housing_affordability_county_year
County-year grain. Median home value, median gross rent, median HH income, and income-normalized affordability ratios. ACS 5-year 2024.
tier —composite_index
overview
overview
All 3,222 counties. ACS B25077, B25064, B19013 cover all county geographies.
current vintage — 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year
history — ACS B25077: 2009-present
provenance
source & licensing
authority
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development / U.S. Census Bureau
dataset
Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS); ACS 5-Year Estimates
license
—
citation
U.S. Census Bureau. ACS 5-Year Estimates, Tables B25077 (median home value), B25064 (median gross rent), B19013 (median household income), 2020-2024.
schema
fields
| name | type | definition |
|---|---|---|
| country_id | string | ISO alpha-2 country code (always 'US' for domestic tables). |
| county_idkey | string | 5-character FIPS code identifying the county.Joins dim.counties on county_id. |
| county_name | string | Human-readable county name corresponding to county_id. |
| gross_rent_to_income_ratio | float64 · ratio | Median annual gross rent (monthly rent × 12) divided by median household income. Higher values indicate renting is less affordable; ratios above 0.30 indicate cost burden. |
| home_value_to_income_ratio | float64 · ratio | Median home value divided by median household income. Higher values indicate homes are less affordable relative to local incomes; a ratio above 3–4 is conventionally considered unaffordable. |
| housing_affordability_index | float64 · index | Composite affordability score derived from the four z-score components (z_home_value_ratio, z_rent_ratio, z_renters_severe, z_owners_severe), typically averaged or weighted. Higher values indicate worse affordability conditions relative to other counties. |
| median_gross_rent | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Median monthly gross rent paid by renter-occupied households, including contract rent plus utilities. Higher values indicate higher rental housing costs. |
| median_hh_income | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Median annual household income across all households in the county. Used as the income denominator in affordability ratio calculations. |
| median_home_value | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Median estimated market value of owner-occupied housing units in the county. Higher values indicate more expensive housing stock. |
| pct_owners_severely_cost_burdened | float64 · percent (0–100) | Share of owner households spending 50% or more of gross income on housing costs (mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities). Higher values indicate greater ownership affordability stress. |
| pct_renters_severely_cost_burdened | float64 · percent (0–100) | Share of renter households spending 50% or more of gross income on housing costs. Higher values indicate greater rental affordability stress in the county. |
| state_id | string | 2-character FIPS code identifying the state.Joins dim.states on state_id. |
| yearkey | int64 | Reference year of the observation. |
| z_home_value_ratio | float64 · standard deviations | Z-score of home_value_to_income_ratio, standardized relative to the cross-county distribution. Positive values indicate the county is less affordable than average on this dimension. |
| z_owners_severe | float64 · standard deviations | Z-score of pct_owners_severely_cost_burdened, standardized relative to the cross-county distribution. Positive values indicate a higher-than-average share of severely burdened owners. |
| z_rent_ratio | float64 · standard deviations | Z-score of gross_rent_to_income_ratio, standardized relative to the cross-county distribution. Positive values indicate rental costs are higher relative to incomes than the typical county. |
| z_renters_severe | float64 · standard deviations | Z-score of pct_renters_severely_cost_burdened, standardized relative to the cross-county distribution. Positive values indicate a higher-than-average share of severely burdened renters. |
relationships
joins
primary key
county_id, year
common joins
dim.geographies on county_id
housing_cost_burden_county_year on (county_id, year)
housing_home_values_county_year on (county_id, year)
usage
how to use this table
method
home_value_to_income_ratio = median_home_value / median_household_income. gross_rent_to_income_ratio computed similarly. ACS samples renter-occupied units with cash rent for B25064.
do not use for
Mortgage affordability without rate adjustment (these are list/owner self-reported values, not transactions); listing prices (ACS is owner-reported); sub-county tracts.
known issues
Owner self-reported values lag market. Median masks distribution shape.
last updated · May 5, 2026