What HUD offices serve Champaign County, Illinois?
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 Illinois Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Champaign County.
How many renters live in Champaign County, Illinois?
The County of Champaign County has 206,542 people living in 84,713 households.
There are 76,169 renters living in 39,281 renter households in this County. Renters make up 36.88 percent of the population living in Champaign County.
What is the rental market like in Champaign County, Illinois?
There are an estimated 95,238 housing units in the Champaign County area. Of these, 44,997 units are rental homes, making up 47 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Champaign County, Illinois, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Champaign County?
The rental vacancy rate in Champaign 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 Champaign County for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Champaign County
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,646 | 8,695 | 15,388 | 8,926 | 2,735 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Champaign County
A large number of apartments in Champaign 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 Champaign County are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 48 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 Champaign County
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $880 to $1,397. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $880 |
| One BR | $885 |
| Two BR | $1,049 |
| Three BR | $1,372 |
| Four BR | $1,397 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in Champaign County, Illinois
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Champaign 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 | 1,451 | 55 percent |
| One BR | 4,971 | 57 percent |
| Two BR | 7,726 | 50 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Champaign County, Illinois
How many affordable rental units are in Champaign County?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Champaign County, Illinois including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 1,729 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 667 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 28 |
| USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing | 104 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Champaign County, Illinois
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Champaign County, Illinois
Champaign County features 1,416 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 Champaign County, Illinois
There are 884 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Champaign County.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Champaign County, Illinois
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Champaign County landlords $500 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $200 towards rent in Champaign County.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Champaign County, Illinois for a two-bedroom apartment is between $944 and $1,154.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
