For purposes of the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey, a housing unit may be a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is occupied (or, if vacant, is intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any other individuals in the building and that have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. For vacant units, the criteria of separateness and direct access are applied to the intended occupants whenever possible. If that information cannot be obtained, the criteria are applied to the previous occupants.
Occupied housing unit
A housing unit is occupied if it is the usual place of residence of the person or group of people living in it at the time of enumeration or if the occupants are only temporarily absent, that is, away on vacation or business. The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated people who share living quarters.
Vacant housing unit
A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it at the time of enumeration, unless its occupants are only temporarily absent, or if no response is received to the Census Bureau’s questionnaire or housing unit canvassing. Units temporarily occupied at the time of enumeration entirely by people who have a usual residence elsewhere are classified as vacant.
Tenure
All occupied housing units are classified as either owner-occupied or renter-occupied.
Year structure built
The data on year structure built were obtained from answers to the American Community Survey, which was asked on a sample basis. Year structure built refers to when the building was first constructed, not when it was remodeled, added to, or converted.