National Center for Healthy Housing

Cincinnati, OH

Location Summary

Positive Findings: Compared to the national average, the Cincinnati area has fewer homes with holes in floors, signs of rats and mice, room heaters without flues, and exposed wiring. Central city units are less likely to have signs of mice, and room heaters without a flue.  Areas outside the central city have fewer holes in floors, signs of rats, room heaters without a flue, and exposed wire in the unit compared to the national average. Rental units have fewer holes in floors, signs of rats and mice, lack of complete plumbing, room heaters without a flue, and exposed wire in the unit compared to the national average.  Owner occupied homes are less likely to have issues with signs of rats, room heaters without a flue, and exposed wires in the unit compared to the national average.

Areas for Improvement: Compared to the national average, Cincinnati-area homes have more problems with broken plaster and peeling paint, leaks from the inside and outside, water supply stoppages, lack of complete kitchen facilities, and window and foundation problems. In addition to the issues found in the MSA, central city homes are also more likely to have flush toilet breakdowns. Units outside the central city have more issues with broken plaster, water leaks from the outside, water supply stoppage, heating equipment breakdowns, and siding, window, and foundation problems. Rental units are more likely to have problems with broken plaster, water leaks from outside, water supply stoppage, lack of complete kitchen facilities, and window and foundation problems.  Owner occupied homes are more likely to have broken plaster, water leaks from the outside, water supply stoppage, flush toilet breakdowns, heating equipment breakdowns, lack of kitchen facilities, and siding and foundation problems compared to the national average.

Community Information: The Cincinnati MSA includes Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties, Kentucky; Dearborn County, Indiana; and Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties, Ohio. In 1998, the MSA included 592,400 occupied dwelling units, 24.0% of which were located in the central city of Cincinnati. The housing stock of the MSA ranks among the oldest, and has an average percentage of rental units for the entire MSA and ranks among the most in quantity of units that are rental of the cities surveyed for the central city. The percentage of pre-1940 homes ranked 13th oldest (23.7%) for the MSA and 10th oldest (49.3%) for the central city. The median house age in the Cincinnati MSA was 1963. The percentage of rental units ranked 22nd-least heavily rental (25.2%) for the MSA and 9th-most heavily rental (58.0%) for the central city. (Poverty rates were not reported in the 1998 Metro survey.)