CHAPTER V.

HOUSING AND LIVING CONDITIONS.

Rent in its relation to standard of living-Boarders and lodgers-Size of apartments occupied-Size of households-Congestion-[Text Tables 73 to 84 and General Tables 71 to 82].

RENT IN ITS RELATION TO STANDARD OF LIVING.

The monthly rent payments of the households whose heads are employed in Community A are chiefly significant in their bearing upon the standard of living, because of congestion within the households arising from the practice of crowding the apartments in order to reduce the per capita rent outlay. The first table presented in this connection, which immediately follows, shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the average rent per month paid per apartment, per room, and per person.

TABLE 73.-Average rent per month, by general nativity and race of head of household. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

For 627 households paying rent and reporting its amount, the average rent per apartment is $10.56; per room $2.27, and per person $1.98 per month. Considering the households the heads of which' are of each nativity group, it is seen that those the heads of which are native-born of native father pay a higher average rent per month, per apartment, per room, and per person, than do those the heads of which are native-born of foreign father; while households the

heads of which are foreign born show the lowest average rent in each instance.

Considering the households the heads of which are foreign-born, by race, it is seen that those the heads of which are English, Hebrew, or Irish, are the only ones showing an average rent per month per apartment as high as $10, while households the heads of which are Poles or Slovaks show the lowest average rent. The households of every race except North Italian, Polish, and Slovak, pay an average rent per room above $2. Households whose heads are Polish or Slovak are the only ones paying an average rent per person below $1. Households the heads of which are of each other race except French Canadian, pay over $2 monthly rent per person.

The range in monthly rents for apartments is set forth in the following table, which shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the percentage of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment:

TABLE 74.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

Of the 627 households paying rent and reporting amount 1.4 per cent pay under $5; 47.4 per cent pay under $10; 82.8 per cent pay under $15, and 97.1 per cent pay under $20 per month-the average rent being $10.56. A larger proportion of the households the heads of which are foreign-born than of those the heads of which are nativeborn, of either native or foreign father, pay each specified rent per month, consequently show a lower average rent-the households the heads of which are native-born of native father showing the smallest proportion paying each specified rent per month, consequently the highest average rent. All of the households the heads of which are Poles or Slovaks pay under $12.50 rent per month per apartment

a certain small proportion of the households the heads of which are of each other given race, except Hebrew, paying $20 or more.

The table next presented shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the percentage of households paying each specified rent per month per room.

TABLE 75.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per room, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all

races.]

The average rent per month per room of the 627 households studied in the above table is $2.27-less than 1 per cent paying under $1, 29.7 per cent paying under $2, 86.8 per cent paying under $3, and 97.8 per cent paying under $4. The lowest average rent per month per room is shown by the households the heads of which are foreignborn, a larger proportion of these households than of those the heads of which are native-born of either native or foreign father paying under each specified amount. Of the households the heads of which are Slovaks 3.4 per cent pay under $1 and 100 per cent pay under $3 rent per month per room. None of the households of other race origin pay under $1, and 99 per cent of those the heads of which are Polish and 79.2 per cent of those the heads of which are Hebrew pay under $3.

The real situation relative to congestion is set forth in the table following, which indicates the extent of crowding within the households studied by showing, according to general nativity and race of head of household, the percentage of households paying each specified rent per month per person.

TABLE 76.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per person, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

The average rent per person of 627 households paying rent and reporting amount is seen by the above table to be $1.98-13.2 per cent paying under $1, 46.6 per cent paying under $2, 69.7 per cent paying under $3, 82.1 per cent paying under $4, and 89 per cent paying under $5 per month per person. The households the heads of which are foreign-born show a larger proportion than the households the heads of which are native-born of foreign father, which in turn show a larger proportion than the households the heads of which are nativeborn of native father paying each specified rent per month per person. The average rent per person is consequently highest for the households the heads of which are native-born of native father and lowest for those the heads of which are foreign-born. Considering the households whose heads are foreign-born by race, it is seen that those whose heads are Polish or Slovak pay an average rent of less than $1 per month per person, none of those whose heads are Polish paying as high as $4 and none of those whose heads are Slovak paying as high as $3, 54.2 per cent and 44.8 per cent, respectively, paying under $1. The households whose heads are English report the highest average rent per month per person, none paying under $1 and 18.9 per cent paying $5 or over.

BOARDERS AND LODGERS.

The practice of the wives of employees in Community A in supplementing the earnings of their husbands by taking boarders or lodgers into the home has already been discussed. The extent of this practice and its bearing upon living conditions are considered in

the two following tables, the first of which exhibits the number and per cent of households keeping boarders or lodgers, by general nativity and race of head of household:

TABLE 77.-Number and per cent of households keeping boarders or lodgers, by general· nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[Information relating to boarders or lodgers covers only immediate time of taking schedule and not the entire year. Boarders are persons who receive both board and lodging.]

Of the 689 households studied in the preceding table, 20.9 per cent keep boarders or lodgers. The households whose heads are of foreign birth show by far the highest percentages keeping boarders or lodgers, followed, in the order named, by the households whose heads are native whites born of native father and those whose heads are nativeborn of foreign father, with considerably smaller proportions keeping boarders or lodgers.

Of the households whose heads are native-born of foreign father, those whose heads are of Irish parentage show 11.9 per cent as contrasted with no households, the heads of which are of German parentage, keeping boarders or lodgers.

Of households whose heads are of foreign birth, those whose heads are Poles and Slovaks show over 65 per cent keeping boarders or lodgers; those whose heads are Irish show the next largest proportion, or 24.1 per cent. The households whose heads are Germans, French Canadians, and English show comparatively small proportions keeping boarders or lodgers. The table further shows that no households the heads of which are Hebrews keep boarders or lodgers.

In the table following the average number of boarders or lodgers per household is shown according to general nativity and race of head of household. The averages are based (1) on the total number of households, and (2) on the number of households taking boarders or lodgers.