| Data Dictionary: | ACS 2012 (1-Year Estimates) |
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Survey: ACS 2012 (1-Year Estimates)
| Data Source: | U.S. Census Bureau |
Data set: American Community Survey 2012 (ACS12)
| Table: | B98011. Housing Unit Coverage Rate [1] |
Universe: Universe: Housing Units
Table Details
| B98011. | Housing Unit Coverage Rate | ||||
| Universe: Universe: Housing Units | |||||
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Relevant Documentation:
| Excerpt from: | Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2012 Summary File: Technical Documentation. |
| ACS 2012-1yr Summary File: Technical Documentation -> Appendix A: Supplemental Documentation -> 2012 Subject Definitions -> Quality Measures -> Coverage Rates |
There are two kinds of coverage error: under-coverage and over-coverage. Under-coverage exists when housing units or people do not have a chance of being selected in the sample. Over-coverage exists when housing units or people have more than one chance of selection in the sample, or are included in the sample when they should not have been. If the characteristics of under-covered or over-covered housing units or individuals differ from those that are selected, the ACS may not provide an accurate picture of the population.
The coverage rates measure coverage error in the ACS. The coverage rate is the ratio of the ACS population or housing estimate of an area or group to the independent estimate for that area or group, times 100.
Coverage rates for the total resident population are calculated by sex at the national, state, and Puerto Rico levels, and at the national level only for total Hispanics, and non-Hispanics crossed by the five major race categories: White, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. The total resident population includes persons in both housing units and group quarters. In addition, a coverage rate that includes only the group quarters population is calculated at the national level. Coverage rates for housing units are calculated at the national and state level, except for Puerto Rico because independent housing unit estimates are not available. These rates are weighted to reflect the probability of selection into the sample, the subsampling for personal visit follow-up, and non-response adjustment.
The coverage rates measure coverage error in the ACS. The coverage rate is the ratio of the ACS population or housing estimate of an area or group to the independent estimate for that area or group, times 100.
Coverage rates for the total resident population are calculated by sex at the national, state, and Puerto Rico levels, and at the national level only for total Hispanics, and non-Hispanics crossed by the five major race categories: White, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. The total resident population includes persons in both housing units and group quarters. In addition, a coverage rate that includes only the group quarters population is calculated at the national level. Coverage rates for housing units are calculated at the national and state level, except for Puerto Rico because independent housing unit estimates are not available. These rates are weighted to reflect the probability of selection into the sample, the subsampling for personal visit follow-up, and non-response adjustment.
| Excerpt from: | Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2012 Summary File: Technical Documentation. |
| ACS 2012-1yr Summary File: Technical Documentation -> Appendix A: Supplemental Documentation -> 2012 Subject Definitions -> Living Quarters -> Housing Unit |
A housing unit may be a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms or a single room that is occupied (or, if vacant, intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any other individuals in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. For vacant units, the criteria of separateness and direct access are applied to the intended occupants whenever possible. If that information cannot be obtained, the criteria are applied to the previous occupants.
Both occupied and vacant housing units are included in the housing unit inventory. Boats, recreational vehicles (RVs), vans, tents, railroad cars, and the like are included only if they are occupied as someone's current place of residence. Vacant mobile homes are included provided they are intended for occupancy on the site where they stand. Vacant mobile homes on dealers' sales lots, at the factory, or in storage yards are excluded from the housing inventory. Also excluded from the housing inventory 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.
Both occupied and vacant housing units are included in the housing unit inventory. Boats, recreational vehicles (RVs), vans, tents, railroad cars, and the like are included only if they are occupied as someone's current place of residence. Vacant mobile homes are included provided they are intended for occupancy on the site where they stand. Vacant mobile homes on dealers' sales lots, at the factory, or in storage yards are excluded from the housing inventory. Also excluded from the housing inventory 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.
A housing unit is classified as occupied if it is the current place of residence of the person or group of people living in it at the time of interview, or if the occupants are only temporarily absent from the residence for two months or less, that is, away on vacation or a business trip. If all the people staying in the unit at the time of the interview are staying there for two months or less, the unit is considered to be temporarily occupied and classified as "vacant." The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated people who share living quarters. The living quarters occupied by staff personnel within any group quarters are separate housing units if they satisfy the housing unit criteria of separateness and direct access; otherwise, they are considered group quarters.
Occupied rooms or suites of rooms in hotels, motels, and similar places are classified as housing units only when occupied by permanent residents, that is, people who consider the hotel as their current place of residence or have no current place of residence elsewhere. If any of the occupants in rooming or boarding houses, congregate housing, or continuing care facilities live separately from others in the building and have direct access, their quarters are classified as separate housing units.
Occupied rooms or suites of rooms in hotels, motels, and similar places are classified as housing units only when occupied by permanent residents, that is, people who consider the hotel as their current place of residence or have no current place of residence elsewhere. If any of the occupants in rooming or boarding houses, congregate housing, or continuing care facilities live separately from others in the building and have direct access, their quarters are classified as separate housing units.
A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it at the time of interview. Units occupied at the time of interview entirely by persons who are staying two months or less and who have a more permanent residence elsewhere are considered to be temporarily occupied, and are classified as "vacant."
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 from the housing inventory if they are open to the elements, that is, the roof, walls, windows, and/or doors no longer protect the interior from the elements. Also, excluded are vacant units with a sign that they are condemned or they are to be demolished.
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 from the housing inventory if they are open to the elements, that is, the roof, walls, windows, and/or doors no longer protect the interior from the elements. Also, excluded are vacant units with a sign that they are condemned or they are to be demolished.
