Santa Barbara, California Affordable Housing

Waiting Lists in Santa Barbara, California

There are no open Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting lists in Santa Barbara. Go to the California Section 8 Waiting Lists page for openings near Santa Barbara.

Public Housing Agencies Serving Santa Barbara, 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.

Waiting lists for project-based assistance, like the Public Housing program, are open:

• Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara Section 8 Project-Based Voucher is currently open for new applications.
• Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara Senior Section 8 Project-Based Voucher is currently open for new applications.

Santa Barbara, California Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara features 509 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 Santa Barbara, California

There are 994 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Santa Barbara.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Santa Barbara, California

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

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Santa Barbara, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,400 and $2,934.

2023 Santa Barbara, 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.

Santa Barbara, CA Affordable Housing Snapshot

Population and Household Demographics

Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County, California with a population of 90,401. There are 34,973 households in the city with an average household size of 2.54 persons. 60.1% of households in Santa Barbara are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Santa Barbara

The median gross income for households in Santa Barbara is $66,107 a year, or $5,509 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,514 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Santa Barbara, a household making less than $5,047 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 54.21% of households who rent are overburdened in Santa Barbara.

Area Median Income In Santa Barbara

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 Santa Barbara, the AMI is calculated from all households within Santa Barbara County.

In Santa Barbara, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $100,100

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 Santa Barbara

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 Santa Barbara