Eau Claire & U.S. Housing Changes

The total number of houses and people from 1860 to 1970 was used to calculate the percent of each for each decade. 1970 was used as the last decade because the Eau Claire house survey started in 1997; and thus, did not include houses in newer parts of the city. A comparison of Eau Claire's age of housing with that of the U.S. reveals several distinctive patterns:

1. A larger percentage of the city's housing is from the late nineteenth century than the nation.
2. During the Great Depression a large percentage of  houses were built in Eau Claire than in the U.S. In other words, the Depression was not as serve in small towns and in the Midwest than in large metropolitan areas and other regions.
3. Despite the post-World War II boom, Eau Claire's new housing starts declined rapidly in the 1960s (and the 1970s because the survey did not include all 1970s houses in the city because the survey started in 1977) compared with the nation. In other words, the suburbanization of housing was more important in larger cities and outside of the Midwest, particularly in California, and later in retirement communities of Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.

In summary, smaller towns and cities have more 19th century houses; were less affected by the Great Depression, and experienced less post-World War II suburbanization than the nation as a whole.

Sources:

1. Architectural Survey of Eau Claire, 1978-85 -- conducted by students in Geography 367;
2. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Housing Construction Statistics, 1889-1964; and
3. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Construction Reports, Housing Starts, 1965-1979.