What HUD offices serve Lafayette County, Mississippi?
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 Mississippi Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Lafayette County.
How many renters live in Lafayette County, Mississippi?
The County of Lafayette County has 56,172 people living in 18,702 households.
There are 17,331 renters living in 6,661 renter households in this County. Renters make up 30.85 percent of the population living in Lafayette County.
What is the rental market like in Lafayette County, Mississippi?
There are an estimated 28,147 housing units in the Lafayette County area. Of these, 10,878 units are rental homes, making up 39 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Lafayette County, Mississippi, there are 2 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Lafayette County?
The rental vacancy rate in Lafayette County is 36 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 Lafayette County for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Lafayette County
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 290 | 1,143 | 2,353 | 2,057 | 715 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Lafayette County
A large number of apartments in Lafayette 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 Lafayette County are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 46 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 33 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 Lafayette County
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,050 to $1,675. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $1,050 |
| One BR | $1,065 |
| Two BR | $1,258 |
| Three BR | $1,521 |
| Four BR | $1,675 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in Lafayette County, Mississippi
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Lafayette 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 | 36 | 12 percent |
| One BR | 783 | 69 percent |
| Two BR | 1,495 | 64 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Lafayette County, Mississippi
How many affordable rental units are in Lafayette County?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Lafayette County, Mississippi including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 323 |
| Public Housing | 212 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 23 |
| USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing | 120 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Lafayette County, Mississippi
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Lafayette County, Mississippi
Lafayette County features 368 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 Lafayette County, Mississippi
There are 511 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Lafayette County.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Lafayette County, Mississippi
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Lafayette County landlords $1,400 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Lafayette County.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Lafayette County, Mississippi for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,132 and $1,384.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
