The FICO® Score is the consumer credit score used by most U.S. banks and credit grantors. It is based on data gathered by third-party consumer credit reporting agencies.
Median student loan debt is among the population with any student loan debt. Median amount of monthly student loan payment is among those borrowers with open accounts (i.e., not deferred or in collections). Percent with student loan debt is the share of adults with a credit bureau record who have any student loan debt, including those with accounts that are open, deferred or in collections.
Household debt data from the Equifax/Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel incorporates all types of household debt except student loans. Household income is based on wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. figure represents the median of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
Mortgage loan denial rate is the percentage of total mortgage loan applications denied by lenders. Applications include preapproval requests. Applications approved but not accepted are counted as approved. Applications withdrawn by applicant, files closed for incompleteness and loans purchased by a financial institution are excluded from the analysis.
American Housing Survey data are based on self-reported information.
Severe rent burden is defined as a renter household spending at least 50 percent of household income on gross rent or having no income.
Extremely low-income (ELI) is defined as those with incomes at or below the federal poverty level or 30% of area median income, whichever is greater. Very low-income (VLI) is defined as those with incomes at or below 50% of area median income, including ELI households. Affordability is based on the common standard that households should not spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Rental units are both "affordable and available" to renters in a specific income group if the gross rent meets the 30% affordability threshold and they are either available for rent or occupied by households with incomes at or below the defined income level.
This CoolClimate Network model includes direct emissions from consumption of fossil fuels to heat homes as well as indirect emissions embodied in the production of electricity used to power homes. Electricity is measured in kilowatt hours per year, natural gas is measured in cubic feet per year, and home fuel oil is measured in gallons per year. Carbon footprint is measured in metric tons (or tonnes) of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change.
The H+T® Affordability Index combines the average housing and transportation costs as a share of household income. Housing costs are based on "selected monthly owner costs" and gross rent from 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) (ACS) Five-Year Estimates. These are averaged and weighted by tenure. Transportation costs are defined as the sum of auto ownership costs, auto use costs and transit costs. These are averaged and weighted by auto ownership, auto use and transit use. Auto ownership and transit use are also derived from 2011–2015 ACS Five-Year Estimates; auto use is derived from a place-based model of vehicle miles traveled; auto ownership costs and auto use costs are derived from the 2013 Consumer Expenditure Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; transit use costs are derived from 2015 National Transit Database data from the Federal Transportation Administration. Costs and income are based on a "Regional Typical Household," assuming area median household income, average household size for the region and average number of commuters per household for the region.
The eviction filing rate is the number of new eviction filings per 100 renter-occupied households. In Ohio an eviction is legally referred to as a "forcible entry and detainer" or F.E.D.
Transitional age youth (TAY) are young people between 16 and 24 years of age who are in transition out-of-state custody or foster care. Based on a five-year cohort. At 17 years of age, respondents reported any experience of homelessness in their lifetime, while 19- and 21-year-old respondents reported experience of homelessness in the past two year. Homelessness is defined as having no regular or adequate place to live.
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.
Housing inadequacy is defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as having one or more plumbing, heating, electric, wiring or upkeep deficiencies.
Poverty status can only be determined for individuals in households and therefore the denominator excludes individuals living in group quarters such as college dormitories, correctional facilities and nursing homes.
The liquid asset poverty rate is the share of households without sufficient liquid assets to subsist at the federal poverty level for three months in the absence of income. Liquid assets are assets than can be readily turned into cash, such as interest earnings held in banks, commodities, foreign currencies, and equity in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, IRA, Keogh, 401(k) and other savings accounts. Assets that cannot be readily turned into cash, such as real estate, vehicles and art collections, are considered non-liquid assets.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, refugees are people who have fled their country of origin to escape a war or due to a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, social status, or politics, and have been awarded special protective status. Only a small fraction of the world's refugee population is considered for final resettlement in the United States. The U.S. Department of State then helps match refugees with local resettlement agencies around the country. Refugee arrivals count the number of refugees initially resettled by the State Department and do not reflect secondary migration.
Human trafficking victims include victims and survivors of sex and labor trafficking identified through phone calls, emails and online tip reports received by the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Housing units can be entered by someone in a wheelchair if it is possible to enter from outside without climbing any steps or stairs.
Opiates, or opioids, include the illegal drug heroin, the synthetic drug fentanyl and pain medications available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and morphine. The unintentional opiate overdose 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.
World Regions are defined by the U.S. Department of State at the country level.
