Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Lee County, FL

Discover affordable housing in Lee County where there are 56+ 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 Lee County, Florida
$31.76/hour
$19.76 (+165%) more than Florida minimum wage and $24.51 (+338%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Lee County, Florida Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Lee County, Florida?

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, Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) programs for Lee County, Florida.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing programs for Lee County, Florida.

Go to the Florida Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Lee County.

How many renters live in Lee County, Florida?

The County of Lee County has 822,453 people living in 339,269 households.

There are 222,840 renters living in 88,311 renter households in this County. Renters make up 27.09 percent of the population living in Lee County.

What is the rental market like in Lee County, Florida?

There are an estimated 442,078 housing units in the Lee County area. Of these, 97,719 units are rental homes, making up 22 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Lee County, Florida, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Lee County?

The rental vacancy rate in Lee County is 8 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 Lee County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Lee County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
4,395 13,334 36,319 29,804 4,191
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Lee County

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

Among renter households in this market, 56 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 28 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 Lee County

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,329 to $2,499. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,329
One BR $1,331
Two BR $1,677
Three BR $2,198
Four BR $2,499
2024 Fair Market Rents in Lee County, Florida

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Lee County?

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 1,195 27 percent
One BR 6,409 48 percent
Two BR 16,854 46 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Lee County, Florida

How many affordable rental units are in Lee County?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Lee County, Florida including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 3,688
Public Housing 1,007
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 711
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 331
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 155
USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing 102
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Lee County, Florida

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

Income Based Apartments in Lee County, Florida

Lee County features 2,130 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 Lee County, Florida

There are 3,481 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Lee County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Lee County, Florida

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Lee County landlords $700 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Lee County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Lee County, Florida for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,509 and $1,845.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.