Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Essex County, NJ

Discover affordable housing in Essex County where there are 302+ housing opportunities based on income and household needs like accessible units for seniors or persons with disabilities. Find and apply to these low income apartments now.

Montgomery Heights

671 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Newark, New Jersey 07102

City View Landing Family

195 W Kinney St , Newark, New Jersey 07103

440 Washington Street Apartments

440 Washington Street, Newark, New Jersey 7102

Felicity Tower

100 Llewellyn Ave. #105, Bloomfield, New Jersey 7003

The Willows at Lincoln Park

65 Lincoln Park, Newark, New Jersey 07102

Arlington House

55-57 South Munn Avenue , East Orange, New Jersey 07018

Court Towers

1 Court St, Newark, New Jersey 07102

New Community Manor Family

72 Hayes St, Newark, New Jersey 07103

Walter G. Alexander Village

97 Wilson Pl, City of Orange, New Jersey 07050

Corinthian Towers

67 S Munn Ave, East Orange, New Jersey 07018

South Orange B'nai B'rith Federation House

219 S Orange Ave, South Orange, New Jersey 07079

New Community Manor Senior

545 Orange Street, Newark, New Jersey 07107

Villa Victoria Apartments

133 7th Ave, Newark, New Jersey 07104

Grace West Manor Apartments

301 Irvine Turner Blvd, Newark, New Jersey 07108

Georgia King Village

250 Georgia King Vlg, Newark, New Jersey 07107

Spruce Spires

100 Spruce St, Newark, New Jersey 7107

Garden Spires Urban Renewal

175-195 1st St, Newark, New Jersey 07107

Lincoln Court

357 & 365 Lincoln Ave, City of Orange, New Jersey 07050

Arlington Grove

139 N Arlington Ave, East Orange, New Jersey 7017

Berkeley Terrace

23 Berkeley Ter, Irvington, New Jersey 07111

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Essex County, New Jersey
$36.29/hour
$22.56 (+164%) more than New Jersey minimum wage and $29.04 (+401%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Essex County, New Jersey Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Essex County, New Jersey?

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.

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs for Essex County, New Jersey.

Go to the New Jersey Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Essex County.

How many renters live in Essex County, New Jersey?

The County of Essex County has 849,477 people living in 321,371 households.

There are 409,147 renters living in 173,239 renter households in this County. Renters make up 48.16 percent of the population living in Essex County.

What is the rental market like in Essex County, New Jersey?

There are an estimated 336,538 housing units in the Essex County area. Of these, 178,607 units are rental homes, making up 53 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Essex County, New Jersey, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Essex County?

The rental vacancy rate in Essex County is 3 percent. This is a lower than average vacancy rate. When rental vacancy rates are low there are fewer available units. Rents tend to be higher as more people compete for scarce housing.

How many rental units are in Essex County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Essex County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
17,041 55,742 56,949 37,099 4,539
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Essex County

A large number of apartments in Essex 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 Essex County are overburdened by housing costs?

Among renter households in this market, 54 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 31 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 Essex County

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,379 to $2,800. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,379
One BR $1,590
Two BR $1,916
Three BR $2,424
Four BR $2,800
2024 Fair Market Rents in Essex County, New Jersey

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Essex 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 12,646 74 percent
One BR 40,697 73 percent
Two BR 30,802 54 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Essex County, New Jersey

How many affordable rental units are in Essex County?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Essex County, New Jersey including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 15,320
Public Housing 6,093
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 12,625
Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance 50
Section 236 Rental Assistance 123
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 277
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 106
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Essex County, New Jersey

Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.

Income Based Apartments in Essex County, New Jersey

Essex County features 24,425 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 Essex County, New Jersey

There are 8,094 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Essex County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Essex County, New Jersey

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Essex County landlords $900 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Essex County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Essex County, New Jersey for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,724 and $2,108.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.