Residents Report Difficulty Paying Monthly Housing Payments, Utilities

PHILADELPHIA-Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) releases its 2008 Household Health Survey housing information today for Montgomery County. Conducted by PHMC's Community Health Data Base (CHDB), the survey, which examines the health and health care experiences of area residents, is one of the largest regional health surveys in the country.

Overall data for Montgomery County
• 41% of Montgomery County residents report difficulty paying their housing costs, including utilities. For comparison, 48% of residents in the Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) five county region report difficulty. To see a breakdown by county, please click here
• 54% of adults reporting difficulty are renters and 39% own their home
• 37% of households that report difficulty have children in residence, representing 27,000 households

Health and housing in Montgomery County
• 18% of adults who report difficulty paying their housing costs also report being in fair or poor health versus 10% of adults who report little difficulty
• 25% of adults who report difficulty paying their housing costs also have a chronic medical condition

Other Montgomery County Data Highlights
• The vast majority of residents who report difficulty paying their housing costs (91.4%) live above Federal Poverty Line
• Latino adults (62%) report more difficulty paying their housing costs than their White (40%) and Black/African American (42%) counterparts

Data from the SEPA Household Health Survey is collected by a randomized telephone survey of 10,000 households in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. Special reports covering trends in area health and health care such chronic disease, obesity and guns and personal safety, are featured monthly on the CHDB website, www.phmc.org/chdb.

For media inquiries or specific data runs, please call contact Jamie Arehart at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 267-350-7699. For more information on CHDB, please contact Francine Axler at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 215-985-2521.