Due to historical racial discrimination and the generational wealth gap, as of 2017, low-income populations are disproportionately made up of people of color. Since manufactured housing is one of the most affordable housing options for low-income populations, it is unclear why whites are more likely to occupy manufactured housing than people of color. Understanding this phenomenon could address the housing needs of households of color, especially during the affordability crisis. County-level data from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates and the 2010 U.S. Census were analyzed to determine associations between Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Non-Hispanic White manufactured housing occupancy and four independent variables: racial disparities in homeownership, the geographic distribution of manufactured homes across rural and urban locations and across census divisions (i.e., regions of the country), and the age of residents using linear regression. Despite significance in the relationships, all were substantively small. The most prominent takeaway from this study is the severity of the racial homeownership gap for Black and Hispanic/Latinx households in comparison to Non-Hispanic Whites. In addition, that Hispanic/Latinx households are less likely to live in mobile homes as they become homeowners and are more likely to live in mobile homes in rural areas. The study concludes with a discussion of policy and planning implications, including ways to eliminate barriers to manufactured housing as an affordable housing opportunity for communities of color.
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