Affordable Housing In New York City
New York

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There are 2,411 low income housing apartment complexes which contain 346,565 affordable apartments for rent in New York City, New York. Many of these rental apartments are income based housing with about 233,999 apartments that set rent based on your income. Often referred to as "HUD apartments", there are 52,706 Project-Based Section 8 subsidized apartments in New York City. There are 137,048 other low income apartments that don't have rental assistance but are still considered to be affordable housing for low income families.

The HUD funded Public Housing Agencies that serve New York City are the New York City Dept. of Housing Preservation & Development, New York State Homes and Community Renewal and New York City Housing Authority.

Affordable Apartments in New York City

Housing Authorities that serve New York City

Understanding Affordable Housing in New York City, New York

• Population And Household Demographics
• Income and Rent Overburden
• Fair Market Rents
• Area Median Income
• Low Income Housing Tax Credit
• Rental Assistance

New York City, NY Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	2,411
Total Low Income Apartments	346,565
Total Rent Assisted Apartments	233,999
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	68.16%
Average Renter Household Size	2.55
Total Population	8,426,743
Housing Units	3,113,535
Average Household Size	2.65
Median Household Income	$53,373 ±$269
Median Rent	$1,255 ±$4
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	51.36% ± 0.28pp

Population and Household Demographics

New York City is a City in New York with a population of 8,426,743. There are 3,113,535 households in the city with an average household size of 2.65 persons. 68.16% of households in New York City are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in New York City

The median gross income for households in New York City is $53,373 a year, or $4,448 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,255 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In New York City, a household making less than $4,183 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 51.36% of households who rent are overburdened in New York City.¹

Data derived from 2010 Census and 2015 5-Year American Community Survey. Learn More.
¹ Margin of Error: ± 0.28 percentage points.

Area Median Income In New York City

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.

In New York City, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $66,200

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 New York City

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.

New York City HUD Rental Assistance Income Limits

AMI Band	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person
30%	$20,050	$22,900	$25,750	$28,600	$30,900	$33,200	$37,140	$41,320
50%	$33,400	$38,200	$42,950	$47,700	$51,550	$55,350	$59,150	$63,000
80%	$53,450	$61,050	$68,700	$76,300	$82,450	$88,550	$94,650	$100,750

You can identify apartment communities that participate in a program that provides rental assistance by looking for the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Rental Assistance Payments Project-Based Section 8 Rural Development Rental Assistance Public Housing tags in the apartment list above. View Apartments.

Low Income Housing Tax Credits in New York City

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program aims to create affordable rental housing for low and very low income families.

From 1988 to 2012, 1,643 low income apartment communities containing 81,020 rental apartments have been constructed and made affordable to low income persons in New York City by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

You can identify apartment communities that participate in the program in New York City by looking for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit tag in the apartment list above. View Apartments.

If your income is less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), you should not expect to pay more than the rent value for a unit in the table below. However, Affordable apartment communities that receive funding through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program may have rental units that are not subject to income and rent limits.

Rent limits for the LIHTC Program are determined so that a household making the maximum income for the expected household size of the unit would only pay 30% of their income for rent.

New York City Low Income Housing Tax Credit Income Limits

AMI Band	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person
50%	$33,400	$38,200	$42,950	$47,700	$51,550	$55,350	$59,150	$63,000
60%	$40,080	$45,840	$51,540	$57,240	$61,860	$66,420	$70,980	$75,600

For example, the expected household size for a two bedroom apartment is 3 people. Using the table above, the maximum income for a 3 person household at 60% of the AMI in New York City is $51,540 a year, or $4,295 a month. To determine the maximum rent in the table below we multiply the monthly maximum income, $4,295 by 30% to get a maximum rent of $1,289 a month.

Rent for units in the LIHTC Program include a utility allowance which is determined by the average monthly cost of utilities paid directly by residents. This allowance has not been subtracted from the rents in the table below. These utility allowances are set on a property by property basis.

% of AMI	Studio	2 Bed	3 Bed	4 Bed	1 Bed	5 Bed
50%	$835	$895	$1,074	$1,241	$1,384	$1,527
60%	$1,002	$1,074	$1,289	$1,489	$1,661	$1,832

Fair Market Rents in New York City

Fair Market Rents, often abbreviated as FMR, can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Notably, Fair Market Rents are used to establish the payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, maximum rents in HOME financed rental projects and initial rents for Section 8 project based assistance.

2017 Fair Market Rents

Studio	One BR	Two BR	Three BR	Four BR
$1,352	$1,419	$1,637	$2,102	$2,267