These data tables are cross-tabulations that provide the distribution of households by household income, converted to Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or Area Median Income (AMI) bins, and tenure status (owner or renter), specified by location and various household characteristics: vintage, size (floor area), cooling system type, and heating fuel type. The household characteristics that are included in these tables were identified as strongly correlated with household income [cite future paper, other already published source].

These tables are derived from the 2013 American Housing Survey (AHS), the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year tables (with 2011 data removed), and the 2015 ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). The ACS and ACS-PUMS data drawn from multiple tables are constructed into a cross-tabulation that includes census tract, household income, building unit count, heating fuel type, household size (number of occupants), tenure status, and building vintage. These data were obtained from the Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool, and further details regarding the methodology to combine the ACS tables are available [LEAD Methodology]. The AHS data are drawn from the published Public Use Microdata and include the aforementioned ACS variables, as well as cooling system type and unit size (floor area measured in square feet).

Household size and income were converted to FPL and AMI, which are measures of household income based on household size and, in the case of AMI, location. The FPL bin thresholds are derived from the 2016 guidelines, and the AMI bin thresholds are derived from the 2017 guidelines and the corresponding family size adjustments.

Though these data are provided at the census tract level, due to the small sample size and uneven geographic resolution in the 2013 AHS, it is recommended that any published results using these data be aggregated to at least the county level. 

Each file contains a single header row. The columns in the header row in each file are as follows. For all of the files, the common columns are: Dependency=Location Census Tract, Dependency=Vintage, Dependency=Geometry House Size, Dependency=HVAC System Cooling Type, Dependency=Location EPW, Dependency=Location County, Dependency=Heating Fuel, and Count. In the files using FPL bins, the additional columns are: Option=Owner 0-50, Option=Owner 50-100, Option=Owner 100-150, Option=Owner 150-200, Option=Owner 200-250, Option=Owner 250-300, Option=Owner 300+, Option=Renter 0-50, Option=Renter 50-100, Option=Renter 100-150, Option=Renter 150-200, Option=Renter 200-250, Option=Renter 250-300, and Option=Renter 300+. The numbers in each of these columns corresponds to an FPL percentage range, e.g., "0-50" denotes the range from 0% to 50% FPL. In the files using AMI bins, the additional columns are: Option=Owner 0-30, Option=Owner 30-50, Option=Owner 50-80, Option=Owner 80-100, Option=Owner 100-120, Option=Owner 120+, Option=Renter 0-30, Option=Renter 30-50, Option=Renter 50-80, Option=Renter 80-100, Option=Renter 100-120, and Option=Renter 120+. Similarly, the numbers in each of these columns corresponds to an AMI percentage range, e.g., “0-30” denotes the range from 0% to 30% AMI. For each row in the table, the sum of the values in the columns beginning with "Option=" is 1.

Each of the columns that begins with "Dependency=" contains a range of potential values with specific formatting. Details regarding the formatting and expected contents of these columns is articulated further below.

Dependency=Location Census Tract

Census tract is recorded in an expanded form of the standard census tract code. A standard census tract code takes the form AABBBCCCCCC, where AA is the two-digit state FIPS number, BBB is the three-digit county FIPS number, and CCCCCC is the census tract number. This standard form is expanded in this column to be GAA0BBB0CCCCCC, i.e., the entire census tract code is preceded by the letter G, and a zero is inserted between the state and county numbers and the county and census tract numbers.

Dependency=Vintage

Original household construction year.

<1940, 1940-59, 1960-79, 1980-99, 2000-09, >2010

Dependency=Geometry House Size

Household size measured in square feet.

0-1499, 1500-2499, 2500-3499, 3500+

Dependency=HVAC System Cooling Type

Cooling system configuration, if any. "Room" includes portable and window air conditioning units.

None, Central, Room

Dependency=Location EPW

The location specified using the corresponding EnergyPlus Weather File (EPW) full file name. In general, it follows the format USA_DD_Weather.Station.Location.String.FFFFFF_TMY3.epw, where DD is the capitalized two letter state abbreviation and FFFFFF is the six-digit Master Station Catalog (MASLIB) number for that weather station (also referred to as the USAF site identifier). These correspond to the five-digit World Meteorological Organization (WMO) station identifiers with an appended zero, except for stations that do not have a WMO code. Those stations share the first five digits with the nearest WMO location and the sixth digit is an assigned numeric index 1-9. The Weather.Station.Location.String portion will vary in length and number of words separated by periods based on the name of the location of that weather station.

Dependency=Location County

The county recorded as a five-digit combination of the two-digit state FIPS number and three-digit county FIPS number (i.e., AABBB).

Dependency=Heating Fuel

Electricity, Natural Gas, Propane, Fuel Oil, Other Fuel, None

Dependency=Geometry Building Type

1 Detached, 1 Attached, 2 Unit, 3-4 Unit, 5-9 Unit, 10-19 Unit, 20-49 Unit, 50+ Unit, Other Unit

Note: "Other Unit" refers to mobile homes and non-traditional housing types.