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

Discover affordable housing in Orange County where there are 294+ 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.

Woodbridge Oaks

1 Knollglen, Irvine, California 92614

Harbor View Terrace Apartments

2305 N Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, California 92835

Casa Maria Del Rio

2200 E Chapman Ave, Fullerton, California 92831

Friendly Center Apartments

451 N Lemon Street, Orange, California 92866

The Knolls Apartments

206 N Prospect St, Orange, California 92869

Ventana

345 East Commonwealth Avenue, Fullerton, California 92832

Rockwood Apartments

1270 East Lincoln Avenue, Anaheim, California 92805

One Uptown Newport Affordable Apartments

4201 Jamboree Rd, Newport Beach, California 92660

Vintage Aliso Apartments

2C Liberty Ave, Aliso Viejo, California 92656

Yorba Linda Palms Apartments

18444 Yorba Linda Blvd, Yorba Linda, California 92886

Granite Court

2853 Kelvin Ave, Irvine, California 92614

Cotton's Point Senior Apartments

2350 S El Camino Real, San Clemente, California 92672

Birch Hills Apartments

255 Kraemer Circle, Brea, California 92821

Solaira at Pavilion Park

100 Ridge Valley, Irvine, California 92618

Courtyard Apartments

4127 West Valencia Dr, Fullerton, California 92833

Pebble Cove Apartments

2555 W Winston Rd, Anaheim, California 92804

Anton Portola Apartments

100 Fountainhead, Irvine, California 92618

Liberty at Aliso Apartments

100 Freedom Lane, Aliso Viejo, California 92656

First Street Apartments

1440 East First Street, Santa Ana, California 92701

Clark Commons

8004 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, California 90621

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Orange County, California
$52.71/hour
$36.71 (+229%) more than California minimum wage and $45.46 (+627%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Orange County, California Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Orange 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) programs for Orange County, California.

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

How many renters live in Orange County, California?

The County of Orange County has 3,151,184 people living in 1,085,225 households.

There are 1,352,277 renters living in 479,673 renter households in this County. Renters make up 42.91 percent of the population living in Orange County.

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

There are an estimated 1,146,379 housing units in the Orange County area. Of these, 500,378 units are rental homes, making up 44 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Orange County, California, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Orange County?

The rental vacancy rate in Orange 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 Orange County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Orange County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
38,070 118,071 193,205 90,283 33,916
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Orange County

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

Among renter households in this market, 55 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 30 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 Orange County

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $2,200 to $4,467. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $2,200
One BR $2,344
Two BR $2,783
Three BR $3,769
Four BR $4,467
2024 Fair Market Rents in Orange County, California

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Orange 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 11,534 30 percent
One BR 29,756 25 percent
Two BR 20,871 11 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Orange County, California

How many affordable rental units are in Orange County?

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

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 19,622
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 4,427
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 3
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 105
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Orange County, California

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

Income Based Apartments in Orange County, California

Orange County features 5,087 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 Orange County, California

There are 17,241 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Orange County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Orange County, California

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Orange County landlords $1,200 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $500 towards rent in Orange County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Orange County, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,505 and $3,061.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.