CHAPTER III 
HOUSING COSTS 
OUSING stands out as the item of the budget which 
H is most likely to be influenced by local conditions 
and customs. In a number of cities investigated in 
this survey, dwellings for wage earners were substantially 
similar in character, while between other cities there were 
marked differences. This is inevitable, since the character 
of housing is necessarily influenced by population congestion 
and land values, and in a lesser degree, by the customs and 
preferences of local tenants. Where land values are high, 
low-cost shelter can be provided only by multi-floor dwellings 
which can distribute the rental value of the land occupied 
between many families. In cities of medium size, this condi- 
tion exists but in a modified degree, so that buildings of two 
or three stories with “flats,” usually prevail for housing fami- 
lies of wage earners. In the small communities, land values 
are a negligible factor, and the most inexpensive shelter 
often takes the form of small, detached frame houses. 
This dissimilarity in the kinds of housing afforded in 
different localities makes it impossible in a study of this 
character to confine the price comparison to identical types 
of shelter. Similar housing simply does not exist in all 
localities. Therefore, an attempt has been made to deter- 
mine the prevailing form of housing in each locality, the type 
of shelter upon which the majority of wage earners’ families 
must depend, and consider the rental cost of this form as the 
amount which the wage earner must pay for shelter. 
As an aid to comparability and in order to maintain what 
was considered a minimum American standard of living, 
three requirements were laid down in collecting rent quota- 
tions. Housing considered suitable to meet the minimum 
standards for a family of an industrial worker must be in a 
decent neighborhood, in a fair state of repair, cleanliness 
and sanitation, and must have a bathroom for the exclusive 
use of the family.