Understanding the Unique Housing Needs of Hispanic Households

Veronica Garrison, Social Science Analyst, Office of Policy Development & Research

To recognize and celebrate the achievements of the nation's Hispanic and Latino community, we observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15 each year. HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is committed to better understanding the unique housing needs of the nearly 20 million Hispanic households living in the United States. This article uses extant housing data sources to examine the characteristics of U.S. Hispanic households.

Article Highlights

• Hispanic, HUD-Assisted Households. Using HUD administrative data, we found that in 2023, approximately 19.2 percent of HUD heads of households identified as Hispanic. The highest percentage of HUD-assisted, Hispanic-headed households (approximately 26%) lived in public housing. In 2023, approximately 86 percent of Hispanic, HUD-assisted households resided in 12 states and U.S. jurisdictions.  
• Housing Characteristics of U.S. Hispanic Households. According to the 2023 American Housing Survey (AHS), approximately 19.7 million households (14.8%) were headed by a person who identified as Hispanic. When examining housing tenure among U.S. Hispanic households, approximately half (49.5%) of Hispanic households were homeowners in 2023. Comparatively, this rate was 67.9% (18.4 percentage points higher) among non-Hispanic households. The rate of severely inadequate housing among Hispanic households (2.2%) was double that of non-Hispanic households (1.1%).
• Housing Insecurity Among Hispanic Renter Households. According to Household Pulse Survey (HPS) data collected from July to September 2024, approximately 17 percent of Hispanic renter households reported being behind on rental payments compared with 13 percent of non-Hispanic renter households during the same period. Hispanic renter households also reported higher rates of fear of imminent eviction than did non-Hispanic renter households (5.5% and 4.1%, respectively).

Data Sources and Methods

This article presents findings about Hispanic households from three data sources: HUD administrative data on the agency's largest rental assistance programs, AHS, and HPS. Data source descriptions below include technical information outlining how each source collects information on ethnicity status and methodological details, such as how the data were subset and analyzed.

HUD Administrative Data

HUD administrative data on public and assisted housing programs contain detailed information about individuals and families living in public and assisted housing. State and local administrators collect information for the public housing and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs through Form HUD-50058 and the Moving to Work HUD-50058 form. This information is stored in the Public and Indian Housing Information and Resource Center. Form HUD-50058 uses five race codes and two ethnicity codes: Hispanic or Latino, and not Hispanic or Latino. HUD asks public housing agency staff to use the same race and ethnicity codes that families use to best indicate each household member’s race and ethnicity, and respondents can select multiple race codes.

Private building owners use Form HUD-50059 to collect information about individuals and families living in assisted multifamily housing; HUD stores the collected information in the Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System. Every household member (parents or guardians for those under age 18) is asked to complete and self-certify Form HUD-27061-H, HUD’s Race and Ethnic Data Reporting Form. The form includes two ethnic categories (Hispanic or Latino, and not Hispanic or Latino) and five race categories. Completing the form is optional, and no penalty is imposed for declining to report this information. Multifamily owners are instructed not to complete these forms on behalf of their tenants.

For the presented analyses, we used the 2023 HUD longitudinal file and subset the study population to include only those who actively participated in one of three HUD program categories during 2023: the HCV program, public housing, and assisted multifamily housing. The unit of analysis was households; therefore, we defined households as “Hispanic, HUD-assisted households” if the head of household reported being Hispanic on HUD administrative forms.

American Housing Survey

The AHS, sponsored by HUD and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, is the most comprehensive national housing survey in the United States. A longitudinal survey at the housing-unit level, the AHS is administered every 2 years in odd-numbered years and collects information on the physical condition of homes and neighborhoods, the composition of the nation's housing, the costs of financing and maintaining homes, and characteristics of the people who live in these homes.

For the presented analyses, we used the 2023 AHS National Public Use File. Specifically, we used the following two variables: HHSPAN, which asks respondent head of households, "Are you Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Cuban American, or some other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino group?" and, HHDTHSP, which asks respondent head of households, "What is the name of his or her other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino group?" The unit of analysis was households; households were defined as "Hispanic households" if the head of household reported being Hispanic and lived in an interviewed, occupied household. We examined outcome variables related to housing tenure, housing costs, and housing adequacy.

Household Pulse Survey

Originally fielded in April 2020, the HPS is an experimental, longitudinal survey designed to quickly capture information about the social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and includes questions about housing circumstances. The HPS collects detailed race and ethnicity information. The current phase of the HPS captures ethnicity with the question, “Are you of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?” Response options are (1) No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin; (2) Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano; (3) Yes, Puerto Rican; (4) Yes, Cuban; and (5) Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (specify). Public use files collapse these responses into Hispanic or non-Hispanic categories.

For presented analyses, we used data from Phase 4.2 (Cycle 8 and Cycle 9) of the HPS, which were collected from July 23 to September 16, 2024. We examined two key housing insecurity metrics: households behind on their rental payments and households fearful of imminent eviction.

Key Findings by Data Source

HUD 2023 Administrative Data

HUD provides housing assistance to approximately 4.5 million households annually. In 2023, approximately 19.2 percent of HUD heads of households identified as Hispanic (n = approximately 876,000 households).

We observed several trends in the distribution of Hispanic HUD-assisted households by HUD program category (figure 1). First, the distribution of HUD-assisted households varied significantly (p<0.01) by HUD program type. Approximately 26 percent of public housing households were headed by a Hispanic person in 2023 compared with 18 percent and 17 percent of HCV households and assisted multifamily households, respectively.

Key geographic differences emerged when examining the distribution of HUD-assisted households (table 1). In 2023, Hispanic households made up more than 20 percent of HUD-assisted households in 12 states and territories. During 2023, approximately 86 percent of Hispanic, HUD-assisted households lived in 12 jurisdictions.

Table 1. List of U.S. States and Territories With the Largest Share of Hispanic Households Receiving HUD Housing Assistance, 2023 HUD Administrative Data
State or Territory	% Hispanic Households*	Number of Households**
Arizona	35.35	13,900
California	28.71	133,600
Colorado	29.62	17,000
Connecticut	41.17	31,800
Florida	31.00	58,400
Massachusetts	32.25	59,500
New Jersey	29.72	45,800
New Mexico	57.60	12,400
New York	36.76	184,700
Puerto Rico	99.38	96,400
Rhode Island	30.61	10,800
Texas	34.47	88,800
*Denominator is all HUD-assisted households. **Rounded to nearest 100.

We also examined household characteristics of Hispanic, HUD-assisted households and compared them with those of non-Hispanic, HUD-assisted households (figure 2). Nationally, Hispanic, HUD-assisted households reported a higher percentage of children living in the household than did non-Hispanic, HUD-assisted households (35.4% and 32.1%, respectively). The rate of older adult heads of households (those aged 62 and older) was similar among non-Hispanic, HUD-assisted households and Hispanic, HUD-assisted households. Finally, the prevalence of heads of households living with a disability was lower among Hispanic, HUD-assisted households than among non-Hispanic HUD-assisted households (14.1% and 21.1%, respectively).

Finally, HUD administrative forms capture detailed information about a household's total annual income (table 2). On average, in 2023, the total annual income of HUD-assisted households was approximately $17,000; the median annual income across all HUD-assisted households was approximately $13,400. We observed minor differences in annual incomes between Hispanic, HUD-assisted households and non-Hispanic, HUD-assisted households (table 2).

Generally, Hispanic, HUD-assisted households reported higher total annual incomes in 2023 than did non-Hispanic, HUD-assisted households. Notably, the mean total annual income for HUD-assisted households was $17,800, which represents a household income that is $800 higher than that of the average of a non-Hispanic, HUD-assisted household. Note that the estimates shown in table 2 are not adjusted, and this variation could be attributable to the geographic concentration of subgroups.

Table 2. Mean and Median Total Annual Income by Hispanic Household Status, 2023 HUD Administrative Data
	Mean* ($)	Median* ($)
All HUD Households	17,100	13,400
Hispanic, HUD-Assisted	17,800	12,800
Non-Hispanic, HUD-Assisted	17,000	13,555
*Rounded to nearest 100.

The above findings underscore the potential for researchers, administrators, and policymakers to leverage HUD administrative data on public and assisted housing programs to disaggregate data for Hispanic households, allowing a better understanding of this unique population.

American Housing Survey

According to the AHS, the United States had 133.2 million occupied housing units in 2023. Of these, approximately 19.7 million (14.8%) were headed by a householder who identified as Hispanic. Among Hispanic household heads, approximately 56 percent identified as Mexican and approximately 11 percent identified as Puerto Rican (table 3).

Table 3. Detailed Origin of Hispanic Heads of Households, 2023 American Housing Survey
Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino Group	Weighted Frequency*	Percentage	% SE
Mexican	11,011,500	55.8	0.72
Puerto Rican	2,075,200	10.5	0.47
Cuban	934,200	4.7	0.28
Dominican	812,800	4.1	0.31
Salvadoran	580,400	2.9	0.23
Central American (excl. Salvadoran)	1,275,700	6.5	0.34
South American	1,663,100	8.4	0.40
Other Hispanic	1,376,800	7.0	0.38
*Rounded to nearest 100. SE = standard error.

When examining the distribution of housing tenure among U.S. Hispanic households, we found that approximately half (49.5%) of Hispanic households were homeowners in 2023 compared with 67.9 percent of non-Hispanic households (figure 3). Similarly, approximately half (49.0%) of Hispanic households were renters in 2023, and 30.6 percent of non-Hispanic households were renters during the same period.

Next, we examined how total monthly housing costs differed among Hispanic renter households and non-Hispanic renter households (figure 4). Although the differences in costs between Hispanic and non-Hispanic households are negligible, several differences emerge when examining origin subgroups, underscoring the importance of disaggregating data. Figure 5 shows that the South American subgroup reported the highest mean total monthly housing costs, and the Puerto Rican subgroup reported the lowest mean total monthly housing costs in 2023.

Finally, we used the 2023 AHS to examine housing adequacy, a key measure that conveys how well the U.S. housing stock meets minimum standards of decency and suitability. The AHS housing adequacy measure includes three classifications: severely inadequate, moderately inadequate, and adequate. Hispanic households reported experiencing severely inadequate housing at double the rate of non-Hispanic households (figure 6).

Household Pulse Survey

The HPS captures detailed information from respondents about race and ethnicity; however, aggregate statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau and the publicly released data files do not contain detailed ethnicity information that allows users to examine origin subgroups. Despite this limitation, the HPS reveals several key findings regarding the self-reported housing insecurity status of Hispanic households. 

First, we examined the percentage of households reporting being behind on rent by Hispanic household status (figure 7). During the summer of 2024, Hispanic renter households reported higher rates of being behind on rental payments than did non-Hispanic renter households (17.1% and 12.7%, respectively). The rate for Hispanic renter households was nearly 5 percentage points higher than that for non-Hispanic renter households, suggesting a significant housing insecurity disparity for this subgroup.

Next, we examined the percentage of households reporting fear of imminent eviction by Hispanic household status (figure 8). During the summer of 2024, Hispanic renter households reported a higher rate of fear of imminent eviction than did non-Hispanic renter households (5.5% and 4.1%, respectively).

Conclusion

Hispanic households face unique housing challenges in the United States. PD&R encourages researchers to consider ways in which they can use housing data to advance housing research about Hispanic households and persons. The presented analyses demonstrate how a disaggregated lens on administrative and survey housing data can support broader efforts to identify and reduce disparities in access to safe and affordable housing for one of America's largest ethnic minority populations — Hispanic households. Although the analyses in this article present several high-level findings, a significant opportunity exists to further disaggregate data to better understand the unique housing characteristics and needs of Hispanic households and Hispanic persons living in the United States.