Overcrowded Households
A household is considered to be overcrowded if there is more than one person per one room in the housing unit. In this definition “rooms” include living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, finished recreation rooms, enclosed porches suitable for year-round use, and lodger’s rooms.  Excluded are strip or pullman kitchens, bathrooms, open porches, balconies, halls or foyers, half-rooms, utility rooms, unfinished attics or basements, or other unfinished space used for storage. A partially divided room is a separate room only if there is a partition from floor to ceiling, but not if the partition consists solely of shelves or cabinets. Overcrowded housing in urban areas has been a problem since the beginning of the 20th century and continues to be a problem today. 

Children living in overcrowded households tend to have lower educational achievement, more behavioral issues, and higher rates of physical and mental health problems. On a neighborhood level, overcrowded housing puts a strain on local resources and is an indicator of disparities between population income and housing affordability. Immigrant populations are particularly susceptible to issues of overcrowded housing, and the Los Angeles metropolitan area has one of the highest rates of overcrowded housing in the country. The Overcrowded Households variable is a useful tool for identifying a lack of supply in affordable housing in an area.