For more than four decades HAC has analyzed rural housing markets and disseminated information on housing conditions and characteristics for low-income rural Americans. To improve living conditions in rural areas, housing providers, policymakers and the public need access to reliable information and data. Through HAC’s newsletter, magazines, issue summaries, and library of more than 150 studies and reports on housing issues in rural America, HAC’s research and information constantly evolves to keep partners and policy makers informed.

Taking Stock of Rural America

5 DECADES OF TAKING STOCK IN RURAL AMERICA

RURAL PEOPLE, RURAL PLACES, RURAL HOUSING

First published in 1984, Taking Stock is a decennial research publication of the Housing Assistance Council. The 2023 edition of Taking Stock continues this legacy of presenting social, economic, and housing trends for rural places and rural people.



In the early 1980s, the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) published its initial Taking Stock report. This seminal work was one of the first comprehensive assessments of rural housing and rural poverty conditions in the United States. The first Taking Stock also exposed the plight and housing need of the nation’s high poverty rural areas. HAC’s decennial Taking Stock analysis continued in 1990, 2000, and 2010 and has increasingly expanded to cover a broader scope of social, economic, and housing trends in rural areas. The 2023 edition of Taking Stock continues its legacy of presenting a composite picture of trends and issues important to rural people, places, and housing.

Rural America is More Diverse Than You Think