This section focuses on the type, age and quality of housing within Ohio, including vacancy rates and the risk of lead-based paint hazard. Vacancy rates are indicative of housing market distress, whole older, inadequate homes present serious health challenges for Ohio's families, particularly those with young children.
Section Highlights
- Since 2010 Ohio's housing stock has grown by 2.1%, even outpacing population growth over the same period (+1.3%). Much of this growth happened in suburban areas, while Ohio's urban cores have seen housing stock decline (–1.4%).
- At the end of 2019, homeowner and rental vacancy rates–1.1% and 6.8%, respectively–were near their lowest levels on record, indicating a very tight housing market.
- Ohio's housing stock is relatively old. One-in-four housing units in Ohio were built before 1950 (27%), when the first laws banning lead-based paint were enacted, including 58% of homes in the urban cores of Ohio's cities.
- One in four renters in Ohio (25%) experienced severe housing problems, as defined by HUD, including incomplete kitchen and plumbing facilities, severe overcrowding and severe housing cost burden.
- Black and Hispanic renters are more likely (32% and 31% respectively) to experience severe housing problems than their white counterparts (23%).
Jump to: Change in Housing Stock | Structure Type | Housing Vacancy | Lead Hazard | Severe Housing Problems
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Change in Housing Stock
Change in Housing Stock in the United States & Ohio
Source: Population and Housing Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau
Change in Population & Housing Stock
Source: Population and Housing Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau
Change in Housing Stock by Region
Source: Population and Housing Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau
Change in Housing Stock
Source: Population and Housing Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau
Change in Housing Stock by Typology
Source: American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Table B25001
Structure Type
Housing Units by Structure Type & Region
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2018 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B25024
Single-Family Detached Homes as Share of Units
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2018 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B25024
Multifamily Units as Share of Units
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2018 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B25024
Mobile Homes as Share of Units
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2018 ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B25024
Housing Vacancy
Quarterly Vacancy Rate, U.S. & Ohio, by Tenure
Source: Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS), U.S. Census Bureau
Vacant Housing Units by Vacancy Status
Source: American Community Survey (ACS) One-Year Estimates, Table B25004
Vacancy Rate by Tenure & Region
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Tables B25003 & B25004
Homeowner Vacancy Rate
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Tables B25003 & B25004
Rental Vacancy Rate
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Tables B25003 & B25004
Lead Hazard
Share of Units Built Pre-1950/1980 by Region
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Table B25034
Share of Units Built Pre-1950/1980 by Typology
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Table B25034
Prevalence of Risk of Lead Paint Hazard by Region
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, Table 13
EBLLs in Children Under 6 Years by Region
Source: Ohio Public Health Data Warehousing, Ohio Department of Health (based on 2018 data)
Share of Units Built Pre-1950
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Table B25034
Share of Units Built Pre-1980
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Table B25034
Prevalence of Risk of Lead Paint Hazard
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, Table 13
Severe Housing Problems
Severe Housing Problems by Race & Ethnicity
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, Table 2
Severe Housing Problems
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, Table 2
Severe Housing Problems by Typology
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, Table 2
Downloadable Tables
- Housing Stock Tables (126 KB Excel File)
Related Reports
- Fiscal Year 2019 Housing Needs Assessment (20.21 MB Adobe PDF File)
- Ohio Housing Finance Agency 2019 Annual Report (7.86 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 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 and 1979 are considered to pose moderate levels of risk to young children; homes built prior to 1950 are considered to pose a greater risk.
Elevated blood lead levels 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.
Severe housing problems are defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to include housing costs exceeding 50% of household income, more than 1.5 occupants per room, incomplete kitchen or incomplete plumbing facilities.
Ohio Regions are defined by the Ohio Development Services Agency at the county level.
Typologies are defined at the census tract level in the OHFA 2018–2019 USR Opportunity Index by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. They are based on a combination of road network density, housing density, population density and age of housing.
Data Sources
- Ohio Development Services Agency, TourismOhio, Ohio Regions
- Ohio State University, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, OHFA USR Opportunity Index
- U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, American Community Survey (ACS)
- U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey
- U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population and Housing Estimates
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD User, Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy Data