Description

VALUEH reports the value of housing units in contemporary dollars. For 1930, 1940, and from 2008 onward, VALUEH is a continuous variable. The other years report the midpoint of an interval; see codes and frequencies for intervals.

User Note: Universe shifts and changing methods of determining value complicate use of this variable for comparisons across years. Furthermore, dollar amounts were intervalled differently for each year, and the top codes changed. Users must adjust for the effects of inflation; see INCTOT for Consumer Price Index adjustment factors.

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.

VALUEH is a 7-digit numeric code which reports the value of housing units in contemporary dollars. For 1930, 1940, and 2008 onward samples, VALUEH is a continuous variable. Other years report the midpoint of an interval.

VALUEH 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. Further, universe shifts and changing methods of determining value complicate use of this variable for comparisons across years (See Description).

VALUEH Specific Variable Codes
0000000 = N/A (1930)
9999998 = Missing (1940 100%)
9999999 = Missing (1930), N/A (1940-2000, ACS, and PRCS)

2008-onward ACS/PRCS Top Coding, by State: Values Exceeding Top codes, by State: 2008 - onward

Comparability

For 1930 and 1940, enumerators consulted with the owners to estimate the sale value of the housing unit. For single-family, non-farm houses, the estimate included the value of the house and land. In 1940, when data was also collected for single-family farmhouses, the estimate included only the value of the house, not the land. For owner-occupied units that were part of a building containing other households or businesses (except a small room used by the owner for an office), the estimate included only the value of the part of the house in which the owner's household lived. For example, if the owning household of a two-family house rented half of the house to another household, only half of the house's value would have been reported for VALUEH.

For 1960, 1970, and 1980, respondents were to estimate the full current market value of the property, including both house and land, even if the respondents owned only part of the property. As the universe statement indicates, 1960 included units with medical/dental offices, condominiums/cooperatives, and urban 10+ acre units that 1970 and 1980 excluded, while 1970 and 1980 included rural farms on less than 10 acres that 1960 excluded. The 1970 and 1980 universes differ only in that 1980 treated condominiums with only one unit per address as if they were single-family houses, while 1970 grouped such units with condominiums and excluded them from the universe for VALUEH.

For the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the ACS, and the PRCS, respondents estimated value as they did in 1960, 1970, and 1980, but the universe was much more inclusive. Apart from group quarters, all owner-occupied or vacant-for-sale units were covered, including mobile homes, condominiums, units with offices or businesses attached, and houses on lots of any size. For mobile homes in pre-2008 ACS and PRCS data, the value of the land was included in the value; in the 2008 ACS and PRCS, land value was included only if the owner of the mobile home also owned the land.

By using other variables such as COMMUSE, ACREPROP, FARM, and CONDO to eliminate certain units, users can create a fairly comparable housing value universe for 1960 on.

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: All samples
• 1950: --
• 1940: All samples
• 1930: All samples
• 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

VALUEH (House value) and PROPTX99 (Annual property taxes)
ACS Years: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
ACS editing procedure:
Note: Prior to 2008, the question for property value was asked as a checkbox with a write in box for values over $250,000. After 2008, there was no checkbox and all units were asked to write in the value of the property.
For 2008 and later, VALUEH and PROPTX99 are allocated jointly with property insurance costs:
If the reported value of a property (VALUEH) is $10,000,000 or more, it will be replaced with $9,999,999.
For units that are owner-occupied, vacant for sale, or vacant sold not occupied (VACANCY, OWNERSHP), if the property value (VALUEH) is between 1 and 100, it will be multiplied by 1000. Starting in 2015, this also applied to values that between 1 and 999. The flag variable will indicate the variable was edited (QVALUEH).
For units that are vacant for sale or vacant sold not occupied (VACANCY) with a missing property value (VALUEH), it will be allocated. In 2013 and later, a 0 value of VALUEH will also be allocated. The allocated value of VALUEH will be drawn from another unit that is vacant for sale or vacant sold not occupied with a similar type of building (UNITSSTR) and lot size (ACREHOUS).
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if property value (VALUEH), real estate taxes (PROPTX99), and property insurance (PROPINSR) are all missing, they will be allocated jointly. In 2013 and later, a 0 value of VALUEH would also be allocated. The allocated values will be drawn from another unit with similar type of building (UNITSSTR), lot size (ACREHOUS), and ownership status (OWNERSHP). The flag variable will indicate the variable was allocated (QVALUEH, QPROPINS, QPROTX99).
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if property value (VALUEH) and real estate taxes (PROPTX99) are both missing, they will be jointly allocated. In 2013 and later, a 0 value of VALUEH would also be allocated. The allocated value is drawn from another unit with a similar type of building (UNITSSTR), lot size (ACREHOUS), and ownership status (OWNERSHP). The flag variable will indicate the variable was allocated (QVALUEH QPROTX99).
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if property value (VALUEH) is missing but real estate taxes (PROPTX99) are reported, VALUEH will be allocated. In 2013 and later, a 0 value of VALUEH would also be allocated. The allocated value is drawn from another unit with a similar real estate taxes (PROPTX99), type of building (UNITSSTR), lot size (ACREHOUS), and ownership status (OWNERSHP). The flag variable will indicate the variable was allocated (QVALUEH).
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if property value (VALUEH) is reported but real estate taxes (PROPTX99) and property insurance (PROPINSR) are missing, PROPTX99 and PROPINSR will be allocated. The allocated values are drawn from another unit with a similar property value (VALUEH), type of building (UNITSSTR), lot size (ACREHOUS), and ownership status (OWNERSHP). The flag variable will indicate the variable was allocated (QPROPINS, QPROTX99).
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if the real estate tax (PROPTX99) is more than 6% of reported property value (VALUEH), PROPTX99 will be replaced with a missing value.
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if property value (VALUEH) is reported and real estate taxes are missing, PROPTX99 will be allocated from another unit with a similar property value (VALUEH), type of building (UNITSSTR), lot size (ACREHOUS), and ownership status (OWNERSHP). The flag variable will indicate the variable was allocated (QPROTX99).
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if the property insurance (PROPINSR) is more than 2% of reported property value (VALUEH), PROPINSR will be replaced with a missing value.
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if property value (VALUEH) is reported and property insurance (PROPINSR) is missing, PROPINSR will be allocated. The allocated value is drawn from another unit with a similar property value (VALUEH), type of building (UNITSSTR), lot size (ACREHOUS), and ownership status (OWNERSHP). The flag variable will indicate the variable was allocated (QVALUEH).
For an owner-occupied unit (OWNERSHP), if real estate tax (PROPTX99) is greater than 22,500, PROPTX99 will be replaced with 22,500.
If a unit is vacant for sale or vacant sold not occupied (VACANCY), real estate taxes (PROPTX99) and property insurance (PROPINSR) will be made "Not in universe."
If a unit is renter occupied or vacant for any reason except being for sale or sold (OWNERSHP, VACANCY), property value (VALUEH), real estate taxes (PROPTX99), and property insurance (PROPINSR) will all be made "Not in universe."
For 2003 to 2007, the following procedures apply for VALUEH and PROPTX99
Prior to 2008, the question for property value (VALUEH) was asked as a checkbox with a write in box for values over $250,000.
For homes that are owner-occupied, vacant for sale, or vacant sold not occupied (TENURE, VACANCY), if the write-in value for VALUEH is 0, it will be replaced with a missing value. If the write-in value is less than $1000, it will be multiplied by 1000.
If the checkbox is missing, but the write-in value is not, the checkbox will be selected based on the write-in amount.
If the checkbox for $250,000 or greater is selected, but there is no write-in value, it will be allocated from a home that has the same lot size (ACREHOUS) and type of building (UNITSSTR). The flag variable will indicate that the value was allocated (QVALUEH)
If the checkbox and the write-in value contradict each other, a process of "different values" begins. First, the Census looks at the property value from another home with the same building type and lot size. If the write-in value is closer to this value, the write in value will be used for VALUEH. If the checkbox value if closer to this selected value, the checkbox value will be used. If the checkbox and write-in values are equidistant from the selected value, the larger of the two will be used.
If real estate taxes (PROPTX99) are reported but the property value (VALUEH) is not, real estate taxes will be blanked. If real estate taxes are greater than 6% of the reported property value, real estate taxes will be blanked.
If both the property value (VALUEH) and real estate taxes (PROPTX99) are blank, both will be jointly from a home that has the same lot size (ACREHOUS) and type of building (UNITSSTR). The flag variables will indicate that the values were allocated (QVALUEH, QPROTX99).
If the property value (VALUEH) is reported, but real estate taxes (PROPTX99) is blank, PROPTX99 will be allocated from another unit with a similar property value (VALUEH). The flag variable will indicate that the value was allocated (QPROTX99).
If the reported real estate taxes (PROPTX99) exceed the top code, the value will be replaced with the top code.
If a unit is vacant for sale or vacant sold not occupied, the real estate taxes will be replaced with "Not in universe." If a unit is renter occupied (TENURE) or is a vacant unit that is not for sale or sold not occupied (VACANCY), the property value (VALUEH) will be replaced with "Not in universe."
IPUMS editing procedure:
Prior to 2008, IPUMS reports the mid-point of the range reported by Census.
Internal ACS variable : VAL TAX