The room count captures the proportion of the existing housing stock with predetermined numbers of rooms. The community's housing stock composition, importantly the distribution of the number of rooms, can greatly improve our understanding of local affordability within rental markets. According to the US Census Bureau, included in the count of rooms were whole rooms such as living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, finished basements or attics, recreation rooms, permanently enclosed sun porches which are suitable for year-round use, and lodger's rooms. A partially divided room, such as dinette next to a kitchen or living room was counted as a separate room only if there was a partition from floor to ceiling, but was not counted as a room if the partition consisted solely of shelves or cabinets. Not included in the count of rooms were bathrooms, halls, foyers or vestibules, balconies, closets, alcoves, pantries, strip or pullman kitchens, laundry or furnace rooms, unfinished attics or basements, open porches, sun porches not suited for year-round use, unfinished space used for storage, mobile homes or trailers used only as bedrooms, and offices used only by persons not living in the unit.