What HUD offices serve Palm Bay, Florida?
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 Florida Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Palm Bay.
How many renters live in Palm Bay, Florida?
The City of Palm Bay has 129,246 people living in 44,338 households.
There are 29,494 renters living in 9,554 renter households in this City. Renters make up 22.82 percent of the population living in Palm Bay.
What is the rental market like in Palm Bay, Florida?
There are an estimated 47,568 housing units in the Palm Bay area. Of these, 9,269 units are rental homes, making up 19 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Palm Bay, Florida, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Palm Bay?
The rental vacancy rate in Palm Bay is 5 percent. This is a lower than average vacancy rate. When rental vacancy rates are low there are fewer available units. Rents tend to be higher as more people compete for scarce housing.
How many rental units are in Palm Bay for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Palm Bay
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 173 | 1,090 | 2,553 | 3,939 | 773 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Palm Bay
A large number of apartments in Palm Bay 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 Bay are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 51 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 28 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 Bay
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,034 to $2,263. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $1,034 |
| One BR | $1,214 |
| Two BR | $1,434 |
| Three BR | $1,938 |
| Four BR | $2,263 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in Palm Bay, Florida
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Palm Bay?
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 | 111 | 64 percent |
| One BR | 634 | 58 percent |
| Two BR | 1,902 | 75 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Palm Bay, Florida
How many affordable rental units are in Palm Bay?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Palm Bay, Florida including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 664 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 87 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Palm Bay, Florida
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Palm Bay, Florida
Palm Bay features 85 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 Bay, Florida
There are 310 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Palm Bay.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Palm Bay, Florida
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Palm Bay landlords $700 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Palm Bay.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Palm Bay, Florida for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,291 and $1,577.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
