Friedman and Rosenbaum use data from the 2001 American Housing Survey to examine whether nativity status or race/ethnicity plays a more important role in determining housing conditions. The researchers also evaluate nativity-status differences in housing conditions to see if conditions vary depending on whether a household owns or rents. They find that, overall, when compared with native-born households, recently arrived immigrant households are significantly more likely to be crowded but are either as likely or significantly less likely to live in poorer-quality housing.

However, race/ethnicity is a stronger factor than immigrant status in predicting household housing outcomes. The study finds that black and Hispanic households, regardless of nativity status, had lower-quality housing outcomes than native-born whites, and, frequently, than foreign-born whites. This was particularly the case for housing quality among homeowners. This article is of particular interest to those who research the impact of race and nativity on housing quality outcomes and to policy-makers weighing the benefits of targeting housing programs to minority and immigrant households.

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