Doylestown Borough, Bucks County, Pennsylvania (PA)

Despite an increase of more than 1,000 housing units during the past 25 years, the Borough's population has remained fairly stable due to a decrease in the number of persons per household. This demographic shift parallels national trends toward smaller household size due to an aging population, more single-person households, later age of marriage, and other factors.

Characteristic	Borough	County	Nation
Persons Per Household	2.12	2.80	2.63
Household Member Age 65+	25%	10.9%	12.56%
Median Age	39.7	33.7	32.9
Single-person Household	40%	19.2%	24.6%
College/Graduate Degree	31%	24.8%	21.8%
Median Household Income	$32,942	$43,347	$30,056
Home Ownership	44%	72%	58%

Year	Low	Middle	High
1990	8,575
2000	8,870	9,160	9,310
2010	8,840	9,270	9,740
2020	8,450	9,350	10,610

With a quarter of its population comprised of senior citizens, including residents of two high-rise retirement buildings, the Borough has about twice as many seniors as compared to the average for both Bucks County and the nation. Of those residents 65 years and older, 70.9% are women and 41.3% live alone. The chart at the top of the next page illustrates that females outnumber males by approximately two-to-one over the age of 65. The largest group is the 30-44 "Baby Boomers", with the number of men and women roughly equal.

Doylestown experienced a modest rate of growth in its housing stock in the period from 1980 to 1990. The growth rate in the 1980's was about one-half the rate in the two previous decades, when the Borough grew by an average of about 800 units per decade. Since 1990, the Borough has continued to add housing stock at a rate of far below 1% per year; only 21 building permits for new units were issued since 1990. As of 1990, about 47% (1,824 units) of the Borough's housing units were owner-occupied, about the same percentage rate as in 1980, when owner-occupancy was 46%. This is below the national average of 64%, and is partially a reflection of the fact that only 37% of the Borough's housing stock is single-familydetached units. As the table below illustrates, the Borough has a diverse mix of unit types.

Year Built	# of Units	% of Total
1990-1995	21	1%
1980-1989	425	10%
1970-1979	867	21%
1960-1969	742	18%
1950-1959	550	13%
1940-1949	197	5%
Before 1939	1319	32%
Total	4121	100%

As part of the 1990 census, citizens were asked to provide the value of their home. The median value for the Borough was $156,100. This compares to 1993 median housing prices in Central Bucks County of $212,697 for newly constructed single-family detached homes and $155,800 for newly constructed attached homes. As seen in the table on page 14, most Doylestown houses (70%) were in the $100,000 to $199,000 category. Five percent of the units were valued over $300,000. Overall, the Borough has a broad diversity of housing prices.

Type of Structure	# of Units	% of Total
1-unit detached	1,532	37%
1-unit attached	567	14%
2 to 4 units	619	15%
5 to 9 units	234	6%
10 or more units	1,058	26%
Other	90	2%

In Doylestown the median mortgage payment in 1990 was $1,048. However, 417 households spent more than 30% of their monthly income on their mortgage payment. This means, in the Borough, 26% of all owner-occupied households were paying more than the generally accepted percentage for a household payment.

Value	# of Units	% of Total
Less than $50,000	21	1%
$50,000 to 99,000	156	10%
$100,000 to 149,000	540	34%
$150,000 to 199,000	571	36%
$200,000 to 299,000	230	14%
$300,000 or more	81	5%

The Borough's median rent in 1990 was $554. Most renters (42%) were paying between $500 and $749. However, a high percentage (36%) pay more than 30% of their income for rent and almost two-thirds of these households (266), pay more than 35% of their income for rent.

Rent	# of Units	% of Total
Less than $250	163	8%
$250 to 499	643	32%
$500 to 749	846	42%
$750 to 999	293	15%
$1,000 or more	72	4%
Total	2,017	100%