In 1980, approximately half of the ward's residents were below the poverty line, while 95% of residents did not own their own homes. In the 1980s the Fourth Ward had the poorest African-American community in the city of Houston; the sole residential area had less than 4,400 residents. 50% of the residents were below the poverty level. From the 1980 U.S. Census to the 1990 Census, the Fourth Ward was the sole community in Houston that lost Asian-Americans as many Vietnamese-Americans left Allen Parkway Village. In 2000 J. Don Boney said that blacks owned less than 5% of the land in the Fourth Ward, and much of that land is owned by churches.