Houston, TX
| | | |
| | Overall Rankings | |
| | | |
| | Metro Area (out of 45): | |
| | Healthy Housing: 39th | |
| | Prior Rank: 34th | |
| | | |
| | Central City (out of 44): | |
| | Healthy Housing: 35th | |
| | Prior Rank: 30th | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | Data source: 2007 American Housing Survey | |
| | | |
Location Summary
Positive Findings: Compared to the national average, homes in the Houston area were less likely to have signs of mice or water leaks from outside or heating equipment breakdown. Areas outside the central city were less likely to have signs of mice and water leaks from the outside. Compared to the national average, central city homes had fewer signs of mice and heating equipment breakdown. Rental homes were less likely than the national average to lack complete plumbing, have signs of mice, suffer heating equipment breakdown, and have rooms without a working electrical outlet. Owner-occupied homes had fewer signs of mice and water leaks from the outside, compared to the national average.
Areas for Improvement: Compared to the national average, Houston-area homes had more cracks or holes in the walls, signs of rats, water supply stoppages, flush toilet and sewage disposal breakdowns, a lack of kitchen facilities, room heaters without flues, and roofing, siding, window, and foundation problems. Central city areas were more likely to have units with open cracks or holes in walls, signs of rats, water supply stoppage, flush toilet and sewage disposal breakdowns, room heaters without a flue, and roofing, siding, and foundation problems. Units outside the central city were more likely to have open cracks in the walls, water supply stoppage, sewage disposal breakdowns, room heaters without a flue, a lack of adequate kitchen facilities, and siding and window problems. Rental homes had more issues with water supply stoppage, flush toilet and sewage disposal breakdowns, and room heaters without a flue, compared to the national averages. Owner-occupied homes were more likely to face issues with open cracks in the walls, broken plaster or peeling paint, signs of rats, water supply stoppage, flush toilet breakdowns, room heater without a flue, a lack of adequate kitchen facilities, and roofing, siding, window, and foundation problems.
Community Information: The Houston MSA is comprised of Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Waller counties, Texas. In 2007, the MSA included 1,871,900 occupied dwelling units, 36.3% of which were located in the central city of Houston. The housing stock of the MSA ranked among the youngest and least heavily rental for the entire MSA and most heavily rental of the cities surveyed for the central city. The percentage of post-1940 homes ranked 7th-youngest (22.9%) for the MSA and 5th-youngest (52.5%) for the central city. The median house age in the Houston MSA was 1980. The percentage of rental units ranked 8th-least heavily rental (30.6%) for the MSA and 14th-most heavily rental (63.4%) for the central city. Compared to other locations, Houston had a higher poverty rate, ranking 25th (12.4%) for the entire MSA and 28th (20.1%) for homes in the central city.