What HUD offices serve Honolulu County, Hawaii?
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 Hawaii Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Honolulu County.
How many renters live in Honolulu County, Hawaii?
The County of Honolulu County has 995,638 people living in 338,438 households.
There are 353,608 renters living in 136,541 renter households in this County. Renters make up 35.52 percent of the population living in Honolulu County.
What is the rental market like in Honolulu County, Hawaii?
There are an estimated 373,863 housing units in the Honolulu County area. Of these, 144,289 units are rental homes, making up 39 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Honolulu County, Hawaii, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Honolulu County?
The rental vacancy rate in Honolulu County 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 Honolulu County for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Honolulu County
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17,904 | 26,643 | 44,378 | 31,931 | 12,282 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Honolulu County
A large number of apartments in Honolulu 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 Honolulu County are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 56 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 27 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 Honolulu County
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,573 to $3,822. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $1,573 |
| One BR | $1,720 |
| Two BR | $2,252 |
| Three BR | $3,174 |
| Four BR | $3,822 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in Honolulu County, Hawaii
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Honolulu 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 | 11,486 | 64 percent |
| One BR | 14,458 | 54 percent |
| Two BR | 10,373 | 23 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Honolulu County, Hawaii
How many affordable rental units are in Honolulu County?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Honolulu County, Hawaii including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 8,162 |
| Public Housing | 3,564 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 2,141 |
| Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance | 40 |
| Section 236 Rental Assistance | 399 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 313 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 111 |
| USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing | 316 |
| USDA Section 514 Farm Labor Housing | 96 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Honolulu County, Hawaii
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Honolulu County, Hawaii
Honolulu County features 8,168 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 Honolulu County, Hawaii
There are 4,770 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Honolulu County.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Honolulu County, Hawaii
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Honolulu County landlords $1,300 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $500 towards rent in Honolulu County.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Honolulu County, Hawaii for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,027 and $2,477.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
