Housing is one of our primary needs. For this reason, analysts study our Nation’s housing closely. This report summarizes data from the 1993 American Housing Survey (AHS) and is an update to the report Our Nation’s Housing in 1991.1 This report examines the demographic, economic, and physical housing characteristics of the 1993 national housing stock. In the analysis and accompanying tables and charts, we note important similarities and differences evident within the Nation’s housing. The data are presented separately, by tenure, since the housing conditions for homeowners and renters are often very different. This report is based on data collected from the AHS for the United States in 1993. The Bureau of the Census conducts this biennial national sample survey of approximately 50,000 housing units in the United States for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The interviews are conducted from July through December of the survey year. The first AHS survey in 1973 was called the Annual Housing Survey. After 1983, its name was changed to the American Housing Survey; it has since been conducted every other year in odd-numbered years. See Current Housing Report Series H150/93 for cross tabulations of the extensive data collected from the AHS. Appendixes in that report also include the latest detailed survey sample design specifications and estimation procedures used for the AHS. Our Nation’s Housing in 1993 is divided into three chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the current housing inventory. The second chapter focuses on selected physical and financial characteristics of owner occupied units. The final chapter provides similar information for renter-occupied units.