Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Raleigh, NC

Discover affordable housing in Raleigh where there are 142+ 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.

calendar_today Opened: May 1
calendar_today Closed: Oct 31,

Reported On February 23rd, 2024 by Lorena Bentley

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Raleigh, North Carolina
$31.17/hour
$23.92 (+330%) more than North Carolina minimum wage and $23.92 (+330%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Raleigh, North Carolina Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Raleigh, North Carolina?

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), Public Housing programs for Raleigh, North Carolina.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, Homeownership Voucher, Public Housing Homeownership, Family Self-Sufficiency programs for Raleigh, North Carolina.

Go to the North Carolina Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Raleigh.

How many renters live in Raleigh, North Carolina?

The City of Raleigh has 477,084 people living in 195,414 households.

There are 202,185 renters living in 96,569 renter households in this City. Renters make up 42.38 percent of the population living in Raleigh.

What is the rental market like in Raleigh, North Carolina?

There are an estimated 225,320 housing units in the Raleigh area. Of these, 118,476 units are rental homes, making up 53 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Raleigh, North Carolina, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Raleigh?

The rental vacancy rate in Raleigh is 16 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 Raleigh for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Raleigh
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
5,100 25,312 41,040 18,856 5,800
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Raleigh

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

Among renter households in this market, 50 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 Raleigh

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,427 to $2,711. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,427
One BR $1,466
Two BR $1,646
Three BR $2,035
Four BR $2,711
2024 Fair Market Rents in Raleigh, North Carolina

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Raleigh?

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 3,844 75 percent
One BR 16,798 66 percent
Two BR 23,231 57 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Raleigh, North Carolina

How many affordable rental units are in Raleigh?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Raleigh, North Carolina including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 6,840
Public Housing 1,241
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 718
Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance 46
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 3
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 53
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Raleigh, North Carolina

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

Income Based Apartments in Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh features 2,494 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 Raleigh, North Carolina

There are 6,327 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Raleigh.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Raleigh, North Carolina

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Raleigh landlords $600 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Raleigh.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Raleigh, North Carolina for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,481 and $1,811.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.