Public Housing Agencies Serving Ocean Springs, 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.

Ocean Springs, Mississippi Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Ocean Springs features 248 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 Ocean Springs, Mississippi

There are 392 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Ocean Springs.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Ocean Springs, Mississippi

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

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Ocean Springs, Mississippi for a two-bedroom apartment is between $815 and $997.

2023 Ocean Springs, 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.

Ocean Springs, MS Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	6
Total Low Income Apartments	640
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	248
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	28.33%
Average Renter Household Size	2.88
Average Household Size	2.71
Median Household Income	$53,495 ±$5,521
Median Rent	$925 ±$76
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	33.28% ± 8.38pp
Total Population	17,528

Population and Household Demographics

Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi with a population of 17,528. There are 6,417 households in the city with an average household size of 2.71 persons. 28.33% of households in Ocean Springs are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Ocean Springs

The median gross income for households in Ocean Springs is $53,495 a year, or $4,458 a month. The median rent for the city is $925 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Ocean Springs, a household making less than $3,083 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 33.28% of households who rent are overburdened in Ocean Springs.

Area Median Income In Ocean Springs

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 Ocean Springs, the AMI is calculated from all households within Jackson County.

In Ocean Springs, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $85,300

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 Ocean Springs

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 Ocean Springs