What HUD offices serve West Palm Beach, 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 West Palm Beach.
How many renters live in West Palm Beach, Florida?
The City of West Palm Beach has 120,922 people living in 51,208 households.
There are 57,414 renters living in 24,837 renter households in this City. Renters make up 47.48 percent of the population living in West Palm Beach.
What is the rental market like in West Palm Beach, Florida?
There are an estimated 61,130 housing units in the West Palm Beach area. Of these, 26,491 units are rental homes, making up 43 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in West Palm Beach, Florida, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in West Palm Beach?
The rental vacancy rate in West Palm Beach is 5 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 West Palm Beach for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in West Palm Beach
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,636 | 7,574 | 11,184 | 4,024 | 295 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in West Palm Beach
A large number of apartments in West Palm Beach 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 West Palm Beach are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 54 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 22 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 West Palm Beach
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,573 to $3,556. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $1,573 |
| One BR | $1,851 |
| Two BR | $2,226 |
| Three BR | $2,942 |
| Four BR | $3,556 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in West Palm Beach, Florida
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in West Palm Beach?
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 | 829 | 51 percent |
| One BR | 4,117 | 54 percent |
| Two BR | 4,134 | 37 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in West Palm Beach, Florida
How many affordable rental units are in West Palm Beach?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in West Palm Beach, Florida including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 2,637 |
| Public Housing | 151 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 687 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 99 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 10 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in West Palm Beach, Florida
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach features 1,708 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 West Palm Beach, Florida
There are 4,982 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in West Palm Beach.
Housing Choice Vouchers in West Palm Beach, Florida
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay West Palm Beach landlords $1,100 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in West Palm Beach.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in West Palm Beach, Florida for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,003 and $2,449.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
