What HUD offices serve Palo Alto, 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.
Go to the California Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Palo Alto.
How many renters live in Palo Alto, California?
The City of Palo Alto has 66,021 people living in 28,274 households.
There are 27,184 renters living in 13,269 renter households in this City. Renters make up 41.17 percent of the population living in Palo Alto.
What is the rental market like in Palo Alto, California?
There are an estimated 33,048 housing units in the Palo Alto area. Of these, 16,062 units are rental homes, making up 49 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Palo Alto, California, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Palo Alto?
The rental vacancy rate in Palo Alto is 12 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 Palo Alto for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Palo Alto
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,057 | 3,495 | 4,139 | 1,655 | 922 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Palo Alto
A large number of apartments in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 43 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 18 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 Palo Alto
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $2,383 to $4,425. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $2,383 |
| One BR | $2,694 |
| Two BR | $3,132 |
| Three BR | $4,011 |
| Four BR | $4,425 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in Palo Alto, California
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Palo Alto?
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 | 437 | 41 percent |
| One BR | 667 | 19 percent |
| Two BR | 327 | 8 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Palo Alto, California
How many affordable rental units are in Palo Alto?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Palo Alto, California including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 898 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 669 |
| Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance | 36 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 50 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 23 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Palo Alto, California
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto features 915 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 Palo Alto, California
There are 657 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Palo Alto.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Palo Alto, California
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Palo Alto landlords $1,700 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Palo Alto.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Palo Alto, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,819 and $3,445.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
