Public Housing Agencies Serving Salem, 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.

Salem, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Salem, Massachusetts

Salem features 869 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 Salem, Massachusetts

There are 588 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Salem.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Salem, Massachusetts

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Salem landlords $1,000 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $500 towards rent in Salem.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Salem, Massachusetts for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,372 and $2,899.

2023 Salem, Massachusetts Fair Market Rents and Housing Choice Voucher Payment Standards

Fair Market Rents can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Fair Market Rents are used by HUD to establish payment and rent standards for federal rental assistance programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

Salem, MA Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	15
Total Low Income Apartments	1,804
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	869
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	51.89%
Average Renter Household Size	2.13
Average Household Size	2.25
Median Household Income	$60,690 ±$3,147
Median Rent	$1,096 ±$34
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	48.48% ± 4.98pp
Total Population	42,499

Population and Household Demographics

Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts with a population of 42,499. There are 18,029 households in the city with an average household size of 2.25 persons. 51.89% of households in Salem are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Salem

The median gross income for households in Salem is $60,690 a year, or $5,058 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,096 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Salem, a household making less than $3,653 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 48.48% of households who rent are overburdened in Salem.

Area Median Income In Salem

Affordable housing program eligibility is always determined by one's income. Each household's income is compared to the incomes of all other households in the area. This is accomplished through a statistic established by the government called the Area Median Income, most often referred to as AMI. The AMI is calculated and published each year by HUD.

HUD often uses an area larger than a city to determine the AMI because HUD anticipates those searching for housing will look beyond individual cities during their housing search. For Salem, the AMI is calculated from all households within Essex County.

In Salem, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $149,300

Most affordable housing programs determine eligibility based on the percent of AMI a given household's income is. Among the programs that determine eligibility based on the AMI are Section 8, HOME, LIHTC, Section 515, 202 and 811.

Rental Assistance in Salem

Rental assistance is a type of housing subsidy that pays for a portion of a renter’s monthly housing costs, including rent and tenant paid utilities. This housing assistance can come in the form of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, project-based Section 8 contracts, public housing, USDA Rental Assistance (in Section 515 properties) as well as HUD Section 202 and 811 properties for elderly and disabled households.

Income Qualifications for HUD Rental Assistance in Salem