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This information is pre-Katrina.
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Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood: Housing & Housing Costs

Data Tables: People & Household CharacteristicsHousing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Neighborhood Characteristics

Housing characteristics

Definitions and source links

Occupancy status (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total housing units (full count)
  5,601
  215,091
  1,847,181
  115,904,641
  Occupied housing units
  86.1%
  87.5%
  89.7%
  91.0%
  Vacant housing units
  13.9%
  12.5%
  10.3%
  9.0%
Renters and owners (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total occupied housing units
  4,820
  188,251
  1,656,053
  105,480,101
  Owner occupied
  59.0%
  46.5%
  67.9%
  66.2%
The Lower Ninth Ward has a higher rate of homeownership than the city as a whole. Why is that, and what does it mean for the neighborhood? Read these insights from Lower Ninth Ward residents...
  Renter occupied
  41.0%
  53.5%
  32.1%
  33.8%

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Full-count Characteristics (SF1). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

Definitions and source links

Housing age (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total housing units (sample count)
  5,601
  215,091
  1,847,181
  115,904,641
  Built 1999 to March 2000
  0.6%
  0.4%
  2.2%
  2.4%
  Built 1995 to 1998
  1.3%
  1.3%
  6.7%
  7.3%
  Built 1990 to 1994
  1.0%
  1.3%
  5.7%
  7.3%
  Built 1980 to 1989
  5.6%
  8.2%
  18.4%
  15.8%
  Built 1970 to 1979
  8.2%
  13.6%
  22.4%
  18.5%
  Built 1960 to 1969
  21.0%
  15.1%
  16.3%
  13.7%
  Built 1950 to 1959
  31.8%
  16.9%
  12.8%
  12.7%
  Built 1949 or earlier
  30.5%
  43.2%
  15.5%
  22.3%

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

Occupancy turnover

Definitions and source links

Length of residency (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total occupied housing units
  4,820
  188,251
  1,656,053
  105,480,101
  Moved in 1999 to March 2000
  12.6%
  20.6%
  18.7%
  19.9%
  Moved in 1995 to 1998
  20.8%
  28.5%
  26.9%
  28.9%
  Moved in 1990 to 1994
  12.7%
  15.9%
  15.6%
  16.1%
  Moved in 1989 or earlier
  53.9%
  35.0%
  38.8%
  35.1%

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

Housing costs

From this point, a s you scroll down the page, you'll notice that the numbers get more interesting as we look at the relationship between income and housing costs.

We've mixed in tips on understanding some of the subtle differences between terms used to describe housing costs and affordability and, as always, have included links to the technical definition for each term.

What's the difference between contract rent and gross rent? Contract rent is the monthly rent agreed to (for example, the "rent" amount one finds advertised in the Classifieds), while gross rent is the contract rent plus the estimated monthly costs of utilities (electricity, gas, water, sewer and fuels) whether they are paid for by the owner or the renter. Using gross rent helps to understand the total housing costs and eliminates the effect of the different payment arrangements such as water or electricity included in rent.

Definitions and source links
Average rental costs (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent
  1,796
  96,257
  474,873
  33,386,326
  Average contract rent
  $280
  $404
  $377
  $565
  Average gross rent
  $444
  $518
  $490
  $657

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

How can you compare rental to home ownership costs? If you use gross rent, it can be compared to selected monthly owner costs to understand the total costs of housing for renters and owners in a given area.

Definitions and source links

Owner costs with mortgage (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total owner-occupied housing units with a mortgage
  1,262
  58,667
  643,900
  47,065,828
Owner-occupied housing units (with a mortgage) paying selected owner costs of...  
 
   
  ...less than $200
  0.0%
  0.2%
  1.1%
  0.3%
  ...$200-299
  1.5%
  0.8%
  2.2%
  0.9%
  ...$300-399
  7.6%
  2.3%
  4.7%
  2.2%
  ...$400-499
  12.0%
  4.9%
  8.5%
  4.1%
  ...$500-599
  18.6%
  8.5%
  11.4%
  6.0%
  ...$600-699
  16.5%
  10.1%
  12.2%
  7.5%
  ...$700-799
  13.6%
  11.2%
  11.8%
  8.3%
  ...$800-899
  10.6%
  10.9%
  10.1%
  8.5%
  ...$900-999
  3.8%
  9.4%
  8.1%
  8.1%
  ...$1,000-1,249
  10.2%
  14.8%
  13.3%
  17.1%
   ...$1,250-1,499
  3.1%
  9.3%
  7.0%
  12.3%
  ...$1,500-1,999
  2.2%
  8.7%
  5.8%
  13.7%
  ...$2,000-2,499
  0.3%
  3.9%
  2.0%
  5.6%
  ...$2,500-2,999
  0.0%
  1.7%
  0.8%
  2.4%
  ...$3,000 or more
  0.0%
  3.3%
  1.0%
  3.0%
Cost of gross rent (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent
  1,796
  96,257
  474,873
  33,386,326
Renter-occupied housing units (that pay cash rent) paying gross rent of...  
 
   
  ...less than $100
  1.1%
  3.1%
  2.0%
  1.0%
  ...$100-149
  1.4%
  3.4%
  3.0%
  1.9%
  ...$150-199
  4.3%
  3.3%
  4.0%
  2.7%
  ...$200-249
  5.5%
  3.3%
  4.5%
  2.5%
  ...$250-299
  7.7%
  4.9%
  5.7%
  2.9%
  ...$300-349
  11.4%
  6.4%
  7.6%
  4.0%
  ...$350-399
  12.0%
  8.5%
  9.2%
  5.3%
  ...$400-449
  13.6%
  9.1%
  10.5%
  6.6%
  ...$450-499
  11.7%
  10.4%
  10.9%
  7.3%
  ...$500-549
  9.2%
  9.6%
  9.5%
  7.9%
   ...$550-599
  8.4%
  8.3%
  8.0%
  7.7%
  ...$600-649
  2.4%
  6.2%
  6.2%
  7.4%
  ...$650-699
  2.4%
  5.0%
  4.7%
  6.7%
  ...$700-749
  1.4%
  3.7%
  3.3%
  6.0%
  ...$750-799
  1.1%
  2.9%
  2.5%
  5.0%
  ...$800-899
  3.0%
  4.2%
  3.3%
  7.8%
   ...$900-999
  2.4%
  2.7%
  1.9%
  5.2%
  ...$1000 or more
  1.0%
  5.0%
  3.2%
  12.1%
Owner costs with mortgage as a percent of household income (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total owner-occupied housing units with a mortgage
  1,098
  49,885
  516,660
  38,663,887
Owner-occupied housing units with a mortgage paying selected owner costs...
 
  
 
  
  ...less than 10% of household income
  6.8%
  7.6%
  10.2%
  7.2%
  ...10-14% of household income
  10.2%
  15.7%
  20.3%
  16.2%
  ...15-19% of household income
  14.1%
  17.6%
  20.5%
  20.4%
  ...20-24% of household income
  12.8%
  14.5%
  14.6%
  17.2%
  ...25-29% of household income
  8.5%
  10.7%
  9.2%
  11.8%
  ...30-34% of household income
  4.1%
  7.1%
  5.9%
  7.5%
  ...35-39% of household income
  10.2%
  4.9%
  4.0%
  4.8%
  ...40-49% of household income
  7.4%
  6.3%
  4.7%
  5.3%
  ...50% or more of household income
  24.8%
  14.3%
  9.7%
  9.1%
  ...in which percentage of income was not computed
  1.1%
  1.3%
  0.9%
  0.5%
Gross rent as a percent of household income (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total specified renter-occupied housing units
  1,969
  100,328
  525,722
  35,199,502
Renter-occupied housing units paying gross rent...
 
  
 
  
  ...less than 10% of household income
  3.5%
  6.7%
  7.1%
  6.4%
  ...10-14% of household income
  10.4%
  10.0%
  11.5%
  11.7%
  ...15-19% of household income
  7.8%
  11.2%
  12.5%
  14.3%
  ...20-24% of household income
  6.0%
  10.9%
  10.8%
  12.8%
  ...25-29% of household income
  9.3%
  8.7%
  8.6%
  10.4%
  ...30-34% of household income
  7.8%
  6.6%
  6.2%
  7.3%
  ...35-39% of household income
  3.1%
  4.6%
  4.6%
  5.1%
  ...40-49% of household income
  9.1%
  7.2%
  6.5%
  6.7%
  ...50% or more of household income
  29.2%
  24.4%
  18.8%
  17.8%
  ...in which percentage of income was not computed
  13.8%
  9.7%
  13.4%
  7.5%

Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

Housing affordability

How much house can a person afford? Census data can be used to determine how many households might be struggling to meet the costs associated with housing. There is no "magic number" to determine whether housing is affordable or not. According to conventional mortgage underwriting guidelines, the maximum amount of gross income that can be used for mortgage payments alone is 28%; the total for all debt payments including projected mortgage payments is 36%. The 28% threshold does not include other housing costs such as homeowner's insurance, taxes and utilities, and the 36% number includes non-housing costs such as credit card debt and car payments.

With this in mind, we aimed for a threshold in between those two. The closest number published by the Census is whether households are paying 30% or more of income on housing.

Definitions and source links

Housing affordability (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Owner or renter occupied housing units
  4,427
  174,735
  1,390,532
  90,411,610
  Paying selected owner costs (if owning) or gross rent (if renting) of 30% or more of household income
  39.8%
  35.9%
  25.2%
  27.7%
  Paying selected owner costs (if owning) or gross rent (if renting) of less than 30% of household income
  52.9%
  57.7%
  68.7%
  68.9%
  Percentage of income was not computed
  7.3%
  6.4%
  6.1%
  3.4%
Housing affordability by income level (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Households where 30% or more of household income is spent on selected owner costs (if owning) or gross rent (if renting)
  1,763
  62,710
  350,885
  25,014,017
  Making less than $10,000
  49.2%
  40.5%
  40.2%
  24.1%
  Making $10,000-19,999
  33.3%
  33.0%
  32.1%
  27.9%
  Making $20,000-34,999
  14.1%
  18.2%
  18.4%
  24.9%
  Making $35,000-49,999
  2.6%
  5.0%
  5.5%
  11.3%
  Making $50,000-74,999
  0.8%
  2.2%
  2.8%
  8.0%
  Making over $75,000
  0.0%
  1.1%
  1.0%
  3.8%
Housing affordability by owner/renter status (2000)
 Lower Ninth Ward
 Orleans Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Households where 30% or more of household income is spent on selected owner costs (if owning) or gross rent (if renting)
  1,763
  62,710
  350,885
  25,014,017
  Owner occupied
  45.0%
  31.6%
  46.0%
  48.2%
  Renter occupied
  55.0%
  68.4%
  54.0%
  51.8%
Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

Download this pre-Katrina data for all 73 neighborhoods in Orleans Parish.

Data Tables: People & Household CharacteristicsHousing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Neighborhood Characteristics

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Last modified: July 31, 2006