Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Essex County, MA

Discover affordable housing in Essex County where there are 200+ 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.

Loring Towers

1000 Loring Ave , Salem, Massachusetts 01970

Fairweather Apartments - Beverly

245 Elliot Street, Beverly, Massachusetts 1915

Fairweather Apartments - Danvers

11 Porter Street , Danvers, Massachusetts 19232

Presidential Gardens

140 Evergreen Dr, Haverhill, Massachusetts 01835

Willow Apartments

19 Willow St, Lynn, Massachusetts 01901

Jaclen Tower

215 Rantoul St, Beverly, Massachusetts 01915

Conifer Hill Commons

121 Conifer Hill Dr, Danvers, Massachusetts 01923

Harbor Crossing

15-17 Harbor Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970

Heritage House

32 Low St, Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950

American Training Homes of Care (scattered sites)

2 Anne St, Groveland, Massachusetts 1834

Sycamore Village Apartments

111 Lowell Street, Lawrence, Massachusetts 01840

Park Gardens

12 Burnham Rd, Methuen, Massachusetts 01844

Bridgewell Inc-Lynn

23 Lewis St, Lynn, Massachusetts 01902

Gloucester Housing Inc

279 Washington St, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930

Silsbee Tower Apartments

67 Silsbee Street, Lynn, Massachusetts 01901

Bridgewell - Danvers

49 Coolidge Rd, Danvers, Massachusetts 01923

Top House

198 Central St, Topsfield, Massachusetts 01983

Whittier School Apartments

20 Prospect St, Amesbury, Massachusetts 01913

Valebrook Apartments

11 Summer Street, Lawrence, Massachusetts 01840

Amesbury Residence

6 Rowell St, Amesbury, Massachusetts 1913

Open Until Further Notice

Reported On February 23rd, 2024 by Nathan Brunet

What HUD offices serve Essex 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.

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

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

How many renters live in Essex County, Massachusetts?

The County of Essex County has 806,765 people living in 314,003 households.

There are 255,703 renters living in 112,915 renter households in this County. Renters make up 31.69 percent of the population living in Essex County.

What is the rental market like in Essex County, Massachusetts?

There are an estimated 330,161 housing units in the Essex County area. Of these, 117,574 units are rental homes, making up 36 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Essex County, Massachusetts, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Essex County?

The rental vacancy rate in Essex County is 3 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 Essex County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Essex County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
7,190 34,762 41,983 21,600 5,582
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Essex County

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

Among renter households in this market, 56 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 29 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 Essex 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 Essex County, Massachusetts

How many affordable rental units are in Essex County?

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

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 4,435
Public Housing 2,233
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 6,462
Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance 203
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 297
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 167
USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing 338
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Essex County, Massachusetts

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

Income Based Apartments in Essex County, Massachusetts

Essex County features 10,069 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 Essex County, Massachusetts

There are 4,048 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Essex County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Essex County, Massachusetts

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Essex County landlords $1,000 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Essex County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Essex County, Massachusetts for a two-bedroom apartment is between $0 and $0.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.