What HUD offices serve Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
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 Massachusetts Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Berkshire County.
How many renters live in Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
The County of Berkshire County has 127,859 people living in 58,370 households.
There are 30,176 renters living in 17,515 renter households in this County. Renters make up 23.6 percent of the population living in Berkshire County.
What is the rental market like in Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
There are an estimated 69,762 housing units in the Berkshire County area. Of these, 17,395 units are rental homes, making up 25 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Berkshire County?
The rental vacancy rate in Berkshire County is 4 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 Berkshire County for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Berkshire County
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 546 | 4,467 | 9,140 | 2,144 | 921 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Berkshire County
A large number of apartments in Berkshire 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 Berkshire County are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 45 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 25 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 many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Berkshire 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 | 0 | 100 percent |
| One BR | 0 | 100 percent |
| Two BR | 0 | 100 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
How many affordable rental units are in Berkshire County?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Berkshire County, Massachusetts including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 856 |
| Public Housing | 467 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 1,202 |
| Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance | 62 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 50 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 38 |
| USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing | 114 |
| USDA Section 514 Farm Labor Housing | 2 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County features 8,297 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 Berkshire County, Massachusetts
There are 4,006 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Berkshire County.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Berkshire County landlords $800 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Berkshire County.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Berkshire County, Massachusetts for a two-bedroom apartment is between $0 and $0.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
