Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Washington, DC

Discover affordable housing in Washington where there are 315+ 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.

Huntington Village

3526 Stanton Rd SE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20020

Ivy City

1050 Mount Olivet Rd NE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20002

Friendship Terrace

4201 Butterworth Pl NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20016

Kenyon Apartments

1372 Kenyon St NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20010

54th Street Housing

431 54th St SE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20019

Allen House

3760 Minnesota Ave NE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20019

W Street Apartments

1737 W St SE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20020

Foster House

801 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20001

Edgewood Terrace I

601 Edgewood St NE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20017

The Covington Family Association, Inc

1848 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20009

Parcel Five Aka Claypool Courts

1443 Fairmont St NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20009

Colony House

4921 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20011

Benning Park Terrace

5113 Fitch St SE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20019

Carver Hall Apartments

2338 Pitts Pl SE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20020

Forest Ridge the Vistas

2549 Elvans Rd SE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20020

Capital Commons

4202 13th St NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20011

Benning Courts

1703 Benning Rd NE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20002

Carmel Plaza North

200 K St NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20001

Kennedy Institute

4815 Chesapeake St NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20016

Brookland Manor Aka Brentwood Village

2400 14th St NE, Washington, District Of Columbia 20018

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Washington, District Of Columbia
$38.73/hour
$21.73 (+128%) more than District Of Columbia minimum wage and $31.48 (+434%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Washington, District Of Columbia Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Washington, District Of Columbia?

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, Homeownership Voucher, Family Self-Sufficiency, Moving to Work, Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), Section 8 Project-Based Voucher (PBV) programs for Washington, District Of Columbia.

Go to the District Of Columbia Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Washington.

How many renters live in Washington, District Of Columbia?

The City of Washington has 671,803 people living in 326,970 households.

There are 351,648 renters living in 192,850 renter households in this City. Renters make up 52.34 percent of the population living in Washington.

What is the rental market like in Washington, District Of Columbia?

There are an estimated 360,862 housing units in the Washington area. Of these, 210,072 units are rental homes, making up 58 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Washington, District Of Columbia, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Washington?

The rental vacancy rate in Washington 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 Washington for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Washington
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
29,620 79,272 59,859 16,666 5,571
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Washington

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

Among renter households in this market, 45 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 23 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 many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Washington?

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 11,276 38 percent
One BR 26,728 34 percent
Two BR 20,352 34 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Washington, District Of Columbia

How many affordable rental units are in Washington?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Washington, District Of Columbia including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 24,936
Public Housing 7,870
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 9,754
Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance 132
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 409
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 134
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Washington, District Of Columbia

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

Income Based Apartments in Washington, District Of Columbia

Washington features 19,146 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 Washington, District Of Columbia

There are 17,181 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Washington.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Washington, District Of Columbia

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Washington landlords $1,300 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Washington.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Washington, District Of Columbia for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,841 and $2,250.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.