National housing needs research tool · 2005–2024
U.S. Worst Case Housing Needs Explorer
Explore local patterns in very-low-income renter hardship and ACS/PUMS-based estimates of unassisted severe housing cost burden across U.S. Public Use Microdata Areas.
20 annual releasesPUMA-level30 / 40 / 50% FMR sensitivity2020 experimental PUMS flagged
FMR sensitivity
Measure
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20052012202020222024
Current selection
United States · 2024
Interactive geography
WCN Proxy · 40% · Count
2024 · Census 2020 PUMAs
Scroll to zoom · drag to pan · Shift + click to compare PUMAs.
Selected geographies
Compare PUMAs
Counts are household estimates; rates are calculated against each PUMA's renter universe.
| PUMA | State | WCN 40 | WCN rate | VLI + severe | Renters | Rent/FMR |
|---|
Annual national series
Worst-case housing need sensitivity over time · United States
All annual observations, 2005–2024. The parent population is shown alongside WCN 30, WCN 40 and WCN 50.
VLI + severe parentWCN 30WCN 40WCN 50Legacy 2024 · 10.112M
Legacy 10.112M reference. The published 2024 legacy ACS proxy was 10,112,494. The current all-years series uses the rebuilt methodology; the legacy value is shown only at 2024 because an all-years legacy reconstruction is not contained in the finalized Stage 2A package.
2012 Census 2010 PUMA vintage begins2020 experimental ACS PUMS weights2022 Census 2020 PUMA vintage begins
Current year
Highest values · 2024
Top PUMAs in the current map view.
| # | PUMA | State | WCN 40 | Rate |
|---|
Interpretation
How to read the tool
This is a local ACS/PUMS-based WCN proxy.
HUD's official Worst Case Housing Needs measure is based primarily on the American Housing Survey. This explorer focuses on the severe-cost-burden pathway locally and uses rent relative to HUD Fair Market Rent as a sensitivity proxy for assistance.
Current 30 / 40 / 50% FMR sensitivity
The current pipeline begins with very-low-income renters with severe cost burden, then removes households flagged by the 30%, 40% or 50% rent-to-FMR assistance sensitivity screen.
Legacy 10.112M method
The earlier published 2024 pipeline used raw annual gross rent divided by raw household income for severe burden, raw household income against the applicable HUD VLI limit, and a 40% FMR assistance proxy. The published 2024 final was 10,112,494. A reconstructed application of that legacy method to the current 2024 records produced 9,339,812; the finalized current 40% estimate is 9,352,779.
PUMA geography
The explorer uses Census 2000 PUMAs for 2005–2011, Census 2010 PUMAs for 2012–2021, and Census 2020 PUMAs for 2022–2024. Lines across a boundary-vintage change should not be interpreted as the same local geography.
2020 experimental weights
The Census Bureau did not release the standard 2020 ACS 1-Year PUMS because of pandemic-related data-quality impacts. The 2020 observation uses the Census Bureau's experimental PUMS weights and is explicitly flagged.
Louisiana 2006–2011
For 2006–2011, ACS pseudo-PUMA 77777 is represented by the union of Census 2000 Louisiana PUMAs 01801, 01802 and 01905. The original three PUMAs are used separately in 2005.
Sources & coverage
Core sources are U.S. Census Bureau ACS PUMS, Census PUMA/TIGER geography, and HUD Fair Market Rents. The completed map package has 100% geography coverage for all analytical PUMA keys across all three vintages.
Geography coverage100%all analytical PUMA keys mapped
Years2005–202420 annual ACS/PUMS releases
PUMA vintages32000 · 2010 · 2020
Default view2024 · WCN 40change controls at any time