AHS Update: Version 1.1 of the National and Metropolitan Areas 2015 American Housing Survey Public Use Files

Hello, On Wednesday May 24, 2017, HUD and Census released Version 1.1 of the National and Metropolitan Areas 2015 American Housing Survey (AHS) Public Use Files (PUFs). Version 1.1 includes 10 new variables, additional response codes to five variables released in version 1.0, and minor edits to three variables released in version 1.0. Corresponding updates have been made in the AHS Codebook Interactive Tool.

This is just another way HUD and Census continue to make improvements to the 2015 American Housing Survey results to make the data easier for every AHS user.

Here are some important details about the latest version of the PUF.

Weighting Variables
There are no changes to the weighting variables.

Geographic Variable OMB13CBSA
In version 1.0, the geographic variable OMB13CBSA included specific Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA) codes for the 15 largest metropolitan areas as well as the ten other metropolitan areas oversampled for the 2015 AHS. In version 1.1, the OMB13CBSA variable includes two new values: 99998 and 99999.

- Value 99998
     • Denotes all other 2013 OMB metropolitan areas

- Value 99999
     • Denotes micropolitan areas and non-metropolitan areas

With the addition of the two new values, you can now produce 2013 “metro/non-metro” estimates for each Census Division (any housing unit record with an OMB13CBSA value not equal to 99999 is in a metropolitan area).

New PUF Variable - MULTIGEN
The new PUF variable MULTIGEN is a useful variable for performing analysis on households with more than two generations of family members. The PUF variable categories mimic the multigenerational household categories present in the AHS Table Creator.

Updated PUF Variable - BATHROOMS
The PUF variable BATHROOMS now includes additional categories. Now you can conduct analysis of housing units with less than one full bathroom.

2015 AHS PUF Version Control Documents
The 2015 AHS PUF version control documents (National and Metropolitan Areas) list each variable added or edited between version 1.0 and 1.1.

The HUD and Census American Housing Survey team always welcomes feedback, not only on ways we could improve the survey, but also on how you and your colleagues are using the survey to assist you in your efforts. We also can assist you with your AHS user needs. We can provide insights, conduct analysis, direct you to data, and develop communication data products, like summary sheets and infographics.

If you have any questions or need our help, contact the AHS team at 1-800-245-2691 and by email helpdesk@huduser.gov.