U.S. Department of Commerce
and U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development Joint Release IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1997 Public Information Office CB97-H.20 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TTD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Ed Montfort 301-763-8551 One-Third of Memphis Metro Area's Households Give High Marks to Their Neighborhood, Census Bureau Report Says About 33 percent of households in the Memphis, TN-AR-MS Metropolitan Area rated their neighborhood a perfect 10 and a comparable proportion said their home was "the best place to live," according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In the report, American Housing Survey for the Memphis Metropolitan Area in 1996, H170/96-8, respondents were asked to rate their neighborhood and their house or apartment as a place to live based on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the best and 1 is the worst. Of the households in these neighborhoods, 13 percent reported problems with crime, 8 percent reported problems with traffic, and 6 percent experienced problems with litter or housing deterioration. Other findings about the Memphis,TN-AR-MS Metropolitan Area: - The area had 442,000 housing units in 1996, of which S401,500 were occupied (65 percent by owners and 35 percent by renters). - Single-family homes, at 76 percent of all occupied units, represented the predominant housing type in the area. - The median age of homes in Memphis city was 30 years, compared with 14 years for the remaining area. - Homes in the area had a median of 2.8 bedrooms. - Occupied homes in the area had a median of 2.3 persons per unit and a median of 5.6 rooms per unit. - The median monthly housing costs for owners was $592 and for renters was $477. Monthly housing costs include mortgage payments or contract rent, utilities, fuels, insurance, real estate taxes (for owners), and other housing-related expenditures. - Monthly housing costs that were $1,000 or more accounted for 19 percent of the owners and 3 percent of the renters. - The median household income for area homeowners was $43,000, compared with $21,900 for renters. - Owners had monthly housing costs that represented a median of 18 percent of their current income, compared with 26 percent for renters. - Median value of homeowners' residences in 1996 was $76,200, which is not significantly different than the 1996 constant dollar figure of $74,100 for 1992. - Of the 26,500 owner-occupied homes built or purchased during the last four years, 57 percent cost $100,000 or more; 47 percent of the owners of new homes used savings or cash-on-hand for their down payment. Data in the report are shown separately for units with African American householders. Since data in the report are from a survey, they are subject to sampling variability.-X-The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In over 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
