Public Housing Agencies Serving Merrillville, Indiana

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.

Merrillville, Indiana Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Merrillville, Indiana

Merrillville features 302 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 Merrillville, Indiana

There are 14 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Merrillville.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Merrillville, Indiana

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Merrillville landlords $600 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Merrillville.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Merrillville, Indiana for a two-bedroom apartment is between $900 and $1,100.

2023 Merrillville, Indiana Fair Market Rents and Housing Choice Voucher Payment Standards

Fair Market Rents can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Fair Market Rents are used by HUD to establish payment and rent standards for federal rental assistance programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

Merrillville, IN Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	12
Total Low Income Apartments	316
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	302
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	35.79%
Average Renter Household Size	2.19
Average Household Size	2.59
Median Household Income	$52,810 ±$3,540
Median Rent	$926 ±$50
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	51.45% ± 6.61pp
Total Population	35,322

Population and Household Demographics

Merrillville is a city in Lake County, Indiana with a population of 35,322. There are 13,473 households in the city with an average household size of 2.59 persons. 35.79% of households in Merrillville are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Merrillville

The median gross income for households in Merrillville is $52,810 a year, or $4,401 a month. The median rent for the city is $926 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Merrillville, a household making less than $3,087 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 51.45% of households who rent are overburdened in Merrillville.

Area Median Income In Merrillville

Affordable housing program eligibility is always determined by one's income. Each household's income is compared to the incomes of all other households in the area. This is accomplished through a statistic established by the government called the Area Median Income, most often referred to as AMI. The AMI is calculated and published each year by HUD.

HUD often uses an area larger than a city to determine the AMI because HUD anticipates those searching for housing will look beyond individual cities during their housing search. For Merrillville, the AMI is calculated from all households within Lake County.

In Merrillville, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $85,000

Most affordable housing programs determine eligibility based on the percent of AMI a given household's income is. Among the programs that determine eligibility based on the AMI are Section 8, HOME, LIHTC, Section 515, 202 and 811.

Rental Assistance in Merrillville

Rental assistance is a type of housing subsidy that pays for a portion of a renter’s monthly housing costs, including rent and tenant paid utilities. This housing assistance can come in the form of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, project-based Section 8 contracts, public housing, USDA Rental Assistance (in Section 515 properties) as well as HUD Section 202 and 811 properties for elderly and disabled households.

Income Qualifications for HUD Rental Assistance in Merrillville