Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Shelby County, IA

Discover affordable housing in Shelby County where there are 6+ housing opportunities based on income and household needs like accessible units for seniors or persons with disabilities. Find and apply to these low income apartments now.

Westridge Apartments

2004 Garfield Avenue, Harlan, Iowa 51537

Christiansen Meadows

611 Gary Scull Drive, Harlan, Iowa 51537

Regency Villa

1302 Hawkeye Ave, Harlan, Iowa 51537

Sherwood Court Ltd

1709 Lincoln Ave, Harlan, Iowa 51537

Westphalia Dev Cor

210 Duren St, Westphalia, Iowa 0

Elk Horn Dev Corp

4219 Union St, Elk Horn, Iowa 51531

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Shelby County, Iowa
$16.33/hour
$9.08 (+125%) more than Iowa minimum wage and $9.08 (+125%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Shelby County, Iowa Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Shelby County, Iowa?

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.

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Family Self-Sufficiency programs for Shelby County, Iowa.

Go to the Iowa Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Shelby County.

How many renters live in Shelby County, Iowa?

The County of Shelby County has 11,737 people living in 4,933 households.

There are 2,338 renters living in 1,184 renter households in this County. Renters make up 19.92 percent of the population living in Shelby County.

What is the rental market like in Shelby County, Iowa?

There are an estimated 5,422 housing units in the Shelby County area. Of these, 1,293 units are rental homes, making up 24 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Shelby County, Iowa, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Shelby County?

The rental vacancy rate in Shelby 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 Shelby County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Shelby County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
14 145 380 380 148
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Shelby County

A large number of apartments in Shelby 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 Shelby County are overburdened by housing costs?

Among renter households in this market, 40 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 16 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 Shelby County

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $630 to $1,371. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $630
One BR $755
Two BR $862
Three BR $1,215
Four BR $1,371
2024 Fair Market Rents in Shelby County, Iowa

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Shelby 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 13 93 percent
One BR 102 70 percent
Two BR 189 50 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Shelby County, Iowa

How many affordable rental units are in Shelby County?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Shelby County, Iowa including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 27
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 64
USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing 36
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Shelby County, Iowa

Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.

Income Based Apartments in Shelby County, Iowa

Shelby County features 112 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 Shelby County, Iowa

There are 16 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Shelby County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Shelby County, Iowa

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Shelby County landlords $400 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Shelby County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Shelby County, Iowa for a two-bedroom apartment is between $776 and $948.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.