Reference
Data Sources
The CommunityScale Housing Forecast integrates data from multiple federal and commercial sources. Each source is ingested through automated pipelines, transformed into a consistent geographic and temporal framework, and stored in a PostgreSQL/PostGIS database for use across all forecast modules.
U.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates
- Coverage: 2010-2023 (14 survey years)
- Geography: All geographies with population ≥ 65,000; PUMA-level for microdata
- Update Frequency: Annual release
Key Tables:
| Table | Description |
|---|---|
| B01001 | Sex by Age |
| B19001 | Household Income (16 bins) |
| B19113 | Median Family Income |
| B25001 | Housing Units |
| B25002 | Occupancy Status |
| B25003 | Tenure |
| B25010 | Average Household Size |
| B25034 | Year Structure Built |
| B25042 | Housing Units by Bedroom Count and Tenure |
| B25077 | Median Home Value |
| B25103 | Monthly Owner Costs |
| B07013 | Mobility by Tenure |
ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)
- Coverage: 2010-2023 5-Year PUMS (multiple vintages)
- Files: Household and person microdata
- Weights: WGTP (household), PWGTP (person), WGTP1-WGTP80 (replicate weights)
- Key variables: HINCP, ADJINC, TEN, BDSP, MV, GRNTP, SMOCP, GRPIP, OCPIP
- Purpose: Household composition ratios, WTP distributions, income distributions, mover identification
TIGER/Line Shapefiles
- Vintage: 2023
- Layers: State, County, County Subdivision, Place, Census Tract, PUMA, CBSA, ZCTA
- Format: PostGIS geometry in PostgreSQL database
PUMA Geography Crosswalks
Census Bureau allocation factors (AFACT) for consistent geographic definitions across decennial boundaries (2000, 2010, 2020 PUMAs).
HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
Income Limits Data
- Years: 2010-2025
- Content: Area Median Income and income limit thresholds
- Household Sizes: 1-8 persons
- Thresholds: Extremely Low (30% AMI), Very Low (50% AMI), Low (80% AMI), Median (100% AMI)
- Source: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html
Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
Mortgage Rates
- Series: MORTGAGE30US
- Description: 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average
- Frequency: Weekly
- Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey
Per Capita Income Growth
- Purpose: Income extrapolation and inflation adjustment
- Frequency: Annual
Commercial Data
Home Value Index
- Series: Middle-tier Single-Family and Condo (33rd-67th percentile)
- Smoothing: Seasonally adjusted, smoothed
- Frequency: Monthly
- Geography: County, County Subdivision, Place
Property Insurance Rates
- Aggregation: ZIP code level aggregated to Census geographies
- Content: Average annual property insurance rates
Inflation Adjustment
All income and cost values are adjusted to a common year using ADJINC and ADJHSG factors from PUMS data.