Description

COSTFUEL for 1970 reports the rented housing unit's annual home heating fuel cost, excluding amounts included with contract rent payments. For later years, COSTFUEL reports each rented or owned housing unit's annual fuel cost, again excluding amounts included in contract rent or other types of payments. For all years, only liquid and solid fuels, such as oil, charcoal, kerosene and wood, were included in COSTFUEL; gas costs and electricity costs were each asked separately and are included in COSTGAS and COSTELEC, respectively.

COSTFUEL amounts for renters are part of RENTGRS. Census Bureau research comparing respondents' reported costs with utility company records indicates that respondents tend to overstate their costs.

In 1970, the universe for the U.S. Census samples specifies renter-occupied units rented for cash rent, not one-family houses on 10+ acres and not group quarters; however in the Puerto Rican census of 1970, this specification is for renter-occupied units rented for cash rent, not one-family houses on 3+ cuerdas, and not group quarters.

Amounts are expressed in contemporary dollars, and users studying change over time must adjust for inflation. See INCTOT for Consumer Price Index adjustment factors. The exception is the ACS/PRCS multi-year files, where all dollar amounts have been standardized to dollars as valued in the final year of data included in the file (e.g., 2007 dollars for the 2005-2007 3-year file). Additionally, more detail may be available than exists in the original ACS samples.

User Note: ACS respondents are surveyed throughout the year, and amounts do not reflect calendar year dollars. While the Census Bureau provides an adjustment factor (available in ADJUST), this is an imperfect solution. See the ACS income variables note for further details.

User Note
The traditional unit of land area in Puerto Rico is the cuerda. The cuerda is equal to about 3930 square meters, 4700 square yards, or 0.971 acres. Because the cuerda and the acre are so close to being equal, they are often treated informally as being equal. Mainlanders sometimes call the unit the "Spanish Acre." The IPUMS has preserved the units for the mainland U.S. as acres and Puerto Rico as cuerdas.

COSTFUEL is a 4-digit numeric code which reports each rented housing unit's annual home heating fuel cost, excluding amounts included with contract rent payments for 1970 samples and reports the annual gas costs, again excluding amounts included in contract rent or other types of payments in subsequent Census samples. COSTFUEL amounts for renters are included in RENTGRS. Census Bureau research comparing respondents' reported costs with utility company records indicates that respondents tend to overstate their costs. COSTFUEL specific variable codes for missing, edited, or unidentified observations, observations not applicable (N/A), observations not in universe (NIU), top and bottom value coding, etc. are provided below by Census year (and data sample if specified).

User Note: Amounts are expressed in contemporary dollars, and users studying change over time must adjust for inflation (See Description).

COSTFUEL Specific Variable Codes
0000 = N/A
0002 = $1 or $2 (2000)
9993 = No charge or no solid or liquid fuel used (1990, 2000, 2003-onward ACS/PRCS)
9994 = Fuel not used (1970, 1980)
9995 = Fuel included in rent or no charge (1980)
9996 = Fuel included in rent (1970)
9997 = Fuel included in rent or in condo fee (1990, 2000, 2003-onward ACS/PRCS)
9998 = No charge, no fuel used, or fuel included in rent or condo fee (2000-2002 ACS)

* Higher amounts are expressed as the state medians of values above the listed Top Code value for that specific Census year (i.e. For Census Year 1990, any observed value greater than the Top Code value of $1,900 was coded as the median value greater than $1,900 within that observation's state.).
** Higher amounts are coded as the state means of values above the listed Top Code value for that specific Census year.

Values Exceeding Top codes, by State: 1990 - onward

Comparability

Along with the effects of inflation and different topcodes, the change in the universe from rented units only (in 1970) to rented or owned units (1980 on) introduces problems of comparability across years. Using the variables OWNERSHP (Ownership of dwelling) and ACREHOUS (House acreage), users can restrict the universe in later years to be roughly comparable to that of 1970.

Universe

Availability

• 2023: All samples
• 2022: All samples
• 2021: All samples
• 2020: All samples
• 2019: All samples
• 2018: All samples
• 2017: All samples
• 2016: All samples
• 2015: All samples
• 2014: All samples
• 2013: All samples
• 2012: All samples
• 2011: All samples
• 2010: ACS; ACS 3yr; ACS 5yr
• 2009: All samples
• 2008: All samples
• 2007: All samples
• 2006: All samples
• 2005: All samples
• 2004: All samples
• 2003: All samples
• 2002: All samples
• 2001: All samples
• 2000: All samples
• 1990: All samples
• 1980: All samples
• 1970: All samples
• 1960: 5%
• 1950: --
• 1940: --
• 1930: --
• 1920: --
• 1910: --
• 1900: --
• 1880: --
• 1870: --
• 1860: --
• 1850: --

• 2023: All samples
• 2022: All samples
• 2021: All samples
• 2020: All samples
• 2019: All samples
• 2018: All samples
• 2017: All samples
• 2016: All samples
• 2015: All samples
• 2014: All samples
• 2013: All samples
• 2012: All samples
• 2011: All samples
• 2010: PRCS; PRCS 3yr; PRCS 5yr
• 2009: All samples
• 2008: All samples
• 2007: All samples
• 2006: All samples
• 2005: All samples
• 2000: All samples
• 1990: All samples
• 1980: All samples
• 1970: All samples
• 1930: --
• 1920: --
• 1910: --

Flags

Editing Procedure

COSTGAS , COSTELEC , COSTWATR , COSTFUEL (Utilities cost)
ACS Years: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
ACS editing procedure:
If an occupied unit has a value for either last month's electricity or gas cost (COSTELEC, COSTGAS) that is too high (the exact value varies by year), it will be allocated. The allocated value is an COSTELEC or COSTGAS value of another unit of the same type of building (UNITSSTR, which shows if a building is a mobile home, detached single family, or attached single family), same ownership status (OWNERSHP), with the same type of fuel (FUELHEAT), same data collection month, and in the same geographic unit (it is not specified what level of geography is used). When this happens, the flag will show that the value is allocated (QCOSTELE, QCOSTGAS).
If an occupied unit has a value for either last month's electricity or gas cost (COSTELEC, COSTGAS) that is too 0 or "Blank, Don't Know, Refused, or Bad Value" and the checkbox on if it was included in another cost or not used is left blank, it will be allocated. The allocated value is an COSTELEC or COSTGAS value of another unit of the same type of building (UNITSSTR, which shows if a building is a mobile home, detached single family, or attached single family), same ownership status (OWNERSHP), with the same type of fuel (FUELHEAT), same data collection month, and in the same geographic unit (it is not specified what level of geography is used). When this happens, the flag will show that the value is allocated (QCOSTELE, QCOSTGAS).
If an occupied unit has a value for either annual water cost or fuel cost (COSTWATR, COSTFUEL) that is too high (the exact values vary by year), it will be allocated. The allocated value is an COSTWATR or COSTFUEL value of another unit of the same type of building (UNITSSTR, which shows if a building is a mobile home, detached single family, or attached single family), same ownership status (OWNERSHP), and in the same geographic unit (it is not specified what level of geography is used). When this happens, the flag will show that the value is allocated (QCOSTWAT, QCOSTFUE).
If an occupied unit has a value for annual water cost or fuel cost (COSTWATR, COSTFUEL) that is 0 or "Blank, Don't Know, Refused, or Bad Value" and the checkbox on if it was included in another cost or not used is left blank, it will be allocated. The allocated value is an COSTWATR or COSTFUEL value of another unit of the same type of building (UNITSSTR, which shows if a building is a mobile home, detached single family, or attached single family), same ownership status (OWNERSHP), and in the same geographic unit (it is not specified what level of geography is used). When this happens, the flag will show that the value is allocated (QCOSTWAT, QCOSTFUE).
If a vacant unit (VACANCY) has a value for COSTGAS, COSTELEC, COSTWATR, COSTFUEL, it will be changed to "Not in universe."
Internal ACS variable : ELE GAS WAT FUL