Extreme Housing Conditions in North Carolina
Introduction:
Prior research has demonstrated that families living in extreme housing conditions much higher rates of health problems—including chronic illnesses, infectious diseases, injuries and poor mental health—compared to similar families living in standard housing conditions. Mold, pest infestations, cold and dampness, lead contamination and safety hazards in substandard housing are some of the major contributors to these health problems.
Unfortunately, finding decent, secure and affordable rental housing is increasingly difficult for many North Carolinians. In recent years wages have stagnated while rents have continued to climb resulting in a sharp increase in the number of rent-burdened households, defined as those paying more than 30 percent of their income for rent.5 According to the American Community Survey (ACS), in 2013 there were 606,239 cost-burdened rental households in North Carolina, an increase of over 127,000 households from 2008.
What is extreme housing conditions?
In terms of the social characteristics of census tracts with extreme housing conditions, they tended to have higher percentages of African Americans, Hispanics and people living in poverty compared to all census tracts.
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African Americans made up 27.4 percent of the population in extreme tracts compared with 21.1 percent of the population in all census tracts.
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Hispanics made up 13.5 percent of the population in extreme tracts compared with 8.7 percent of the population in all census tracts.
Extreme Housing Conditions:
Although there were more census tracts with extreme housing conditions in urban areas, the extreme tracts were roughly proportional to the percentage of urban and rural tracts in the state; 63 percent of all census tracts in our study were urban, while 62 percent of the extreme tracts were urban.
Housing Cost Burden:
The standard definition of housing cost burden is any household paying more than 30 percent of its income for housing costs, while the definition of severe housing cost burden is any household paying more than 50 percent of its income for housing costs.7 In our analysis of extreme housing needs, we use the severely cost burdened criteria of 50 percent or more of income used for housing costs. The findings indicate that although census tracts with high rates of severe housing cost burden can be found across the state, they are more prevalent in the Piedmont and in urban, rather than rural, areas.
Overcrowding:
Overcrowded housing units have a variety of negative effects on the inhabitants including heightened mental and physical health problems, behavioral conflicts and lower academic performance among childreAlthough there are several measures of overcrowding, one of the most frequently used definitions and the measure used in this report, is a household with more than one person per room, not counting bathrooms or unused attics or basements.
Critical Facilities:
Modern homes are expected to include both complete kitchen facilities, such as refrigerators, stoves and sinks, as well as complete plumbing facilities, such as a toilet, shower and wash basin. Those living in housing units that lack those facilities have extra burdens in meeting nutritional and/or health needs.9 The analysis to follow relies on 2013 American Community Survey data on the number and location of units that lack complete plumbing facilities and those that lack complete kitchen facilities.
Conclusion:
This analysis of extreme housing conditions in North Carolina suggests that the residents of more than 377,000 households in the state are held back from leading fulfilling and productive lives by living in housing that lacks critical facilities, that is overcrowded or that imposes a severe cost burden on residents. Residents exposed to those conditions are more likely to suffer from health problems and lack the residential stability needed to have a fulfilling life and be a productive member of society.
Our findings also indicate that 108 of the state’s census tracts have extreme housing conditions: That is, they suffer from relatively high levels of at least two of the three housing problems mentioned above. We found extreme housing conditions census tracts in 46 of North Carolina’s 100 counties and in all three geographic regions.