Public Housing Agencies Serving San Francisco, 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.

San Francisco, California Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in San Francisco, California

San Francisco features 15,919 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 San Francisco, California

There are 12,528 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in San Francisco.

Housing Choice Vouchers in San Francisco, California

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay San Francisco landlords $1,900 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $500 towards rent in San Francisco.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in San Francisco, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,869 and $3,507.

2023 San Francisco, 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.

San Francisco, CA Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	294
Total Low Income Apartments	29,140
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	15,919
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	63.57%
Average Renter Household Size	2.10
Average Household Size	2.32
Median Household Income	$81,294 ±$1,099
Median Rent	$1,558 ±$16
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	41.71% ± 0.98pp
Total Population	840,763

Population and Household Demographics

San Francisco is a city in San Francisco County, California with a population of 840,763. There are 353,287 households in the city with an average household size of 2.32 persons. 63.57% of households in San Francisco are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in San Francisco

The median gross income for households in San Francisco is $81,294 a year, or $6,775 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,558 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In San Francisco, a household making less than $5,193 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 41.71% of households who rent are overburdened in San Francisco.

Area Median Income In San Francisco

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 San Francisco, the AMI is calculated from all households within San Francisco County.

In San Francisco, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $175,000

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 San Francisco

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 San Francisco