The United States was already an urban Nation when the first housing census counted 37 million housing units in 1940. The majority of housing units inside metropolitan areas were located in their central cities. Regional location of housing favored the Northeast and Midwest, where 59 percent of housing units were located.

1940 was an opportune time for the first housing census. The Nation was at a turning point. After growth rates of more than 20 percent in occupied housing units in the first three decades of the 20th century, the decade of depression prior to 1940 had severely slowed population and housing growth and brought hard times to American families.

This report is part of the collection of scanned historical documents available to the public.