Vacancy rate

The share of housing units that are vacant, out of all housing units in the tract.

The Census Bureau classifies every housing unit as either occupied or vacant. "A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it at the time of interview. Units occupied at the time of interview entirely by persons who are staying two months or less and who have a more permanent residence elsewhere are considered to be temporarily occupied and are classified as 'vacant'" (ACS Subject Definitions).

Newly built units enter the count as vacant "if construction has reached a point where all exterior windows and doors are installed and final usable floors are in place." Units that are open to the elements, condemned, or marked for demolition are excluded from the housing inventory altogether rather than counted as vacant.

The Bureau writes that vacancy status "has long been used as a basic indicator of the housing market and provides information on the stability and quality of housing for certain areas," and that the data are used "to assess the demand for housing, to identify housing turnover within areas, and to better understand the population within the housing market over time."