Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Houston, TX

Discover affordable housing in Houston where there are 319+ housing opportunities based on income and household needs like accessible units for seniors or persons with disabilities. Find and apply to these low income apartments now.

Northvale Apartments

14422 Cornerstone Village Dr, Houston, Texas 77014

Lansbourough Apartments

10050 Cullen Blvd, Houston, Texas 77051

Fairlake Cove Apartments

10900 Cypress Creek Pkwy, Houston, Texas 77070

Mariposa at Ella Blvd

Approx 0 1 Mi SE of Southridge Rd On E, Houston, Texas 77090

Cypress Creek at Fayridge

14155 Fayridge Dr, Houston, Texas 77048

Floral Gardens

7950 Parkway Manor Dr, Houston, Texas 77085

Sterling Court Senior Residences

9590 Minnesota St, Houston, Texas 77075

Palisades of Inwood

5800 W Mount Houston Rd, Houston, Texas 77088

Ella Grand

2077 S. Gessner Rd., Houston, Texas 77063

M538613, 3700 Lyons Avenue

3730 Lyons Ave, Houston, Texas 77020

Perry Street Apartments

4415 Perry St, Houston, Texas 77091

Parkway Ranch II

10000 W Montgomery Rd, Houston, Texas 77088

U.S. Vets at Midtown Terrace

4640 Main St, Houston, Texas 77002

Bridges, the ( Fka Oaklake )

15915 Kuykendahl Rd, Houston, Texas 77068

Houston Area Cdc

1414 Congress St, Houston, Texas 77002

M - Rhd - Nhh - Canal Street Apartments, Inc

1117 Texas St, Houston, Texas 77002

Loving Arms - Construction

7210 Peerless St, Houston, Texas 77021

Northland Woods Apartments I, Llc

15165 Vickery Dr, Houston, Texas 77032

Sunrise Village Apartments

7526 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Houston, Texas 77033

Sovereign Apartments

9888 United Dr, Houston, Texas 77036

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Houston, Texas
$25.70/hour
$18.45 (+254%) more than Texas minimum wage and $18.45 (+254%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Houston, Texas Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Houston, Texas?

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.

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing programs for Houston, Texas.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs for Houston, Texas.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs for Houston, Texas.

Go to the Texas Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Houston.

How many renters live in Houston, Texas?

The City of Houston has 2,304,414 people living in 947,632 households.

There are 1,254,370 renters living in 561,256 renter households in this City. Renters make up 54.43 percent of the population living in Houston.

What is the rental market like in Houston, Texas?

There are an estimated 1,043,326 housing units in the Houston area. Of these, 616,675 units are rental homes, making up 59 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Houston, Texas, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Houston?

The rental vacancy rate in Houston 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 Houston for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Houston
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
65,183 200,661 197,768 77,895 16,803
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Houston

A large number of apartments in Houston 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 Houston are overburdened by housing costs?

Among renter households in this market, 50 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 24 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 Houston

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,073 to $2,303. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,073
One BR $1,135
Two BR $1,357
Three BR $1,792
Four BR $2,303
2024 Fair Market Rents in Houston, Texas

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Houston?

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 28,633 44 percent
One BR 104,734 52 percent
Two BR 101,186 51 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Houston, Texas

How many affordable rental units are in Houston?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Houston, Texas including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 39,007
Public Housing 2,316
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 5,915
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 1,266
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 155
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Houston, Texas

Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.

Income Based Apartments in Houston, Texas

Houston features 12,987 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 Houston, Texas

There are 37,533 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Houston.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Houston, Texas

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Houston landlords $800 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Houston.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Houston, Texas for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,221 and $1,493.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.