Public Housing Agencies Serving Meridian, 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.

Meridian, Mississippi Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Meridian, Mississippi

Meridian features 2,195 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 Meridian, Mississippi

There are 563 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Meridian.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Meridian, Mississippi

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Meridian landlords $500 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Meridian.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Meridian, Mississippi for a two-bedroom apartment is between $730 and $892.

2023 Meridian, 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.

Meridian, MS Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	30
Total Low Income Apartments	2,790
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	2,195
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	48.68%
Average Renter Household Size	2.54
Average Household Size	2.45
Median Household Income	$30,355 ±$1,942
Median Rent	$670 ±$25
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	46.44% ± 5.16pp
Total Population	40,507

Population and Household Demographics

Meridian is a city in Lauderdale County, Mississippi with a population of 40,507. There are 15,937 households in the city with an average household size of 2.45 persons. 48.68% of households in Meridian are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Meridian

The median gross income for households in Meridian is $30,355 a year, or $2,530 a month. The median rent for the city is $670 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Meridian, a household making less than $2,233 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 46.44% of households who rent are overburdened in Meridian.

Area Median Income In Meridian

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 Meridian, the AMI is calculated from all households within Lauderdale County.

In Meridian, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $58,700

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 Meridian

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 Meridian