Community Data Center Banner

Home >> Pre Katrina Home >> St. Bernard Parish >> Data Tables

This information is pre-Katrina.
Although the information on this page is out-of-date, we are continuing to make it available, as it provides insight about this parish pre-Katrina. You may find outdated information and broken links.

For current data about the Greater New Orleans area, visit our homepage.

St. Bernard Parish: Housing & Housing Costs

Data Tables:  People & Household CharacteristicsHousing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Schools & Testing, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Health, Public Safety, Voting, Parish Characteristics

Housing characteristics

Definitions and source links

Occupancy status (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total housing units (full count)  
  26,790
  1,847,181
  115,904,641
  Occupied housing units  
  93.8%
  89.7%
  91.0%
  Vacant housing units  
  6.2%
  10.3%
  9.0%
Renters and owners (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total occupied housing units  
  25,123
  1,656,053
  105,480,101
  Owner occupied  
  74.6%
  67.9%
  66.2%
  Renter occupied  
  25.4%
  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)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total housing units (sample count)  
  26,790
  1,847,181
  115,904,641
  Built 1999 to March 2000  
  1.1%
  2.2%
  2.4%
  Built 1995 to 1998  
  4.8%
  6.7%
  7.3%
  Built 1990 to 1994  
  5.7%
  5.7%
  7.3%
  Built 1980 to 1989  
  17.5%
  18.4%
  15.8%
  Built 1970 to 1979  
  25.5%
  22.4%
  18.5%
  Built 1960 to 1969  
  21.8%
  16.3%
  13.7%
  Built 1950 to 1959  
  16.6%
  12.8%
  12.7%
  Built 1949 or earlier  
  7.0%
  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)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total occupied housing units  
  25,123
  1,656,053
  105,480,101
  Moved in 1999 to March 2000  
  14.3%
  18.7%
  19.9%
  Moved in 1995 to 1998  
  22.2%
  26.9%
  28.9%
  Moved in 1990 to 1994  
  14.8%
  15.6%
  16.1%
  Moved in 1989 or earlier  
  48.7%
  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, as 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)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent  
  5,868
  474,873
  33,386,326
  Average contract rent  
  $370
  $377
  $565
  Average gross rent  
  $497
  $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)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total owner-occupied housing units with a mortgage  
  10,883
  643,900
  47,065,828
Owner-occupied housing units (with a mortgage) paying selected owner costs of...  
 
   
  ...less than $200  
  0.3%
  1.1%
  0.3%
  ...$200-299  
  1.3%
  2.2%
  0.9%
  ...$300-399  
  3.5%
  4.7%
  2.2%
  ...$400-499  
  7.2%
  8.5%
  4.1%
  ...$500-599  
  11.7%
  11.4%
  6.0%
  ...$600-699  
  14.7%
  12.2%
  7.5%
  ...$700-799  
  17.0%
  11.8%
  8.3%
  ...$800-899  
  11.3%
  10.1%
  8.5%
  ...$900-999  
  9.9%
  8.1%
  8.1%
  ...$1,000-1,249  
  13.4%
  13.3%
  17.1%
   ...$1,250-1,499  
  5.7%
  7.0%
  12.3%
  ...$1,500-1,999  
  3.1%
  5.8%
  13.7%
  ...$2,000-2,499  
  0.5%
  2.0%
  5.6%
  ...$2,500-2,999  
  0.1%
  0.8%
  2.4%
  ...$3,000 or more  
  0.3%
  1.0%
  3.0%
Cost of gross rent (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent  
  5,868
  474,873
  33,386,326
Renter-occupied housing units (that pay cash rent) paying gross rent of...  
 
   
  ...less than $100  
  0.3%
  2.0%
  1.0%
  ...$100-149  
  1.3%
  3.0%
  1.9%
  ...$150-199  
  1.8%
  4.0%
  2.7%
  ...$200-249  
  2.5%
  4.5%
  2.5%
  ...$250-299  
  4.4%
  5.7%
  2.9%
  ...$300-349  
  5.7%
  7.6%
  4.0%
  ...$350-399  
  11.0%
  9.2%
  5.3%
  ...$400-449  
  13.7%
  10.5%
  6.6%
  ...$450-499  
  12.1%
  10.9%
  7.3%
  ...$500-549  
  14.7%
  9.5%
  7.9%
   ...$550-599  
  9.2%
  8.0%
  7.7%
  ...$600-649  
  6.7%
  6.2%
  7.4%
  ...$650-699  
  6.3%
  4.7%
  6.7%
  ...$700-749  
  3.8%
  3.3%
  6.0%
  ...$750-799  
  2.4%
  2.5%
  5.0%
  ...$800-899  
  2.4%
  3.3%
  7.8%
   ...$900-999  
  0.8%
  1.9%
  5.2%
  ...$1000 or more  
  0.9%
  3.2%
  12.1%
Owner costs with mortgage as a percent of household income (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total owner-occupied housing units with a mortgage  
  9,827
  516,660
  38,663,887
Owner-occupied housing units with a mortgage paying selected owner costs...  
  
 
  
  ...less than 10% of household income  
  10.1%
  10.2%
  7.2%
  ...10-14% of household income  
  19.5%
  20.3%
  16.2%
  ...15-19% of household income  
  22.5%
  20.5%
  20.4%
  ...20-24% of household income  
  13.8%
  14.6%
  17.2%
  ...25-29% of household income  
  10.5%
  9.2%
  11.8%
  ...30-34% of household income  
  6.4%
  5.9%
  7.5%
  ...35-39% of household income  
  3.9%
  4.0%
  4.8%
  ...40-49% of household income  
  5.0%
  4.7%
  5.3%
  ...50% or more of household income  
  7.2%
  9.7%
  9.1%
  ...in which percentage of income was not computed  
  1.1%
  0.9%
  0.5%
Gross rent as a percent of household income (2000)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Total specified renter-occupied housing units  
  6,345
  525,722
  35,199,502
Renter-occupied housing units paying gross rent...  
  
 
  
  ...less than 10% of household income  
  7.2%
  7.1%
  6.4%
  ...10-14% of household income  
  12.5%
  11.5%
  11.7%
  ...15-19% of household income  
  15.7%
  12.5%
  14.3%
  ...20-24% of household income  
  12.0%
  10.8%
  12.8%
  ...25-29% of household income  
  9.6%
  8.6%
  10.4%
  ...30-34% of household income  
  6.2%
  6.2%
  7.3%
  ...35-39% of household income  
  3.7%
  4.6%
  5.1%
  ...40-49% of household income  
  6.8%
  6.5%
  6.7%
  ...50% or more of household income  
  15.5%
  18.8%
  17.8%
  ...in which percentage of income was not computed  
  10.8%
  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)  
 St. Bernard Parish
  Louisiana
  United
States
Owner or renter occupied housing units  
  22,666
  1,390,532
  90,411,610
  Paying selected owner costs (if owning) or gross rent (if renting) of 30% or more of household income  
  21.3%
  25.2%
  27.7%
  Paying selected owner costs (if owning) or gross rent (if renting) of less than 30% of household income  
  74.3%
  68.7%
  68.9%
  Percentage of income was not computed  
  4.4%
  6.1%
  3.4%
Housing affordability by income level (2000)  
 St. Bernard 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)  
  4,839
  350,885
  25,014,017
  Making less than $10,000  
  31.0%
  40.2%
  24.1%
  Making $10,000-19,999  
  34.3%
  32.1%
  27.9%
  Making $20,000-34,999  
  24.9%
  18.4%
  24.9%
  Making $35,000-49,999  
  6.9%
  5.5%
  11.3%
  Making $50,000-74,999  
  2.6%
  2.8%
  8.0%
  Making over $75,000  
  0.3%
  1.0%
  3.8%
Housing affordability by owner/renter status (2000)  
 St. Bernard 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)  
  4,839
  350,885
  25,014,017
  Owner occupied  
  57.7%
  46.0%
  48.2%
  Renter occupied  
  42.3%
  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 10 parishes.

Data Tables:  People & Household CharacteristicsHousing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Schools & Testing, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Health, Public Safety, Voting, Parish Characteristics

Home >> Pre Katrina Home >> St. Bernard Parish >> Data Tables

Bar

  

The Community Data Center website is a product of Greater New Orleans Nonprofit Knowledge Works. Copyright © 2000-2. All Rights Reserved.

Last modified: July 25, 2006