Public Housing Agencies Serving 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.

Berkeley, California Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Berkeley, California

Berkeley features 806 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 819 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 $2,165 and $2,646.

2023 Berkeley, California 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.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

Berkeley, CA Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	33
Total Low Income Apartments	1,625
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	806
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	57.35%
Average Renter Household Size	2.15
Average Household Size	2.29
Median Household Income	$66,237 ±$2,415
Median Rent	$1,362 ±$26
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	51.94% ± 2.37pp
Total Population	117,384

Population and Household Demographics

Berkeley is a city in Alameda County, California with a population of 117,384. There are 45,917 households in the city with an average household size of 2.29 persons. 57.35% of households in Berkeley are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Berkeley

The median gross income for households in Berkeley is $66,237 a year, or $5,520 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,362 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Berkeley, a household making less than $4,540 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 51.94% of households who rent are overburdened in Berkeley.

Area Median Income In Berkeley

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 Berkeley, the AMI is calculated from all households within Alameda County.

In Berkeley, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $142,800

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 Berkeley

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 Berkeley