What HUD offices serve Pinellas 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.
Go to the Florida Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Pinellas County.
How many renters live in Pinellas County, Florida?
The County of Pinellas County has 961,739 people living in 425,255 households.
There are 278,110 renters living in 134,997 renter households in this County. Renters make up 28.92 percent of the population living in Pinellas County.
What is the rental market like in Pinellas County, Florida?
There are an estimated 519,872 housing units in the Pinellas County area. Of these, 151,155 units are rental homes, making up 29 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Pinellas County, Florida, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Pinellas County?
The rental vacancy rate in Pinellas County is 9 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 Pinellas County for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Pinellas County
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,808 | 44,080 | 56,631 | 19,386 | 2,883 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Pinellas County
A large number of apartments in Pinellas 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 Pinellas County are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 56 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 30 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 Pinellas County
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,449 to $2,888. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $1,449 |
| One BR | $1,562 |
| Two BR | $1,851 |
| Three BR | $2,367 |
| Four BR | $2,888 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in Pinellas County, Florida
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Pinellas 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 | 8,467 | 72 percent |
| One BR | 28,634 | 65 percent |
| Two BR | 23,690 | 42 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Pinellas County, Florida
How many affordable rental units are in Pinellas County?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Pinellas County, Florida including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 4,330 |
| Public Housing | 657 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 2,433 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 402 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 273 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Pinellas County, Florida
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Pinellas County, Florida
Pinellas County features 6,000 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 Pinellas County, Florida
There are 2,959 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Pinellas County.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Pinellas County, Florida
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Pinellas County landlords $800 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Pinellas County.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Pinellas County, Florida for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,666 and $2,036.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
