Housing Authority of the County of Kern

601 24th Street
Bakersfield, Kern County, California 93301

Housing Authority of the County of Kern is a housing authority that participates in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, and Family Self-Sufficiency programs. As of August 16th, 2022, Housing Authority of the County of Kern has 1 waiting lists that are open now or opening soon.

Housing Authority of the County of Kern offers Public Housing and Section 8 Housing rental assistance in Kern County.

About Housing Authority of the County of Kern

HCV Portability Status

As of 04/26/2019, Housing Authority of the County of Kern is billing for Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher port-in requests. Learn more about porting Housing Choice Vouchers to a new area here.

About the Housing Authority of the County of Kern Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

As of the HUDs most recent Voucher Management System report, Housing Authority of the County of Kern manages 3,484 active Housing Choice Vouchers.

The following is a summary of the types of vouchers managed and the monthly costs of each as of September 30th, 2021:

Household Characteristics of Voucher Holders for Housing Authority of the County of Kern

Waiting List and Tenancy

According to the 2016 Q4 Picture of Subsidized Households database, the housing authority's voucher program has an annual turnover of 9% having issued approximately 388 vouchers in the past year. The average voucher holder has received housing benefits for 7 years and 1 months. According to the 2016 PSH database, persons who were issued a voucher in the preceding 12 months waited an average of 25 months on the waiting list¹.

Income Characteristics

According to 2016 Q4 Picture of Subsidized Households data, the average voucher household contains 2.6 persons and has a household income of $12,549 per year. 93% of households were very low income (VLI) and 70% were extremely low income (ELI). 21% of households had wages as a major source of income, 19% of households had welfare (TANF, General Assistance or Public Assistance) as their primary source of income, and 55% of households had other income (Social Security, Disability or Pension) as their major source of income.

Heads of Household Characteristics

4% of households were headed by a person 24 years old or less, 54% were headed by a person 25 to 49 years old, 21% were headed by a person 51 to 60 years old, and 20% were headed by a person 62 years old or older. In addition, 1% of households were headed by a person 85 years old or older.

51% of households included children, 6% of which had two adults in the household. 46% of households with children have a female head of household. 80% of all households were headed by a female.

76% of all voucher households were headed by minorities with 44% of all heads of households being Black and 1% being Hispanic.

Of all households participating in the Housing Authority of the County of Kern Housing Choice Voucher program, 19% include at least one person with a disability. 34% of households with a head of household 61 years or less were headed by a person with a disability. 80% of households headed by someone 62 or older were headed by a person with a disability.

Bedroom Size and Overhousing

28% of voucher holders reside in a home with zero or 1 bedroom, 35% with 2 bedrooms and 37% with 3 or more bedrooms. 19% of voucher recipients are considered overhoused, meaning they occupy a rental unit larger than their family size requires.

Rent, Assistance, and Utility Allowances

The average monthly tenant contribution to rent by Housing Authority of the County of Kern voucher holders in 2016 was $345 and the average monthly HUD expenditure per voucher holder was $639. The average utility allowance across all voucher recipients is $101.

1. This Picture of Subsidized Households data field is the average wait time of those who received a voucher in the preceding 12 months. Due to special voucher programs like VASH, recent waiting list purges, or waiting list preferences the average wait time can vary significantly from one year to the next and it is entirely possible many current applicants on the waiting list have been waiting for assistance for far longer.