Percentage of households with at least 1 of 4 housing problems: overcrowding, high housing costs, lack of kitchen facilities, or lack of plumbing facilities. The 2023 County Health Rankings used data from 2015-2019 for this measure.

Good health depends on having homes that are safe and free from physical hazards. When adequate housing protects individuals and families from harmful exposures and provides them with a sense of privacy, security, stability, and control, it can make important contributions to health. In contrast, poor quality and inadequate housing contributes to health problems such as infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, and poor childhood development. Housing measures can also be considered proxy indicators of more general socioeconomic circumstances.¹ Households experiencing severe cost burden have to face difficult trade-offs in meeting other basic needs. When the majority of a paycheck goes toward the rent or mortgage, it makes it hard to afford health insurance, health care and medication, healthy foods, utility bills, or reliable transportation to work or school.^2-5 This, in turn, can lead to increased stress levels and emotional strain. (CHR 2023)