ABSTRACT
Housing is the largest single component of US household budgets, comprising more than 40 percent of expenditures as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This chapter focuses on two major US housing statistical debates. It also reviews debate about the number of homeless, an interesting case study of problems that occur when policy makers focus on a single difficult-to-measure statistic. The chapter looks at geographic divisions used in social science research, most of which are based on place of residence. Two studies based on geographic divisions are summarized: the trend in racial segregation and comparison of the desirability of different urban areas. The chapter discusses the American Housing Survey (AHS), called the Annual Housing Survey until 1984 that, provides data on a speedier and more frequent basis than the census. It also describes that the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics monitors housing costs in the Shelter Index, a part of the Consumer Price Index.
