Decennial Census:

Local Government Uses of Housing Data

GGD-87-56BR: Published: Apr 8, 1987. Publicly Released: Apr 29, 1987.

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In response to a congressional request, GAO surveyed local governments to determine if they used housing data collected from 100 percent of the nation's households during the decennial census.

GAO found that of the 34 cities and counties it surveyed: (1) 31 used housing data collected from 100 percent of the households, while 25 used data collected at the block level; (2) local governments used much of the data to administer specific federal programs; (3) local governments used data items such as units in structure, rent, value, and tenure most frequently; and (4) although some officials expressed concern regarding the reliability, applicability, or usability of certain data items, they did not have alternative data sources for the 100-percent housing data and lacked the resources to gather comparable data.

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