Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in San Mateo County, CA

Discover affordable housing in San Mateo County where there are 107+ 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.

Willow Housing

605 Willow Rd, Menlo Park, California 94025

Nugent Square

2361 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, California 94303

Light Tree Apartments

1805 E Bayshore Rd, East Palo Alto, California 94303

Serenity Senior Apartments

2358 University Ave, East Palo Alto, California 94303

Gateway Rising

1345 Willow Rd, Menlo Park, California 94025

Peninsula Station

2901 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, California 94403

Woodlands Newell

1761-1767 Woodland Ave, East Palo Alto, California 94303

Main Street Park

1101 Main St, Half Moon Bay, California 94019

Coatside Senior Housing

925 Main St, Half Moon Bay, California 94019

Delaware Pacific

1990 S Delaware St, San Mateo, California 94403

636 El Camino

636 El Camino Real, South San Francisco, California 94080

Half Moon Village

801 Arnold Way , Half Moon Bay, California 94019

Alma Point at Foster Square

790 Alma Ln, Foster City, California 94404

Rotary Plaza

433 Alida Way, South San Francisco, California 94080

City Center Plaza Apartments

950 Main St, Redwood City, California 94063

Sequoia Belle Haven Apartments

1221 Willow Rd , Menlo Park, California 94025

Sweeney Lane Apartments

6800 Mission St, Daly City, California 94014

Mosaic Garden at Friendly Acres Apartments

3752 Rolison Road, Redwood City, California 94063

Willow Terrace

1345 Willow Rd, Menlo Park, California 94025

168 Pacific

168 Pacific Avenue, Pacifica, California 94044

calendar_today Opened: Sep 1
Open Until Further Notice

Reported On February 23rd, 2024 by Nathan Brunet

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In San Mateo County, California
$63.62/hour
$47.62 (+298%) more than California minimum wage and $56.37 (+777%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About San Mateo County, California Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve San Mateo County, 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.

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Moving to Work programs for San Mateo County, California.

Go to the California Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near San Mateo County.

How many renters live in San Mateo County, California?

The County of San Mateo County has 729,181 people living in 262,122 households.

There are 278,126 renters living in 108,774 renter households in this County. Renters make up 38.14 percent of the population living in San Mateo County.

What is the rental market like in San Mateo County, California?

There are an estimated 287,401 housing units in the San Mateo County area. Of these, 121,186 units are rental homes, making up 42 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in San Mateo County, California, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in San Mateo County?

The rental vacancy rate in San Mateo County is 9 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 San Mateo County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in San Mateo County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
10,994 39,946 33,914 17,063 5,425
Occupied Rental Units by Size in San Mateo County

A large number of apartments in San Mateo County 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 San Mateo County are overburdened by housing costs?

Among renter households in this market, 49 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 25 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 San Mateo County

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $2,292 to $4,473. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $2,292
One BR $2,818
Two BR $3,359
Three BR $4,112
Four BR $4,473
2024 Fair Market Rents in San Mateo County, California

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in San Mateo County?

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 2,570 23 percent
One BR 4,853 12 percent
Two BR 2,192 6 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in San Mateo County, California

How many affordable rental units are in San Mateo County?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in San Mateo County, California including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 3,914
Public Housing 80
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 1,502
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 143
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 56
Tracked Units by Federal Program in San Mateo County, California

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

Income Based Apartments in San Mateo County, California

San Mateo County features 2,388 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 San Mateo County, California

There are 4,239 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in San Mateo County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in San Mateo County, California

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay San Mateo County landlords $1,400 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $500 towards rent in San Mateo County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in San Mateo County, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $3,023 and $3,695.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.