Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Berkeley, CA

Discover affordable housing in Berkeley where there are 36+ 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.

Erna P. Harris Court

1330 University Avenue, Berkeley, California 94702

Adeline Street Apartments

3224 Adeline St, Berkeley, California 94703

Grayson Apartments

2740 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, California 94702

Jordan Court

1601 Oxford St., Berkeley, California 94709

UA Homes

1040 University Ave, Berkeley, California 94710

University Avenue Co

1471 Addison St, Berkeley, California 94702

Berkeley 75 Apts

1936 University Ave, Ste 130-A, Berkeley, California 94704

Berkeley Way Apartments and The Hope Center

2020 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94704

Oxford Plaza

2175 Kittredge St, Berkeley, California 94704

Harmon Gardens

3240 Sacramento St, Berkeley, California 94702

Redwood Gardens

2951 Derby St, Berkeley, California 94705

Savo Island

2017 Stuart St, Berkeley, California 94703

Harper Crossing

3132 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley, California 94703

Lorin Station Plaza

3253 Adeline St, Berkeley, California 94703

William Byron Rumford Plaza

3017 Stanton St, Berkeley, California 94702

Maggie Kuhn Apartments

1499 Alcatraz Ave, Berkeley, California 94702

Bonita Grove

1910 Hearst Ave, Berkeley, California 94704

Ocean View Garden Apartments

819 Hearst Ave, Berkeley, California 94710

Hearst Studios

950 Hearst Ave, Berkeley, California 94703

Harriet Tubman Terrace

2870 Adeline St, Berkeley, California 94703

calendar_today Opens: Apr 1
calendar_today Closes: Apr 5,

Reported On March 19th, 2024 by Lorena Bentley

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Berkeley, California
$49.05/hour
$33.05 (+207%) more than California minimum wage and $41.80 (+577%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Berkeley, California Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Berkeley, 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), Public Housing programs for Berkeley, California.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing programs for Berkeley, California.

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

How many renters live in Berkeley, California?

The City of Berkeley has 118,942 people living in 47,052 households.

There are 55,099 renters living in 26,919 renter households in this City. Renters make up 46.32 percent of the population living in Berkeley.

What is the rental market like in Berkeley, California?

There are an estimated 50,854 housing units in the Berkeley area. Of these, 28,523 units are rental homes, making up 56 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Berkeley, California, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Berkeley?

The rental vacancy rate in Berkeley is 7 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 Berkeley for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Berkeley
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
6,468 7,819 9,531 1,717 1,067
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Berkeley

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

Among renter households in this market, 58 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 39 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 Berkeley

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,825 to $3,954. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,825
One BR $2,131
Two BR $2,590
Three BR $3,342
Four BR $3,954
2024 Fair Market Rents in Berkeley, California

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

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 2,885 45 percent
One BR 2,151 28 percent
Two BR 2,298 24 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Berkeley, California

How many affordable rental units are in Berkeley?

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

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 1,360
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 647
Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance 98
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 67
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 24
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Berkeley, California

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

Income Based Apartments in Berkeley, California

Berkeley features 803 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 Berkeley, California

There are 1,029 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Berkeley.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Berkeley, California

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Berkeley landlords $1,600 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $500 towards rent in Berkeley.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Berkeley, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,331 and $2,849.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.