Reference: U.S. Census Releases American Housing Survey Statistics For 25 Metropolitan Areas

From the U.S. Census:

More than half, 51.5 percent, of U.S. homes have a prepared emergency evacuation kit, according to new metropolitan area-level American Housing Survey statistics released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The level of preparedness varies by metro area, with about 70 percent of households in the Miami and Tampa, Fla., metro areas having emergency supplies readily available in the event of an evacuation. The Austin (Texas), Chicago and Minneapolis metro areas had among the lowest rate of homes with an emergency preparedness kit.

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Added to the 2013 survey were questions about disaster preparedness, community involvement, neighborhood characteristics and public transportation. Below are highlights from some of the findings from the 25 metropolitan areas surveyed:

• The Austin, Chicago, Minneapolis, Tucson, Boston, Rochester (N.Y.), and Nashville (Tenn.) metro areas had among the lowest rate of homes with an emergency preparedness kit.
• Austin, Louisville (Ky.), Nashville, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Tucson were among the highest metro areas with pets in the home with over 53 percent of homes owning at least one pet. The New York City metro area had the lowest at around 25 percent of homes with a pet.
• Nationally, 27.8 percent of households volunteered in their community. The Minneapolis, Louisville, Hartford (Conn.), Boston and Seattle metro areas had some of the highest rates of  volunteerism with over 34 percent of households providing free work in their communities.
• 78.7 percent of U.S. households agreed that their neighbors could be trusted. Minneapolis, Nashville and Richmond (Va.) metro areas had among the highest rates of households who felt their neighbors were trustworthy.  Some of the lowest rates came from Las Vegas, Orlando and New York City.
• 14.3 percent of U.S. households lived in neighborhoods with bike lanes, while 45.3 percent had adequately lit sidewalks. The New York City metro area had the highest rate of adequately lit sidewalks at 75.8 percent. The lowest rates were in Nashville, Oklahoma City, Richmond and Tucson.

Standard Results from the American Housing Survey
In addition to the new survey topics, the American Housing Survey covers topics such as physical housing characteristics and financial characteristics that can be tracked historically. Below are highlights from the national and metropolitan statistical area level findings:

• Median monthly property insurance for owners was highest in the Miami metro area at $167 per month. Homeowners in Rochester, Tucson and Las Vegas had among the lowest median monthly property insurance payments, ranging from $42 to $45.
• Nationally, 11.1 percent of homeowners considered themselves to be underwater on their mortgages because they had a reported mortgage balance greater than their opinion of their home’s value. Detroit, Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Tucson reported some of the highest rates of underwater mortgages, with at least 19 percent of households owing more on their mortgages than their homes are thought to be worth.
• Nationally, median monthly real estate taxes were $150. The Northern New Jersey metro area had the highest median monthly real estate taxes at $643. Some of the lowest taxes were found in Louisville, Oklahoma City, Tampa, Las Vegas, Nashville and Jacksonville (Fla.), which ranged from $100 to $111 per month
• The majority of metro areas sampled had less than 10 percent of households reporting their drinking water to be unsafe. The highest reported rate came from Las Vegas, with 24.6 percent of households considering their water to be unsafe.

Complete Set of Data Tables
All tables(.xls) aggregated into a single workbook for individual metropolitan areas

• Austin
• Baltimore
• Boston
• Chicago
• Detroit
• Hartford
• Houston
• Jacksonville
• Las Vegas
• Louisville
• Miami
• Minneapolis-St. Paul
• Nashville 
• New York City 
• Northern New Jersey
• Oklahoma City
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• Richmond
• Rochester
• San Antonio
• Seattle
• Tampa-St. Petersburg
• Tucson
• Washington DC

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