Housing

This Is the State People Are Most Likely to Lose Homes

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: April 25, 2021 8:08 am

Last Updated: April 26, 2021 6:34 am

Shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19, the Census Bureau launched a vast initiative to measure the effects of the disease on Americans. It is called the Household Pulse Survey. So far, the results have been released in three phases, which began with the first study that was in the field starting April 23, 2020. The data is released by week

Each weekly report actually covers about two weeks of information gathered by the Census Bureau and other federal agencies. Among the questions asked each week is whether adults live in households where they believe they are likely to be evicted or foreclosed upon in the next two months. The question is asked of those who are behind in their rent or mortgages. And, the answer may be that they feel eviction or foreclosure is “very likely” or “somewhat likely”.

Current data also covers Week 27 and includes the results of questions about income loss, the percentage of Americans who work from home, food scarcity, food insecurity, chances of eviction or foreclosure, difficulty in paying household expenses, whether people have received a COVID-19 vaccine and whether those not vaccinated plan to be.

The work is done in partnership with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Center for Education Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Social Security Administration and USDA Economic Research Service.

Data come from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and America’s largest metro areas.

In the section of the Household Pulse Survey called “Likelihood of Eviction or Foreclosure”, the state at the top of the list is Oregon at 49%. That was followed by Georgia at 48.8%, Arizona at 47.9% and Louisiana at 46.5%.

At the other end of the spectrum, Utah’s number was 6.5%, Missouri’s was 9.7%, and Delaware’s was 11.4%.

For the time being, evictions have been blocked in some places due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this is likely to change soon. At that point, actual evictions could soar.

Click here to see which county has the cheapest homes in America.