What HUD offices serve St Louis, Missouri?
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 Missouri Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near St Louis.
How many renters live in St Louis, Missouri?
The City of St Louis has 286,578 people living in 148,348 households.
There are 133,591 renters living in 79,035 renter households in this City. Renters make up 46.62 percent of the population living in St Louis.
What is the rental market like in St Louis, Missouri?
There are an estimated 174,049 housing units in the St Louis area. Of these, 85,300 units are rental homes, making up 49 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in St Louis, Missouri, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in St Louis?
The rental vacancy rate in St Louis is 7 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 St Louis for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in St Louis
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,831 | 31,934 | 29,706 | 8,657 | 2,353 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in St Louis
A large number of apartments in St Louis 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 St Louis are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 43 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 23 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 St Louis
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $928 to $1,818. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $928 |
| One BR | $972 |
| Two BR | $1,209 |
| Three BR | $1,565 |
| Four BR | $1,818 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in St Louis, Missouri
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in St Louis?
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 | 4,107 | 70 percent |
| One BR | 20,745 | 65 percent |
| Two BR | 17,894 | 60 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in St Louis, Missouri
How many affordable rental units are in St Louis?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in St Louis, Missouri including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 9,195 |
| Public Housing | 2,806 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 4,576 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 896 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 209 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in St Louis, Missouri
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in St Louis, Missouri
St Louis features 10,900 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 St Louis, Missouri
There are 8,970 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in St Louis.
Housing Choice Vouchers in St Louis, Missouri
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay St Louis landlords $700 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in St Louis.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in St Louis, Missouri for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,088 and $1,330.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
