More than 51% of Florida adults say they live in households that aren't current on rent or mortgage payments — higher than any other state, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.


What You Need To Know

  • Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey aims to track coronavirus's impact in the U.S.

  • Study aims to find out how pandemic is affecting people socially, economically

  • Recently released data indicate 51% of Florida adults fear foreclosure, eviction soon

Those respondents of the Bureau's Household Pulse Survey also said they think eviction or foreclosure is at least somewhat likely in the next two months.

The survey is an experimental study looking at how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting people socially and economically. People who are randomly chosen to participate fill out an online questionnaire that takes about 20 minutes to complete, according to the Bureau.

According to the most recent data, 51.6% of respondents in Florida said they were facing the likelihood of eviction or foreclosure. Nationwide, there were 58,729 respondents in this data collection period, which kicked off Phase 3 of the survey. The margin of error for the Florida data was 12.8%.

Some industry leaders say the survey should not be taken as a hard-and-fast indicator of how many people are actually facing an eviction.

“(The Household Pulse Survey) is more of a renter-sentiment survey than ... a threat-to-eviction survey,” said Apartment Association of Greater Orlando CEO Chip Tatum during an interview with Spectrum News in September.

“These are folks that are maybe concerned about making their next month's rent payment, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they’re under threat of eviction, or they haven't already met their obligations before that,” he said.

The Household Pulse Survey was compiled in collaboration with several federal agencies, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, among others. Phase 3 runs until December 21.


Molly Duerig is a Report for America corps member who is covering Affordable Housing for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.