What HUD offices serve St Joseph County, 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.
Go to the Indiana Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near St Joseph County.
How many renters live in St Joseph County, Indiana?
The County of St Joseph County has 272,234 people living in 105,616 households.
There are 78,910 renters living in 35,304 renter households in this County. Renters make up 28.99 percent of the population living in St Joseph County.
What is the rental market like in St Joseph County, Indiana?
There are an estimated 118,499 housing units in the St Joseph County area. Of these, 38,352 units are rental homes, making up 32 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in St Joseph County, Indiana, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in St Joseph County?
The rental vacancy rate in St Joseph County is 7 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 St Joseph County for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in St Joseph County
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,087 | 9,364 | 14,423 | 7,703 | 2,080 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in St Joseph County
A large number of apartments in St Joseph 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 St Joseph County are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 48 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 24 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 St Joseph County
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $689 to $1,354. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $689 |
| One BR | $862 |
| Two BR | $1,017 |
| Three BR | $1,267 |
| Four BR | $1,354 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in St Joseph County, Indiana
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in St Joseph 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 | 231 | 21 percent |
| One BR | 4,630 | 49 percent |
| Two BR | 7,855 | 54 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in St Joseph County, Indiana
How many affordable rental units are in St Joseph County?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in St Joseph County, Indiana including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 1,919 |
| Public Housing | 1,109 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 1,774 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 190 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 42 |
| USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing | 58 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in St Joseph County, Indiana
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in St Joseph County, Indiana
St Joseph County features 3,173 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 St Joseph County, Indiana
There are 1,722 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in St Joseph County.
Housing Choice Vouchers in St Joseph County, Indiana
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay St Joseph County landlords $500 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in St Joseph County.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in St Joseph County, Indiana for a two-bedroom apartment is between $915 and $1,119.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
