Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Berks County, PA

Discover affordable housing in Berks County where there are 73+ 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.

Skyline View Apartments

50 North 9th Street, Reading, Pennsylvania 19601

River Run Meadows

190 Spring Grove Court, Birdsboro, Pennsylvania 19508

Butter Valley Commons

120 Creamery Lane, Bally, Pennsylvania 19503

Market Square Apartments

801 Penn Street, Reading, Pennsylvania 19601

Homes at Riverside

1029 Weiser Street, Reading, Pennsylvania 19601

Reading Elderly Housing

100 N Front St , Reading, Pennsylvania 19601

Goggle Works Apartments

135 Washington St, Reading, Pennsylvania 19601

Clearview Apartments

305 Hilltop Ct, Hamburg, Pennsylvania 19526

Jamestown Village

300 Lackawanna St, Reading, Pennsylvania 19601

Penns Crossing

1400 W. Wyomissing Blvd., West Lawn, Pennsylvania 19609

Hamburg School Apartments

690 East State St, Hamburg, Pennsylvania 19526

Henner Apartments

24 East High Street, Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania 19567

Knittng Mill on Peach Ally

239 Pine St, Hamburg, Pennsylvania 19526

Southgate Apartments

815 West Leesport Road, Leesport, Pennsylvania 19533

Providence House

800 Court Street, Reading, Pennsylvania 19601

Penns Common Court

1040 Penn Street, Reading, Pennsylvania 19602

Penns Crossing

1400 W Wyomissing Blvd, Reading, Pennsylvania 19609

St Catharine Senior Housing

2000 Perkiomen Ave, Reading, Pennsylvania 19606

Saucony Meadows Apartments Christian Concern

20 Kohler Rd, Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530

Furnace Creek Manor

270 S Freeman St, Robesonia, Pennsylvania 19551

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Berks County, Pennsylvania
$25.00/hour
$17.75 (+245%) more than Pennsylvania minimum wage and $17.75 (+245%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Berks County, Pennsylvania Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Berks County, Pennsylvania?

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 Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Go to the Pennsylvania Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Berks County.

How many renters live in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

The County of Berks County has 430,449 people living in 162,183 households.

There are 108,027 renters living in 45,324 renter households in this County. Renters make up 25.1 percent of the population living in Berks County.

What is the rental market like in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

There are an estimated 171,717 housing units in the Berks County area. Of these, 47,666 units are rental homes, making up 28 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Berks County, Pennsylvania, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Berks County?

The rental vacancy rate in Berks County is 4 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 Berks County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Berks County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
2,592 12,465 15,231 9,567 3,678
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Berks County

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

Among renter households in this market, 51 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 28 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 Berks County

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $895 to $1,758. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $895
One BR $1,041
Two BR $1,320
Three BR $1,649
Four BR $1,758
2024 Fair Market Rents in Berks County, Pennsylvania

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Berks 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 1,459 56 percent
One BR 8,302 67 percent
Two BR 9,016 59 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Berks County, Pennsylvania

How many affordable rental units are in Berks County?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Berks County, Pennsylvania including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 841
Public Housing 1,816
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 1,112
Section 236 Rental Assistance 21
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 85
USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing 482
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Berks County, Pennsylvania

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

Income Based Apartments in Berks County, Pennsylvania

Berks County features 5,677 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 Berks County, Pennsylvania

There are 1,099 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Berks County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Berks County, Pennsylvania

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Berks County landlords $700 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Berks County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Berks County, Pennsylvania for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,188 and $1,452.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.