Housing Authorities that serve Oakland

Understanding Affordable Housing in Oakland, California

• Population And Household Demographics
• Income and Rent Overburden
• Fair Market Rents
• Area Median Income
• Low Income Housing Tax Credit
• Rental Assistance

Oakland, CA Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	153
Total Low Income Apartments	11,468
Total Rent Assisted Apartments	3,989
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	58.94%
Average Renter Household Size	2.07
Total Population	390,724
Housing Units	153,791
Average Household Size	2.23
Median Household Income	$52,962 ±$1,031
Median Rent	$1,114 ±$12
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	52.84% ± 1.3pp

Population and Household Demographics

Oakland is a City in Alameda County, California with a population of 390,724. There are 153,791 households in the city with an average household size of 2.23 persons. 58.94% of households in Oakland are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Oakland

The median gross income for households in Oakland is $52,962 a year, or $4,414 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,114 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Oakland, a household making less than $3,713 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 52.84% of households who rent are overburdened in Oakland.¹

Data derived from 2010 Census and 2014 5-Year American Community Survey. Learn More.
¹ Margin of Error: ± 1.3 percentage points.

Fair Market Rents in Oakland

Fair Market Rents, often abbreviated as FMR, can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Notably, Fair Market Rents are used to establish the payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, maximum rents in HOME financed rental projects and initial rents for Section 8 project based assistance.

2017 Fair Market Rents

Studio	One BR	Two BR	Three BR	Four BR
$1,435	$1,723	$2,173	$3,017	$3,477

Area Median Income In Oakland

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

In Oakland, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $93,600.

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.

Low Income Housing Tax Credits in Oakland

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program aims to create affordable rental housing for low and very low income families.

From 1987 to 2012, 95 low income apartment communities containing 5,877 rental apartments have been constructed and made affordable to low income persons in Oakland by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

You can identify apartment communities that participate in the program in Oakland by looking for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit tag in the apartment list above. View Apartments.

Low Income Housing Tax Credit Income Limits

For affordable apartment communities in Oakland that received funding in part through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, monthly rent cannot exceed the Tax Credit maximum rent for the community.

If your income does not exceed 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), you may qualify to rent a unit that is subject to the rent limits established by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

% of AMI	1 Person	2 Persons	3 Persons	4 Persons	5 Persons	6 Persons	7 Persons	8 Persons
50%	$34,150	$39,000	$43,900	$48,750	$52,650	$56,550	$60,450	$64,350
60%	$40,980	$46,800	$52,680	$58,500	$63,180	$67,860	$72,540	$77,220

Low Income Housing Tax Credit Rent Limits

If your income is less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), you should not expect to pay more than the rent value for a unit in the table below. However, Affordable apartment communities that receive funding through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program may have rental units that are not subject to income and rent limits.

Rent limits for the LIHTC Program are determined so that a household making the maximum income for the expected household size of the unit would only pay 30% of their income for rent.

For example, the expected household size for a two bedroom apartment is 3 people. Using the table above, the maximum income for a 3 person household at 60% of the AMI in Oakland is $52,680 a year, or $4,390 a month. To determine the maximum rent in the table below we multiply the monthly maximum income, $4,390 by 30% to get a maximum rent of $1,317 a month.

Rent for units in the LIHTC Program include a utility allowance which is determined by the average monthly cost of utilities paid directly by residents. This allowance has not been subtracted from the rents in the table below. These utility allowances are set on a property by property basis.

% of AMI	Studio	1 Bed	2 Bed	3 Bed	4 Bed	5 Bed
50%	$854	$914	$1,098	$1,268	$1,414	$1,560
60%	$1,025	$1,097	$1,317	$1,521	$1,697	$1,872

Rental Assistance in Oakland

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.

You can identify apartment communities that participate in a program that provides rental assistance by looking for the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Rental Assistance Payments Project-Based Section 8 Rural Development Rental Assistance Public Housing tags in the apartment list above. View Apartments.

HUD Rental Assistance Income Limits

To qualify for most rental assistance programs a renter must earn no more than 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI). In some cases, rental assistance is reserved for renters earning 30% or less of the AMI. In Oakland, to qualify for Section 8 assistance, a renter household containing four persons must earn $48,750 or less. For some targeted rental assistance programs, a renter household of four can’t earn more than $29,250.

It’s important to remember that in many rental assistance programs there are minimum rent regulations requiring assistance recipients to make a minimum payment of between $25 and $50 per month no matter how low their income.

% of AMI	1 Person	2 Persons	3 Persons	4 Persons	5 Persons	6 Persons	7 Persons	8 Persons
30%	$20,500	$23,400	$26,350	$29,250	$31,600	$33,950	$36,730	$40,890
50%	$34,150	$39,000	$43,900	$48,750	$52,650	$56,550	$60,450	$64,350
80%	$52,650	$60,150	$67,650	$75,150	$81,200	$87,200	$93,200	$99,200