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AHS 2003 Data Released!

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The 2003 American Housing Survey national microdata is now available. You may download the file in SAS transport and ASCII formats from the HUD USER web site at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahs.html . The SAS version is also available via FTP from the Census Bureau at https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/H150-03.pdf .

This survey features a new RACE variable consistent with the 2000 census, allowing for multiple race classification. There are 21 race codes, including all the single-race classifications, all but one of the two-race combinations, and some of the three- and four-race combinations. There are also two "other" codes, one for "other 2-3 races" and one for "other 4+ races."

This is also the first AHS that uses 2000 census controls for housing unit totals.

The HUD USER web site includes a zip archive containing descriptive statistics, file content listings, comparisons to previous surveys, and the SAS "file flattener" program. The instrument Q-code and Census Bureau table specifications are available as separate downloads.

An updated codebook for the AHS, incorporating the 2003 changes, will shortly be available for download in PDF format from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahs.html . In the meantime, see the end of this message for a list of the new codes for RACE.

The current release does not include HUD income limits, fair market rents, and poverty levels. We are still discussing with the Census Bureau whether these data will be included in the main AHS dataset or released as a separate file.

This data release is the earliest ever for the American Housing Survey. The previous record was the release of the 2001 national file on June 21, 2002. My thanks to everyone who participated in the data preparation and quality control work.

Dav Vandenbroucke
Economist
U.S. Dept. HUD
david_a._vandenbroucke@hud.gov
202-708-1060 ext. 5890


RACE Codes:

1 White Only
2 Black Only
3 American Indian, Alaskan Native Only
4 Asian Only
5 Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Only

6 White / Black
7 White / American Indian, Alaskan Native
8 White / Asian
9 White / Hawaiian, Pacific Islander

10 Black / American Indian, Alaskan Native
11 Black / Asian
12 Black / Hawaiian, Pacific Islander

13 American Indian, Alaskan Native / Asian

14 Asian / Hawaiian, Pacific Islander

15 White / Black / American Indian, Alaskan Native
16 White / Black / Asian
17 White / American Indian, Alaskan Native / Asian
18 White / Asian / Hawaiian, Pacific Islander

19 White / Black / American Indian, Alaskan Native / Asian

20 Other combinations of 2 or 3 Races
21 Other combinations of 4 or 5 Races