Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in San Francisco, CA

Discover affordable housing in San Francisco 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.

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In San Francisco, California
$63.62/hour
$47.62 (+298%) more than California minimum wage and $56.37 (+777%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About San Francisco, California Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve 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.

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, Section 8 Project-Based Voucher (PBV), Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) programs for San Francisco, California.

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

How many renters live in San Francisco, California?

The City of San Francisco has 808,437 people living in 361,912 households.

There are 426,457 renters living in 219,977 renter households in this City. Renters make up 52.75 percent of the population living in San Francisco.

What is the rental market like in San Francisco, California?

There are an estimated 414,553 housing units in the San Francisco area. Of these, 237,069 units are rental homes, making up 57 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in San Francisco, California, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in San Francisco?

The rental vacancy rate in San Francisco is 6 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 San Francisco for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in San Francisco
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
44,588 78,439 60,308 26,871 7,635
Occupied Rental Units by Size in San Francisco

A large number of apartments in San Francisco 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 San Francisco are overburdened by housing costs?

Among renter households in this market, 36 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 San Francisco

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $2,292 to $4,473. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $2,292
One BR $2,818
Two BR $3,359
Three BR $4,112
Four BR $4,473
2024 Fair Market Rents in San Francisco, California

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in San Francisco?

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 21,689 49 percent
One BR 22,147 28 percent
Two BR 8,329 14 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in San Francisco, California

How many affordable rental units are in San Francisco?

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

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 18,607
Public Housing 330
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 3,520
Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance 86
Section 236 Rental Assistance 2
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 635
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 97
Tracked Units by Federal Program in San Francisco, California

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

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 $3,023 and $3,695.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.