Public Housing Agencies Serving Laurel, 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.

Laurel, Mississippi Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Laurel, Mississippi

Laurel features 1,013 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 Laurel, Mississippi

There are 278 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Laurel.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Laurel, Mississippi

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Laurel landlords $600 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Laurel.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Laurel, Mississippi for a two-bedroom apartment is between $727 and $889.

2023 Laurel, Mississippi 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.

Laurel, MS Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	15
Total Low Income Apartments	1,291
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	1,013
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	41.83%
Average Renter Household Size	2.87
Average Household Size	2.77
Median Household Income	$28,516 ±$3,894
Median Rent	$545 ±$42
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	48.7% ± 9.48pp
Total Population	18,770

Population and Household Demographics

Laurel is a city in Jones County, Mississippi with a population of 18,770. There are 6,631 households in the city with an average household size of 2.77 persons. 41.83% of households in Laurel are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Laurel

The median gross income for households in Laurel is $28,516 a year, or $2,376 a month. The median rent for the city is $545 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Laurel, a household making less than $1,817 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 48.7% of households who rent are overburdened in Laurel.

Area Median Income In Laurel

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 Laurel, the AMI is calculated from all households within Jones County.

In Laurel, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $67,200

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 Laurel

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 Laurel