GL Eut? 3-10-80 Foreword Two special reports, The Housing of Negro Veterans and Housing of the Nonwhite Population, 1940-47, released in January and June 1948, respectively, and a later general report, The Housing Situation-1950, released February 1951 by the Housing and Home Finance Agency, pointed up the need for a more comprehensive analysis of the housing of the nonwhite population over the last decade, 1940-50. Particularly among nonwhites, whose housing has long been recognized generally to be so grossly deficient, it is important not to overlook the impacts of war, mass migrations of workers and family dislocations, rapid urbanization, and other factors of major economic resurgence during this decade (1940-50) on their housing need, demand, and supply. For this reason the preliminary tabulations of the data collected by the 1950 censuses of population and housing have been studied closely and compared with similar data collected by the 1940 censuses of population and housing. The results of such intensive scrutiny are presented in this report. Although no conclusions have been reached as to the magnitude of the social need or market demand for housing on the part of the nonwhite population, the analysis and extensive statistical tables contained herein should prove a stepping stone to the determination of the housing requirements of nonwhites, and to the means by which such requirements may be met. When the complete tabulations of the 1950 census are available, a more comprehensive and definitive analysis of the housing situation and requirements of nonwhites may be anticipated. Housing conditions among the nonwhite population have improved measurably since 1940, which is a tribute to the teamwork of the housing industry and Government— local, State, and Federal. However, we realize that our task is far from finished; in order to see how much we must yet do, we shall have to know where we stand now and how much has been accomplished in the 10 turbulent years since 1940. Although this report does not attempt to set a course, I believe that it does give us our present bearings. Statistical Tables (All listed tables are in Appendix B, except that 15 is on p. 13) TABLE 1. Total Population, by Residence and Race, for the United States and Specified Regions, 1950 and 1940. 2. Households, by Residence and Race, for the United States and Specified Regions, 1950 and 1940. 3. Married Couples With and Without Own Household, by Residence and Race, for the United States and Specified Regions, 1950 and 1940. 4. Population in Nonfarm Dwelling Units and Population Per Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Unit, by Race and Residence, for the United States, 1950. 5. Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Number of Persons, Race, Tenure, and Residence, for the United States, 1950 and 1940. 6. Persons Per Room in Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race, Tenure, and Residence, for the United States, 1950 and 1940. 7. Income of Families, by Residence and Race, for the United States and Specified Regions, 1949. 8. Comparison of Wage or Salary Workers Without Other Income by Wage or Salary Income in 1939 With Civilian Earners by Civilian Money Earnings in 1945, by Color, for the United States. 9. Employment Status of the Population, by Residence and Race, for the United States and Specified Regions, 1950 and 1940. 10. Class of Worker of Employed Persons, by Race, for the United States and Specified Regions, 1950 and 1940. 11. Condition and Plumbing Facilities of Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race, Tenure, and Residence, for the United States, 1950. 12. Bathing Facilities in Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race, Tenure, and Residence, for the United States, 1950. 13. Toilet Facilities in Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race, Tenure, and Residence, for the United States, 1950. 14. Water Supply in Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race, Tenure, and Residence, for the United States, 1950. 15. Tenure of Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Color of Occupants, for the United States, 1950 and 1940. 16. Tenure of Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race and Residence, for the United States, 1950 and 1940. 17. Value of Owner-Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race and Residence, for the United States, 1950 and 1940. 18. Mortgage Status of Owner-Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race and Residence, for the United States, 1950 and 1940. 19. Contract Monthly Rent of Tenant-Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race and Residence, for the United States, 1950 and 1940. 20. Gross Monthly Rent of Tenant-Occupied Nonfarm Dwelling Units, by Race and Residence, for the United States, 1950 and 1940. HOUSING OF THE NONWHITE POPULATION 1940 to 1950 SUMMARY Significant changes have occurred in the population and in the housing inventory of the United States since the census of 1940. The decade of 1940 to 1950 was primarily one of expanding national economy. It included periods of defense preparation, conversion to war production, active participation in war, cut backs and partial reconversion, and the inevitable readjustments as the economy shifted from defense to war to peace and back again to defense mobilization. As with workers in general, nonwhites moved in response to war demands and felt the full impact of that period. The necessary wartime limitations on new construction were such that the volume of new housing added to the supply for anyone was relatively small. To the extent that new housing was constructed during 1942-45, it was reserved for essential in-migrant workers in urgent warproduction areas. The delayed entry of nonwhites into war-production employment severely limited their eligibility for occupancy of these dwellings. Even as nonwhites finally gained increasing employment in war production, traditional neighborhood restrictions served to limit housing available to nonwhites during that period largely to more intensive use of the crowded areas already occupied by this group, supplemented by privately and publicly financed developments located generally in areas contiguous to such neighborhoods. The nature and dimensions of changes during the 10-year period after April 1940 were clarified to some extent by sample surveys of housing and population conducted by the Bureau of the Census in October 1944, November 1945, and April 1947 and more recently by the full 1950 census of population and housing. These surveys and censuses also provide the basis for analyzing special impacts of World War II and its aftermaths during the remainder of the 1940-50 decade upon the living accommodations available to the nonwhite population, over 96 percent of which is Negro. They show: Significant increases in urbanization and interregional shifts of the nonwhite population for the 10-year period ending April 1950 have accentuated its housing difficulties. About 2.7 million nonwhites migrated during World War II and the immediate postwar period, with 1.2 million moving between noncontiguous States, and an additional million migrated during the latter part of the decade. Of the total nonwhite population, the proportion living in nonfarm areas rose from 65 percent in 1940 to 78 percent in 1950. The nonwhite population showed a decline of more than 1,400,000 in farm areas, largely in the South, accompanied by substantial gains in urban centers of the South and all other regions. Nonwhites comprised 10.3 percent of the total population in 1950, but occupied only 8.6 percent of all occupied dwelling units. The nonwhite population increased at a faster rate than the number of dwelling units it occupied (15 percent against 10 percent) whereas the reverse was true for whites (14 percent against 23 percent). For nonfarm areas alone, the nonwhite population rose by nearly 40 percent, while the number of dwelling units it occupied increased by only 31 percent. The nonfarm dwelling units occupied by whites in 1950 were, on the average, larger than those occupied by nonwhites, yet the average number of persons per dwelling unit occupied by whites and nonwhites was practically the same. At the same time, the proportion of overcrowded units (with |