This section focuses on the housing challenges of vulnerable Ohioans with high-risk medical conditions, as well as the ways in which housing insecurity, quality, and safety are important social determinants of health and wellbeing. Older, inadequate homes present serious health challenges for Ohio's families–particularly those with young children, who are especially at risk of lead-based paint hazard, and individuals with disabilities, who require accessible housing.
Section Highlights
- Ohio's housing stock is relatively old. One-in-four housing units in Ohio (or 25%), were built before 1950 when the nation's first laws banning lead-based paint were enacted—higher than the national share (16%). Northwest Ohio has the highest share of pre-1950 homes (31%). These homes are more likely to contain chipped lead paint or lead-contaminated dust, which can be ingested by young children.
- Seven out of every 1,000 children born in Ohio die before their first birthday. Having unsafe, low-quality, or inconsistent housing puts Ohio's youngest children at greater risk of infant mortality.
- Children born to Black mothers are nearly three times more likely to die before their first birthday than those born to white mothers—14 deaths per 1,000 live births compared to five. The infant mortality gap between Black and white mothers is the widest (16 per mille points) in Southeast Ohio where the Black infant mortality rate is the highest in the state —23 deaths per 1,000 live births. Having safe, quality, and consistent housing improves the chances of survival.
- One-in-six Ohio adults (17%) were disabled in 2021. The prevalence of disability in Ohio has increased slightly over the past ten years (16% in 2011) and has consistently been above the national average (15% in 2021).
- Due in part to the age of Ohio's housing stock, 62% of housing units in the state are in a building that requires steps to enter—much higher than the national average (47%). This is a problem for those living with an ambulatory difficulty, which is experienced by 51% of Ohio adults with a disability.
Jump to: Lead Hazard | Infant Mortality | Disabilities | Mental Health & Substance Abuse | COVID-19 & Social Vulnerability
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Lead Hazard
Share of Units Built Pre-1950/1980 by Region
Source: 2017–2021 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2021 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B25034
EBLLs in Children Under 6 Years by Region
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health (based on 2021 data)
Share of Units Built Pre-1950
Source: 2017–2021 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2021 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B25034
Share of Units Built Pre-1980
Source: 2017–2021 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2021 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B25034
Infant Mortality
Infant Mortality Rates for the United States & Ohio
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health; Linked Birth / Infant Death Records, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Infant Mortality Gap in the U.S. & Ohio, NH Black & White
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health; Linked Birth / Infant Death Records, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Infant Mortality Rate by Region
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health (based on cumulative data from 2012 to 2021)
Infant Mortality Rate
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health (based on cumulative data from 2012 to 2021)
Infant Mortality Gap, NH Black & White, by Region
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health (based on cumulative data from 2012 to 2021)
Disabilities
Disability Prevalence Rates for the U.S. & Ohio
Source: American Community Survey (ACS) One-Year Estimates, Table B18101
Prevalence of Disability by Type
Source: 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) One-Year Estimates, Tables B18102, B18103, B18104, B18105, B18106, B18107
Prevalence of Disability by Age
Source: 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) One-Year Estimates, Tables B18102, B18103, B18104, B18105, B18106, B18107
Disability Prevalence Rate by Region
Source: 2017–2021 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2021 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B18101
Disability Prevalence Rate
Source: 2017–2021 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2021 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B18101
Mental Health & Substance Abuse
Substance Abuse Disorder & Mental Illness by Age
Source: 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Opioid Overdose Mortality Rates for the U.S. & Ohio
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health; Provisional Overdose Death Counts, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Population and Housing Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau
Opioid Overdose Mortality Rate by Region
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health (based on cumulative data from 2017 to 2021)
Opioid Overdose Mortality Rate
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, Ohio Department of Health (based on cumulative data from 2017 to 2021)
COVID-19 & Social Vulnerability
COVID-19 Mortality Rates for the U.S. & Ohio
Source: COVID-19 Dashboard, Ohio Department of Health; COVID Data Tracker, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (based on cumulative data from 2020 to 2022)
COVID-19 Mortality Rate by Region
Source: COVID-19 Dashboard, Ohio Department of Health (based on cumulative data from 2020 to 2022)
COVID-19 Mortality Rate
Source: COVID-19 Dashboard, Ohio Department of Health (based on cumulative data from 2020 to 2022)
Social Vulnerability Index
Source: 2020 Social Vulnerability Index, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Downloadable Tables
- Health Tables (113 KB Excel File)
Related Reports
- Fiscal Year 2021 Housing Needs Assessment
- Fiscal Year 2022 Regional Housing Needs Assessments
- Legislative Reports and District Maps
- Ohio Housing Finance Agency 2022 Annual Report (5.06 MB Adobe PDF File)
- Ohio Housing Finance Agency 2024-2025 Annual Plan (2.74 MB Adobe PDF File)
- OHFA Economic Impact Report (2.79 MB Adobe PDF File)
Notes
A 2013 study from The Ohio State University found that the share of homes built before 1950 was the most important predictor of elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs) in Ohio children under 6. Those homes predate the earliest laws in the United States restricting the use of lead paint in housing, which were enacted in the 1950s in some cities. Pre-1950 homes are also more likely to have chipped paint or lead-contaminated dust which can be ingested by young children. The use of lead paint in housing was finally banned nationally in 1978 by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. As such homes built between 1950 to 1979 are considered to pose moderate levels of risk to young children; homes built prior to 1950 are considered to be pose a greater risk.
EBLLs are defined as having five or more micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (µg/dL) and are tested in children under 6 years. The prevalence rate is the number of children with confirmed elevated blood lead levels divided by the number tested.
Disability status is defined as having serious difficulty with hearing, vision, cognition, ambulation, self-care (e.g., bathing and dressing), or independent living (e.g., performing errands such as shopping).
Substance use disorder is defined as a problematic pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. Mental illness is defined as having a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder, other than a developmental or substance use disorder.
Opioids include the illegal drug heroin, the synthetic drug fentanyl, and pain medications available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and morphine. Only unintentional overdose deaths are counted. The mortality rate is the number of deaths per 100,000 population and is a crude rate (i.e., not age-adjusted).
The infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths (before the first birthday) per 1,000 live births in the year prior.
Death counts are suppressed at the county level if fewer than 10. Rates based on fewer than 20 deaths are considered unreliable and are thus also suppressed.
Ohio Regions are defined at the county level by TourismOhio, part of the Ohio Department of Development.
Data Sources
- Ohio Department of Development, TourismOhio, Ohio Regions
- Ohio Department of Health, COVID-19 Dashboard
- Ohio Department of Health, Public Health Data Warehouse
- U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, American Community Survey
- U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population and Housing Estimates
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Social Vulnerability Index
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID Data Tracker
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked Birth / Infant Death Records
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Provisional Overdose Death Counts
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Survey on Drug Use and Health