Home Repair Grants Statistics: What the Data Tells Us
Introduction
Home repair grants are financial assistance programs that help low-income homeowners to make necessary improvements or modifications to their homes. These grants can cover costs such as roofing, plumbing, heating, electrical, accessibility, and energy efficiency. Home repair grants are usually offered by federal, state, or local governments, as well as non-profit organizations and private foundations.
But how many homeowners actually benefit from these grants? And what are the characteristics of the households that receive them? To answer these questions, we can look at some data from the census and the American Housing Survey (AHS).
Census Data on Home Repair Grants
The census does not directly collect information on home repair grants, but it does provide some indicators that can help us estimate the potential demand and supply of these grants. For example, the census reports the number and percentage of owner-occupied housing units that are in substandard condition, meaning that they have one or more of the following problems: incomplete plumbing, incomplete kitchen facilities, no heating fuel, or severe overcrowding. According to the 2020 census, there were about 2.3 million owner-occupied housing units in substandard condition, accounting for 1.7% of the total owner-occupied housing stock. This suggests that there is a significant need for home repair grants among these households.
Another indicator that the census provides is the median value of owner-occupied housing units, which reflects the market value of the homes. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in 2020 was $217,500, up from $194,500 in 2010. This implies that the cost of home repairs may have increased as well, making it more difficult for low-income homeowners to afford them. Therefore, home repair grants can help these homeowners to maintain or increase the value of their homes.
AHS Data on Home Repair Grants
The AHS is a biennial survey that collects detailed information on the characteristics and conditions of housing units in the United States. The AHS is sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. One of the topics that the AHS covers is home improvements, which include repairs, replacements, additions, and alterations. The AHS asks homeowners whether they made any home improvements in the past two years, what types of improvements they made, how much they spent, and what sources of funding they used.
According to the 2021 AHS, about 65% of owner-occupied housing units made some home improvements in the past two years, spending an average of $9,240 per unit. The most common types of home improvements were interior painting, flooring, and plumbing. The most common sources of funding were personal savings, credit cards, and home equity loans.
Among the sources of funding, the AHS also includes a category for “government assistance”, which covers any federal, state, or local grants or loans for home improvements. However, this category only accounts for a very small share of the total funding. In 2021, only 0.4% of owner-occupied housing units that made home improvements used government assistance as a source of funding, spending an average of $7,570 per unit. This means that only about 260,000 owner-occupied housing units received government assistance for home improvements in 2021, out of the 83.8 million owner-occupied housing units in the country .
Conclusion
The data from the census and the AHS show that home repair grants are a rare and limited form of financial assistance for low-income homeowners in the United States. Despite the high demand and the high cost of home repairs, only a small fraction of homeowners receive government assistance for home improvements. This suggests that there is a gap between the need and the availability of home repair grants, and that more resources and policies are needed to address this issue.
References
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). 2020 Census: Housing Characteristics. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/data/housing-characteristics.html
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). 2020 Census: Housing Tables. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/data/tables.html
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2021). American Housing Survey. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs.html
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2021). American Housing Survey: Home Improvements. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/interactive/ahstablecreator.html?s_areas=00000&s_year=2021&s_tablename=TABLE1&s_bygroup1=1&s_bygroup2=1&s_filtergroup1=1&s_filtergroup2=1
