The data on year householder moved into unit were obtained from answers to Housing Question 3 in the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), which was asked at occupied housing units. These data refer to the year of the latest move by the householder. If the householder moved back into a housing unit he or she previously occupied, the year of the latest move was reported. If the householder moved from one apartment to another within the same building, the year the householder moved into the present apartment was reported. The intent is to establish the year the present occupancy by the householder began. The year that the householder moved in is not necessarily the same year other members of the household moved in, although in the great majority of cases an entire household moves at the same time.

The year the householder moved into the unit provides information on the specific period of time when mobility occurs, especially for recent movers. These data help to measure neighborhood stability and to identify transient communities. The data also is used to assess the amount of displacement caused by floods and other natural disasters, and as an aid to evaluate the changes in service requirements.

Median year householder moved into unit divides the distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases falling below the median year householder moved into unit and one-half above the median. Median year householder moved into unit is computed on the basis of a standard distribution. (See the "Standard Distributions" section in Appendix A.) Median year householder moved into unit is rounded to the nearest calendar year. (For more information on medians, see "Median Derived Measures.")

Question/Concept History

Since 1996, the question provided two write-in spaces for the respondent to enter month and year the householder (person 1) moved into the house, apartment, or mobile home.

Comparability

Data on year householder moved into unit in the 2019 American Community Survey can be compared to previous ACS and Census 2000 year householder moved into unit data.