Fayette Country, Pennsylvania, Housing Market Analysis - EERE

Fayette County
Housing Market Analysis
viii. Units per Structure
The availability of a variety of housing types allows for people of various
ages, incomes, and housing styles to reside in a community. The 2000
Census data showed:
• 72.7% (48,363) of the housing units in the county were single family
dwellings, 1.1% lower than the statewide average.
• 12.6% (8,354) of housing units in Fayette County were mobile
homes.
• The total percentage of multi-unit structures in the county, 14.4%
(9,543), is considerably lower than the state average of 21.1%.
Despite an increasingly older population and smaller households, single
family dwellings remain the county’s most popular housing choice, which is
highly characteristic of a rural county. Higher income households and
younger households with children generally prefer single family dwellings.
The increasing elderly population will tend to remain in their single family
housing until circumstances require them to move. Elderly households that
move to multifamily housing usually prefer to remain in their communities,
making the availability of multifamily housing important to sustaining the
elderly population. Multifamily housing alternatives are also attractive to
younger households. Housing unit data is presented in the following table.
Table 4-12
Units in Structure 2000
Fayette Fayette
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (%)
County County (%)
1 unit, detached 44,875 67.5% 2,935,248 55.9%
1 unit, attached 3,488 5.2% 940,396 17.9%
2 units 3,064 4.6% 273,798 5.2%
3 or 4 units 2,288 3.4% 241,745 4.6%
5 to 9 units 2,035 3.1% 179,909 3.4%
10 to 19 units 656 1.0% 131,691 2.5%
20 or more units 1,500 2.3% 283,716 5.4%
Mobile home 8,354 12.6% 258,551 4.9%
Boat, RV, van, etc. 230 0.3% 4,698 0.1%
Total units
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census
66,490 100.0% 5,249,752 100.0%
The makeup of housing units is changing over time. Between 1990 and
2000, the following changes occurred:
• The number of single family units increased by 5.0%.
• The amount of multifamily units increased by 23.4%
• The number of mobile homes increased by 23.6%
The following table highlights this data in more detail.
June 2005
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