Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Cambridge, MA

Discover affordable housing in Cambridge where there are 69+ 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.

Putnam Square Apartments

2 Mt Auburn Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2138

Clinton & Prospect Apartments

258-270 Harvard St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

Fresh Pond Apartments

364 Rindge Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140

Harry S. Truman Apartments

25 8th St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141

Linnaean Street

45 Linnaean Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Washington Elms

100 Harvard St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

Briston Arms

241 Garden St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Temple Place Apartments

5 Temple St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2139

Jefferson Park

1 Clifton Pl, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2140

Webster Bristol Apartments

69-73 Webster Ave and 51-53 Bristol St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141

Rindge Tower

402 Rindge Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140

Prospect

195 PROSPECT ST, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2139

Cambridge Community Housing

810 Memorial Drive Suite 102, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2139

Putnam School

86 Otis St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2141

Harvard Place

273 Harvard St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

Harwell Homes

1 Citizen Pl, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141

Memorial Drive 808

808 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

Magazine House

77 Magazine St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

Portland Marcella

8 Marcella St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141

Close Building

243 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

calendar_today Opened: Oct 3
Open Until Further Notice

Reported On February 23rd, 2024 by Lorena Bentley

Open Until Further Notice

Reported On February 23rd, 2024 by Nathan Brunet

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Cambridge, Massachusetts
$53.54/hour
$38.54 (+257%) more than Massachusetts minimum wage and $46.29 (+639%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Cambridge, Massachusetts Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Cambridge, 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.

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, Moving to Work programs for Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Moving to Work programs for Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Go to the Massachusetts Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Cambridge.

How many renters live in Cambridge, Massachusetts?

The City of Cambridge has 118,489 people living in 50,861 households.

There are 63,114 renters living in 33,751 renter households in this City. Renters make up 53.27 percent of the population living in Cambridge.

What is the rental market like in Cambridge, Massachusetts?

There are an estimated 56,934 housing units in the Cambridge area. Of these, 36,950 units are rental homes, making up 65 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Cambridge, Massachusetts, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Cambridge?

The rental vacancy rate in Cambridge 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 Cambridge for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Cambridge
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
3,518 11,087 12,031 4,834 1,093
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Cambridge

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

Among renter households in this market, 49 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 21 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 Cambridge

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $2,212 to $3,765. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $2,212
One BR $2,377
Two BR $2,827
Three BR $3,418
Four BR $3,765
2024 Fair Market Rents in Cambridge, Massachusetts

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Cambridge?

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 908 26 percent
One BR 2,043 18 percent
Two BR 1,783 15 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Cambridge, Massachusetts

How many affordable rental units are in Cambridge?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Cambridge, Massachusetts including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 2,100
Public Housing 52
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 709
Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance 54
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 22
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts

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

Income Based Apartments in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge features 4,378 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 Cambridge, Massachusetts

There are 1,100 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Cambridge.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Cambridge, Massachusetts

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Cambridge landlords $900 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Cambridge.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Cambridge, Massachusetts for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,544 and $3,110.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.