A housing unit is owner occupied if the owner or co-owner lives in the unit, even if it is mortgaged or not fully paid for, All other occupied units are classified as renter occupied, whether or not cash rent is paid. Examples of units for which no cash rent is paid include units occupied in exchange for services rendered, units owned by relatives and occupied without payment of rent, and units occupied by sharecroppers.

The three major race categories distinguished in this report are white, Negro, and other races. Among persons of other races are American Indians, Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, Asian Indians, and Malayans. Negroes and persons of other races taken together constitute nonwhite persons. Persons of Mexican birth or descent who are not definitely Indian or other nonwhite race are classified as white. In addition to persons of Negro and of mixed Negro and white descent, the category Negro includes persons of mixed Indian and Negro descent unless the Indian ancestry very definitely predominates or unless the person is regarded as an Indian in the community.

A housing unit is occupied if it was the usual place of residence for the person or group of persons living in it at the time of enumeration. Included are units occupied by persons who were only temporarily absent (for example, on vacation) and units occupied by persons with no usual place of residence elsewhere.