Demographics
Data source: American Community Survey, five-year estimates
Unit level: Census Tract
Update frequency: Annually
LMI calculation: LMI classification is based on the median family income of the Census Tract compared to the median family income of the area as published by the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council. A tract is considered LMI if the median family income is less than or equal to 80 percent of the median family income of the area (area median income).
Employment and Wages
Data source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Occupation Employment and Wages Survey (OEWS)
Unit level: County
Update frequency: Quarterly
About the data: QCEW is administrative data from firms reported to states for compliance with state unemployment insurance programs. Data include employment and wage information by industry down to the county level.
The OEWS is a survey of establishments to collect employment and wage estimates on occupations. The data used here come from the research files that estimate occupation employment and wages within industries annually at the state level.
LMI calculation: OEWS data was used to calculate the occupational composition of an industry at the state level. The median salary of an occupation was compared to the median one-earner family income in a state as calculated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Occupations were classified as follows:
- Low-wage: < 50% one-earner median
- Moderate-wage: 50–80% one-earner median
- Middle-wage: 80–125% one-earner median
- High-wage: > 125% one-earner median
Those classifications are used to identify the occupational wage-level composition of industries at the state level annually. The occupational compositions of industries are applied at the county level for each county. Wages are calculated using employment weighted-average occupational annual income within an industry compared to the industry average annual wages for each state, annually. Calculations at the county level do not account for differences in an industry’s occupational composition or wage difference between the state and county level.
Housing
Renter and Owner Prices
Data source: Zillow
Unit level: County where data are available
Update frequency: Quarterly
About the data: Zillow publishes average sale and rent prices monthly.
Their home price data includes prices from listings on their website and from their “Zestimate” program. Average prices reflect the weighted average price of homes in the middle of the market within a specified geography to prevent outlier prices from influencing the average. We specifically use the smoothed and seasonally adjusted Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) for all homes.
The Zillow Observed Rent Index is a repeat-rent index that relies on rental listings to their website weighted by data from the U.S. Census Bureau to better reflect the whole rental market. Average prices reflect the average of the middle of the rental market within a specified geography. Since the rent data is dependent on listings to their website, they require a sufficient number of listings within a geographic area over time to produce a value. As such, many counties do not have any data.
LMI calculation: LMI and non-LMI prices are found using zip code level Zillow data and whether that zip code classified as LMI based on HUD area median income values. A zip code is considered LMI if it has a median family income of less than 80 percent of the area median income. Prices shown are the average among zip codes based on their LMI classification.
Zip codes were assigned to a county based on the geographical center of the zip code.
Renter and Owner Price Burden
Data source: American Community Survey, five-year estimates, table B25106
Unit level: County
Update frequency: Annually
LMI calculation: There is no specific LMI calculation. Data come from that assembled by the Census and thus does not vary by LMI status. The Census-provided income groups were combined to create one household income group under $35,000. It is important to note that the median household income used in these charts differs and is not easily comparable to median family income.
If you have further questions about the methodologies used in these products, please reach out to Steven Howland.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City or the Federal Reserve System.