RELEASED: 12:01 A.M. EDT, OCTOBER 3, 2006 (TUESDAY)
Shelly Lowe/Danielle Conceicao
Public Information Office
(301) 763-3691/457-3620 (fax)
(301) 457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: <pio@census.gov>
New Census Bureau Data Highlight Changes
in Housing Values Through 2005
The real median home value in San Diego jumped from $249,000 to $567,000 between 2000 and 2005, the largest increase in the nation among big cities. Across the country, real median home values soared 32 percent, according to new 2005 American Community Survey data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Just about anyone who owns a home or has been in the market for one in the past few years knows first-hand how home values jumped from 2000 to 2005,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. “This is an example of the kind of local data that policymakers can use to assess housing needs and better plan for services such as schools, roads and other community needs.”
The American Community Survey (ACS) provides timely and updated information about the nation’s changing and diverse population every year. Without the ACS, this type of information — historically gathered just once a decade — would not be available for communities until 2012.
The 2005 ACS data released today include housing characteristic information such as occupancy, units in structure, year built, rooms, occupants per room, vehicles available, house heating fuel, value, mortgage status, gross rent, selected monthly owner costs and other characteristics. Additional subjects covered in this release include means of transportation to work by workplace geography, geographic mobility by selected characteristics, characteristics of households and families, grandparents and the foreign-born population. Also surveyed are disability characteristics, work status in the past 12 months, occupancy and financial characteristics. The data are available for nearly 7,000 areas, including all congressional districts and counties, cities and American Indian/Alaska Native areas of 65,000 population or more. This survey is a first look at key housing information for many communities since Census 2000 – including 75 of the top 100 fastest growing cities.
Selected Data Highlights for Largest and Smallest U.S. Cities
Median Housing Value
Among the nation’s largest cities, some of the highest percent increases in real median home values between 2000 and 2005 were found in San Diego (127.2 percent), Los Angeles (110.2) and New York (79.1). In the smaller cities, with 65,000 population or more, some of the highest percentage increases in real median home values were found in Boynton Beach, Fla. (120.3 percent); Folsom, Calif. (99.5)1; and Redondo Beach, Calif. (91.7). Among the smallest cities covered in the 2005 ACS data release with populations of 65,000 or more, Newport Beach and Santa Barbara, Calif., were the only two cities with a median home value of a million dollars or more.
Owner-Occupied
More than two-thirds of the nation’s total occupied housing units were owner-occupied in 2005, an increase of 4.5 million over the Census 2000 number (69.8 million). Among the 15 largest cities, Jacksonville, Fla., had one of the highest percentages of owner-occupied housing units at 64.2 percent. San Jose, Calif., and Indianapolis also had high percentages of owner-occupied housing units. Of the 15 smaller cities, Missouri City, Texas (88.6 percent); Boynton Beach, Fla. (72.9); and Folsom, Calif. (71.3), had some of the highest percentage of owner-occupied housing units.2
Median Selected Monthly Ownership Costs
Real median selected monthly owner costs for owners with mortgages have increased 5.0 percent nationally between 2000 and 2005. Though not statistically different from each other, some of the highest increases among the largest cities in real median monthly owner costs were found in Detroit (24.1 percent), Chicago (21.7) and San Francisco (19.6). Decreases of about 10 percent in real median homeownership costs were found in some of the smaller cities such as Bryan, Texas, and Greenville, N.C.
Median Gross Rent
Additionally, the real median cost of renting a home increased nationally by 6.7 percent from 2000 to 2005. Some of the highest real median rent percentage increases among the large cities were found in San Diego (27.2 percent), Detroit (22.5), and Los Angeles (15.9). Among the smallest cities, Redondo Beach, Calif. (21.7), also had increases in real median rent. Real median rent actually decreased in some of the largest cities including San Jose, Calif. (-9.4 percent), and Dallas (-3.0).
For more information on how your community compares with the nation, a state or another city, county or congressional district, visit American FactFinder at http://www.census.gov.
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1Not significantly different from the estimates for Boynton Beach and Redondo Beach.
2The estimates for Boynton Beach and Folsom are not statistically different from each other.
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Data are based on:
