Palmer features 52 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 Palmer, Alaska

There are 314 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Palmer.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Palmer, Alaska

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Palmer landlords $600 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $500 towards rent in Palmer.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Palmer, Alaska for a two-bedroom apartment is between $939 and $1,147.

2020 Palmer, Alaska Fair Market Rents and Housing Choice Voucher Payment Standards

Fair Market Rents can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Fair Market Rents are used by HUD to establish payment and rent standards for federal rental assistance programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

	Studio	One BR	Two BR	Three BR	Four BR
Fair Market Rent	$741	$792	$1,043	$1,505	$1,831
Payment Standard Range	$667 to $815	$713 to $871	$939 to $1,147	$1,355 to $1,656	$1,648 to $2,014

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

Palmer, AK Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	11
Total Low Income Apartments	366
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	52
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	42.38%
Average Renter Household Size	2.78
Average Household Size	2.99
Median Household Income	$61,797 ±$3,001
Median Rent	$923 ±$22
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	50.86% ± 5.57pp
Total Population	6,449

Population and Household Demographics

Palmer is a City in Matanuska Susitna Borough, Alaska with a population of 6,449. There are 2,055 households in the city with an average household size of 2.99 persons. 42.38% of households in Palmer are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Palmer

The median gross income for households in Palmer is $61,797 a year, or $5,150 a month. The median rent for the city is $923 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Palmer, a household making less than $3,077 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 50.86% of households who rent are overburdened in Palmer.¹

Area Median Income In Palmer

Affordable housing program eligibility is always determined by one's income. Each household's income is compared to the incomes of all other households in the area. This is accomplished through a statistic established by the government called the Area Median Income, most often referred to as AMI. The AMI is calculated and published each year by HUD.

HUD often uses an area larger than a city to determine the AMI because HUD anticipates those searching for housing will look beyond individual cities during their housing search. For Palmer, the AMI is calculated from all households within Matanuska Susitna Borough.

In Palmer, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $92,600

Most affordable housing programs determine eligibility based on the percent of AMI a given household's income is. Among the programs that determine eligibility based on the AMI are Section 8, HOME, LIHTC, Section 515, 202 and 811.

Rental Assistance in Palmer

Rental assistance is a type of housing subsidy that pays for a portion of a renter’s monthly housing costs, including rent and tenant paid utilities. This housing assistance can come in the form of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, project-based Section 8 contracts, public housing, USDA Rental Assistance (in Section 515 properties) as well as HUD Section 202 and 811 properties for elderly and disabled households.

Income Qualifications for HUD Rental Assistance in Palmer

Income	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person
30% of Median	$19,500	$22,250	$26,660	$32,190	$37,720	$43,250	$48,780	$54,310
50% of Median	$32,450	$37,050	$41,700	$46,300	$50,050	$53,750	$57,450	$61,150
80% of Median	$51,900	$59,300	$66,700	$74,100	$80,050	$86,000	$91,900	$97,850

Affordable Housing In Palmer Matanuska Susitna Borough, Alaska

11 Low Income Apartment Communities In Palmer

Guide To Affordable Housing in Palmer, Alaska

Income Based Apartments in Palmer, Alaska