Description

VACANCY identifies vacant housing units and reports the reason for the vacancy (e.g., for rent, for sale, used only seasonally). To be counted as "vacant," a unit has to be in livable condition and intended for residential use. For newly-constructed units, all exterior windows and doors must be installed, and usable floors must be in place. Dilapidated, condemned, and nonresidential buildings are thus excluded. Mobile homes and trailers (in 1970 and 1980) were counted only if they were intended for occupancy where they stood (i.e., they were not still in a factory or retailer's sales lot). Enumerators obtained vacancy information from landlords, owners, neighbors, or anyone else who might have known about the unit's status; in 1970, they could rely on personal inspection.

User Caution: By default, the extraction system rectangularizes the data: that is, it puts household information on the person records and does not retain the households as separate records. As a result, rectangular files will not contain vacant units, since there are no persons corresponding to these units. Researchers wishing to retain vacant units should instead choose a hierarchical file format when creating their extract.

Comparability

This variable is essentially comparable across years. In every year, the form distinguished the following categories: "for rent," "for sale," "rented or sold but not yet occupied," and "other vacant." The degree to which the form distinguished among vacant units intended for occasional use, for seasonal use, and for migratory workers differed across years.

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: All samples
• 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: All samples
• 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

VACANCY (Vacancy status)
ACS Years: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
ACS editing procedure:
The ACS editing procedure for VACANCY uses a variable about the record type that is not published. If a unit that has a record type that indicates it is "vacant regular housing" but has a value for VACANCY that is blank, don't know, refused, or a bad value, the value of VACANCY will be allocated. If this unit has a valid value for RENT, VACANCY will be replaced with "For rent." If it doesn't have a valid value for RENT, but it does have a valid value for property value (VALUEH), VACANCY will be replaced with "For sale only." If the unit has neither a valid value for RENT or for VALUEH, VACANCY will be allocated from another vacant unit without a second residence in the same geographic hierarchy. When this happens, the flag will show that the value is allocated (QVACANCY).
If a unit that has a record type that indicates it is "vacant temporarily occupied housing units" but has a value for VACANCY that is blank, don't know, refused, or a bad value, the value of VACANCY will be replaced with "Seasonal/recreational/occasional use." When this happens, the flag will show that the value is allocated (QVACANCY).
If a unit that has a record type that indicates it is occupied, but has a value for VACANCY, it will be replaced with "Not in universe."
Internal ACS variable : VAC