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

Discover affordable housing in Kern County where there are 175+ 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.

Sunrise Apartment Homes

1201 40th St, Bakersfield, California

Park Meadows

840 Park Meadows Ave., Bakersfield, California 93308

The Meadows

2400 Goldenrod St, Bakersfield, California 93308

Tehachapi Senior Manor I & II

654 W E St, Tehachapi, California 93561

Mojave Villa Apartments

1592 Barstow Rd, Mojave, California 93501

Mill Creek Village

508 18th St, Bakersfield, California 93301

St. John Manor Apartments

900 Fourth Street, Bakersfield, California 93304

Park Palace Apartments

16193 H Street, Mojave, California 93501

Belmont Meadows

150 Belmont Street, Delano, California 93215

Larkspur Village

340 S Downs St, Ridgecrest, California 93555

Bakersfield Family Apartments

1629 Lotus Ln, Bakersfield, California 93307

Sunnylane Village Apartments

2601 Sunny Lane, Bakersfield, California 93305

Valley View Apartments

2148 Jasmine St, Delano, California 93215

Terracina Oaks II Apartments

1276 Oak Ave, Greenfield, California 93927

Aldea Park Apartments

14681 Lost Hills Rd, Lost Hills, California 93249

Sundance Apartments

6000 White Ln, Bakersfield, California 93309

Village at Lakeside Apartments

1718 Panama Lane, Bakersfield, California 93307

Lake Isabella Senior Apartments

2701 Erskine Creek Rd, Lake Isabella, California 93240

Lake Isabella Senior Apartments 2

2701 Erskine Creek Rd, Lake Isabella, California 93240

Wasco-Sunset Apartments

1225 8th Place, Wasco, California 93280

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Kern County, California
$23.83/hour
$7.83 (+49%) more than California minimum wage and $16.58 (+229%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Kern County, California Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Kern 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), Public Housing, Family Self-Sufficiency, Section 8 Project-Based Voucher (PBV) programs for Kern County, California.

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

How many renters live in Kern County, California?

The County of Kern County has 916,108 people living in 283,510 households.

There are 335,980 renters living in 110,680 renter households in this County. Renters make up 36.67 percent of the population living in Kern County.

What is the rental market like in Kern County, California?

There are an estimated 306,201 housing units in the Kern County area. Of these, 115,467 units are rental homes, making up 38 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Kern County, California, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Kern County?

The rental vacancy rate in Kern County is 4 percent. This is a lower than average vacancy rate. When rental vacancy rates are low there are fewer available units. Rents tend to be higher as more people compete for scarce housing.

How many rental units are in Kern County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Kern County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
6,236 14,493 42,600 36,465 10,268
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Kern County

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

Among renter households in this market, 54 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 28 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 Kern County

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $960 to $2,135. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $960
One BR $967
Two BR $1,258
Three BR $1,773
Four BR $2,135
2024 Fair Market Rents in Kern County, California

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Kern 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 3,183 51 percent
One BR 8,275 57 percent
Two BR 24,491 57 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Kern County, California

How many affordable rental units are in Kern County?

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

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 9,334
Public Housing 604
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 1,000
Section 236 Rental Assistance 84
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 127
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 58
USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing 1,145
USDA Section 514 Farm Labor Housing 1,171
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Kern County, California

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

Income Based Apartments in Kern County, California

Kern County features 3,959 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 Kern County, California

There are 6,484 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Kern County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Kern County, California

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Kern County landlords $600 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Kern County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Kern County, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,132 and $1,384.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.