VACANCY values in IPUMS and PUMS

[Hulya_Arik]

Hello,

I am working on determining the affordable and available rental housing units by AMI.

Vacant units, based on their reported rent, could be “affordable and available” for certain AMI categories. For that, I am trying to determine the affordability/availability of vacant rental units using “VACANCY” variable. IPUMS’ vacancy variable is comparable to Census Bureau’s Vacs (Vacancy Status) variable. However, while IPUMS codes 3=Rented or sold but not (yet) occupied, PUMS’ codes for variable vacancy are:

Vacancy status
b .N/A (GQ/occupied)
1 .For rent
2 .Rented, not occupied
3 .For sale only
4 .Sold, not occupied
5 .For seasonal/recreational/occasional use
6 .For migrant workers
7 .Other vacant

In this case, I found some units that are coded as 3 in IPUMS, but they are “sold, not occupied” in PUMS.

I understand IPUMS code is correct, because it includes both “rented or sold",” but is there any way, I can identify only “rented, not occupied” from IPUMS, like PUMS data?

Thank you

[Isabel_Pastoor]

You can use the source variable—the original variable from the Census Bureau—to distinguish between vacant units that are rented but not (yet) occupied and vacant units that are sold but not (yet) occupied. When viewing the VACANCY variable in the data extract system, click the Source Variables tab. You will see a list of the source (original) variables that IPUMS uses to create VACANCY. You will see one source variable for each sample you’ve selected. For example, if you’re using the 2023 ACS, you should use US2023A_VACS. You can add this variable to your data cart when you create an extract.

Using the source variable allows you to retain the original codes from the PUMS but use it in conjunction with harmonized IPUMS data. If you are interested in other source variables, you can browse for them in the data extract system by toggling to source variables:

[Hulya_Arik]

Thank you.

It worked!