Housing

This Is the City Where People Are Most Likely to Lose Their Homes

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: May 3, 2021 8:25 am

Shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19, the U.S. Census Bureau launched a vast initiative to measure the effects of the disease on Americans. It is called the Household Pulse Survey. So far, the results have been released in three phases, which began with the first study that was in the field starting April 23, 2020. The data is released by week.

Each weekly report actually covers about two weeks of information gathered by the Census Bureau and other federal agencies. Among the questions asked each week is whether adults live in households where they believe they are likely to be evicted or foreclosed upon in the next two months. The question is asked of those who are behind in their rent or mortgages. The answer may be that they feel eviction or foreclosure is “very likely” or “somewhat likely.”

Current data covers Week 27 and includes the results of questions about income loss, the percentage of Americans who work from home, food scarcity, food insecurity, chances of eviction or foreclosure, difficulty in paying household expenses, whether people have received a COVID-19 vaccine and whether those not vaccinated plan to be so in the future.

The work is done in partnership with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Center for Education Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Social Security Administration and USDA Economic Research Service.

Data come from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and America’s largest metro areas.

In the section of the Household Pulse Survey called “Likelihood of Eviction or Foreclosure,” the city at the top of the list is Phoenix at 42.2%. Seattle follows at 39.8%. This is against a national average of 28.1%. Riverside, California, is at the other end of the spectrum with a number of 13.3%.

Click here to see in which states people are most likely to lose their homes.