Overview

The survey is conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The American Housing Survey (AHS) collects data on the Nation's housing, including apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, vacant housing units, household characteristics, income, housing and neighborhood quality, housing costs, equipment and fuels, size of housing unit, and recent movers. National data are collected in odd numbered years, and data for each of 47 selected Metropolitan Areas are collected currently about every six years (every four years in the Chicago area). The national sample covers an average 55,000 housing units. Each metropolitan area sample covers 4,100 or more housing units.

The AHS returns to the same housing units year after year to gather data; therefore, this survey is ideal for analyzing the flow of households through housing.

American Housing Survey  for the Chicago Metro Area report downloads:
(these are large PDF files best downloaded by using a fast internet connection and right-clicking the survey year link listed below.

AHS-Chicago Area-2003  (8.3 MB)

AHS-Chicago Area-1999  (2.3 MB)

AHS-Chicago Area-1995  (2.2 MB)

AHS-Chicago Area-1991  (12.7 MB)

AHS-Chicago Area-1987  (12.1 MB)

AHS-Chicago Area-1983  (42.2 MB)

AHS-Chicago Area-1979  (29.1 MB)

AHS-Chicago Area-1975  (14.3 MB)

For this survey, the Chicago Metropolitan Area is defined as Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties.  In addition to results for the entire metropolitan area, many tables include data for the city of Chicago, suburban Cook County, and DuPage County.

Contact the American Housing Survey Branch by email or by phone at (301) 763-3235, or visit http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/ahs/ahs.html for further information on American Housing Survey data.

Last Updated March 1, 2005