201 8 95 98 40 5 161 68 92 38 43 104 16
2 times 17 14 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 17 0 5 12 3 3 14 5 9 5 3 9 0
3 times 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 times or more 18 12 6 0 9 1 8 0 0 5 7 3 18 0 13 6 5 0 13 7 6 4 3 8 2

Heating Problems

With heating equipment and
occupied last winter		 96649 69583 27066 4756 6365 1816 3696 11597 9573 21124 8498 12072 96649 27953 49368 19328 70705 6718 25945 13031 12611 18979 22625 34561 20484
Not uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or
more last winter		 87971 64352 23619 4514 5687 1163 2979 10126 8545 19782 7442 10479 87971 24980 45309 17682 64332 6156 23639 11831 11526 16902 20801 31398 18870
Uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or more
last winter@5		 7266 4327 2939 199 593 631 611 1233 898 1047 850 1327 7266 2529 3359 1377 5229 427 2036 1064 951 1729 1543 2660 1333
Equipment breakdowns 2172 1186 986 41 138 525 152 435 368 265 262 387 2172 887 969 316 1734 120 438 240 196 677 492 583 421
No breakdowns lasting 6 hours
or more		 150 90 60 0 4 0 10 20 29 32 19 47 150 63 66 21 123 6 27 12 16 41 32 44 33
1 time lasting 6 hours or more 1167 730 437 28 73 18 89 190 164 158 135 177 1167 420 557 189 907 77 260 148 112 324 313 329 201
2 times 331 180 151 9 28 10 52 79 52 37 42 46 331 129 159 42 253 15 78 51 28 125 69 74 62
3 times 140 48 92 2 8 140 0 41 24 15 14 24 140 69 50 20 114 9 26 12 11 70 30 31 9
4 times or more 356 135 220 2 26 356 0 98 89 19 45 87 356 187 125 43 308 13 48 18 30 108 47 98 103
Number of times not reported 26 3 23 0 0 2 2 5 10 4 4 5 26 15 11 0 26 0 0 0 0 8 0 5 13
Other causes 5238 3215 2023 159 462 172 467 798 554 789 630 968 5238 1701 2451 1085 3607 314 1630 840 772 1083 1078 2125 952
Utility interruption 2117 1642 475 89 237 24 78 264 86 392 140 266 2117 527 1134 456 1208 96 909 539 360 369 332 1262 154
Inadequate heating capacity 889 337 552 17 59 55 138 178 166 121 153 262 889 381 335 174 689 48 200 75 126 239 193 260 198
Inadequate insulation 861 354 506 14 88 60 145 189 120 79 180 224 861 337 336 188 652 66 209 84 122 200 243 239 179
Cost of heating 638 377 261 11 63 15 87 74 109 71 108 143 638 200 292 146 492 50 147 51 95 125 155 138 221
Other 1251 729 523 35 78 59 107 174 171 173 142 211 1251 424 539 288 921 95 330 131 193 301 275 373 303
Not reported 56 26 30 0 0 3 7 14 6 11 2 13 56 27 25 4 44 2 12 10 2 22 13 6 15
Reason for discomfort not reported 53 8 46 0 2 0 12 27 16 5 8 11 53 35 13 5 51 3 2 0 2 26 13 9 5
Discomfort not reported 1413 904 509 42 86 22 106 239 129 295 206 266 1413 444 699 269 1143 135 269 135 134 348 280 504 280

Electric Fuses and Circuit Breakers

With electrical wiring		 105768 72193 33575 5682 6848 1920 4319 13002 11027 21609 17221 13932 105768 31287 53724 20757 78338 7486 27430 13833 13271 20126 24464 38114 23065
No fuses or breakers blown in last
3 months		 93805 64014 29791 5161 6106 1634 3519 11511 9982 19925 15150 12384 93805 27550 47738 18517 69374 6632 24431 12266 11884 17655 21585 34052 20514
With fuses or breakers blown in last
3 months		 9539 6661 2878 443 592 241 648 1114 815 1195 1700 1076 9539 2900 4736 1904 7041 702 2498 1260 1201 1857 2397 3199 2085
1 time 5067 3705 1362 268 290 104 265 555 422 761 826 458 5067 1505 2609 954 3731 377 1337 737 577 955 1348 1702 1063
2 times 2005 1338 667 67 100 37 145 282 158 218 387 243 2005 647 982 376 1479 116 526 264 259 422 514 617 451
3 times 894 681 213 33 53 26 42 93 67 82 127 96 894 289 425 179 655 54 239 102 126 156 185 348 205
4 times or more 1503 886 617 74 147 75 185 162 163 117 347 260 1503 434 683 386 1115 149 388 151 237 306 339 501 358
Number of times not reported 69 51 19 0 2 0 11 23 4 17 12 20 69 24 37 9 61 6 8 6 2 18 11 32 8
Problem not reported or don't know 2424 1519 906 79 151 44 152 376 230 489 371 472 2424 837 1250 337 1922 152 502 308 186 614 481 863 466
@5Other causes and equipment breakdowns may not add to total as both may be reported.


Go to American Housing Survey for the United States: 2003

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division
Last Revised: May 27, 2005