Boston, MA
| | | |
| | Overall Rankings | |
| | | |
| | Metro Area (out of 45): | |
| | Healthy Housing: 37th | |
| | Prior Rank: 29th
| |
| | | |
| | 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, the Boston area had fewer homes with room heaters without flues. Rental properties were less likely to have water leaks from the inside.
Areas for Improvement: Compared to the national average, Boston area homes had more problems with cracks or holes in walls, signs of mice, water leaks from the outside, flush toilet breakdowns, heating equipment breakdowns, and lacking kitchen facilities. Homes outside the central city were more likely to have cracks or holes in walls, signs of mice, and water leaks from the outside, lacking complete plumbing and kitchen facilities, and siding and foundation problems. Homes in the city were more likely to have holes in floors or walls, signs of mice, water supply stoppage, flush toilet breakdowns, heating equipment breakdown, lacking complete kitchens, and foundation problems. Compared with the national average, rental homes showed increased signs of mice, flush toilet breakdowns, and lack complete kitchen facilities. Owner-occupied homes had more issues with cracks or holes in walls, signs of mice, water leaks from outside, lack of adequate kitchen facilities, and siding problems.
Community Information: The Boston MSA includes all of Suffolk County and parts of Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Worcester counties, Massachusetts. In 2007, the MSA included 1,057,100 occupied dwelling units, 21.5% of which were located in the central city of Boston. Of the cities surveyed, the housing stock of the MSA ranked among the oldest and has the highest percentage of rental dwellings. The percentage of pre-1940 homes ranked 1st (41.8%) for the MSA and 4th (57.8%) for the central city. The median house age in the Boston MSA was 1952. The percentage of rental units ranked 7th (30.6%) for the MSA and 5th (63.4%) for the central city. Compared to other locations, Boston had a higher poverty rate. Its poverty rate ranked 19th (10.7%) for the entire MSA and 22nd (19.0%) for homes in the central city.