What HUD offices serve Palm Desert, California?
Public Housing Agencies operate federally assisted affordable housing programs at local levels on behalf of HUD. Notably, housing agencies are responsible for managing Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Public Housing, and Project-Based Voucher waiting lists within their jurisdiction.
Go to the California Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Palm Desert.
How many renters live in Palm Desert, California?
The City of Palm Desert has 51,290 people living in 24,129 households.
There are 17,339 renters living in 8,195 renter households in this City. Renters make up 33.81 percent of the population living in Palm Desert.
What is the rental market like in Palm Desert, California?
There are an estimated 36,758 housing units in the Palm Desert area. Of these, 9,152 units are rental homes, making up 25 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Palm Desert, California, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Palm Desert?
The rental vacancy rate in Palm Desert is 8 percent. This is a higher than average vacancy rate. When rental vacancy rates are high it means that there are a lot of available units and rents tend to be lower.
How many rental units are in Palm Desert for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Palm Desert
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 424 | 1,846 | 4,288 | 1,316 | 293 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Palm Desert
A large number of apartments in Palm Desert have two or fewer bedrooms. Seniors and young professionals especially may have more success finding an apartment that meets their needs.
How many renter households in Palm Desert are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 55 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 27 percent of households are extremely rent overburdened. When renters pay too much for their housing, it leaves little money for other necessities like food, clothes, or medicine.
The federal government says that renters are cost-burdened if they pay more than a third of their monthly income for rent and utilities.
How Much Is Rent in Palm Desert
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,517 to $3,304. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $1,517 |
| One BR | $1,611 |
| Two BR | $2,010 |
| Three BR | $2,707 |
| Four BR | $3,304 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in Palm Desert, California
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Palm Desert?
Renters with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher must select a home that is at or below the area’s Fair Market Rent. Markets with a large share of units above FMR tend to have longer search times to find a qualified unit, while those with a large share of units below FMR tend to have more choices and shorter search times. The share below FMR can vary by size of unit, as shown in the table below.
These are the approximate number of units renting below the FMR in this market:
| Unit Size | Count of Units Below FMR | Percentage of Total Units Below FMR |
| Studio | 322 | 76 percent |
| One BR | 1,363 | 74 percent |
| Two BR | 1,497 | 35 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Palm Desert, California
How many affordable rental units are in Palm Desert?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Palm Desert, California including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 162 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 1 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Palm Desert, California
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert features 0 income based apartments. Tenants of income based apartments typically pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent and utilities.
Low Rent Apartments in Palm Desert, California
There are 163 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Palm Desert.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Palm Desert, California
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Palm Desert landlords $700 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Palm Desert.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Palm Desert, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,809 and $2,211.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
