Housing Units
Every 10 years as of April 1, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census of the nation’s housing units. The housing units are specified as being occupied or vacant. The Census Bureau’s definition of a vacant unit differs from that of the real estate industry. A housing unit used seasonally is counted as vacant by the Census Bureau, though it is not on the market for sale or for rent. Similarly, the Census Bureau counts some structures as vacant housing units that the real estate industry would not consider a housing unit. Examples include units under construction that are substantially complete but that have not yet received a certificate of occupancy and hogans on the Navajo Reservation that are used only for ceremonial purposes.
Housing unit figures are presented on Arizona Indicators for Arizona and the 15 Arizona counties. The focus is the change from 2000 to 2010, but the change from 1990 to 2000 also is provided. Additional data, for example for smaller geographic areas and for earlier censuses, are available from the Census Bureau.
U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau. For 2010 data: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. For 2000 and 1990 data: http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html.
The decennial census is intended to count all housing units. However, some units are missed. The inclusion of nontraditional housing units in the housing count varies somewhat from one decennial census to the next.
Housing Units, Change, Arizona and Three Most Populous Counties
Visualization Notes:
The number of housing units nationally and in Arizona increased more between the 2000 and 2010 censuses than between the 1990 and 2000 censuses even though the population increase in the 2000s was less than in the prior decade. All three of Arizona’s most populous counties had a larger increase in units between 2000 and 2010.
Housing Units, Change, Less Populous Counties
Visualization Notes:
The 2000-to-2010 gain in the number of housing units was larger than in the prior decade only in Mohave, Navajo, and Yavapai counties.
Occupied and Vacant Housing Units, Change, 2000 to 2010, Arizona and Three Most Populous Counties
Visualization Notes:
The total number of housing units increased 655,337 in Arizona between 2000 and 2010. The increase in the number of vacant units was 175,674: vacant units accounted for 27 percent of the increase in housing units in Arizona between 2000 and 2010. The vacant share was not as large in Pinal County (18 percent) as in the other two populous counties (24 percent in Pima County and 28 percent in Maricopa County).
Occupied and Vacant Housing Units, Change, 2000 to 2010, Less Populous Counties
Visualization Notes:
Apache County was the only county to experience a decrease in the number of vacant housing units between 2000 and 2010. In the other less populous counties, the vacant unit share of the total increase in housing units ranged widely, from about 10 percent in Cochise and La Paz counties to more than half in Gila and Greenlee counties.
Data Source
U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau. For 2010 data: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. For 2000 and 1990 data: http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html.
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