Affordable Housing In Pittsburgh
Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania
211 Low Income Apartment Communities In Pittsburgh
The New Riverview
Hillcrest Residences
Dorchester of Mt.Lebanon Senior Apartments
There are 211 low income housing apartment complexes which contain 16,494 affordable apartments for rent in Pittsburgh. Many of these rental apartments are income based housing with 13,157 apartments that set rent based on your income. In Pittsburgh, HUD housing programs support 6,176 rental assistance apartments through programs like Project-based Section 8. There are 2,962 other low income apartments that don't have rental assistance but are cheaper than market rate rents.
Housing Authorities that serve Pittsburgh
| Housing Authority | Programs |
|---|---|
| Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Public Housing; Homeownership Voucher; Family Self-sufficiency; Moving to Work; Public Housing Homeownership |
| Allegheny County Housing Authority | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Public Housing; Family Self-sufficiency |
Guide To Affordable Housing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, PA Affordable Housing Snapshot
| Total Affordable Apartment Properties | 211 |
|---|---|
| Total Low Income Apartments | 16,494 |
| Total Rent Assisted Apartments | 13,157 |
| Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters | 51.97% |
| Average Renter Household Size | 1.98 |
| Total Population | 305,928 |
| Housing Units | 132,468 |
| Average Household Size | 2.13 |
| Median Household Income | $40,715 ±$685 |
| Median Rent | $810 ±$11 |
| Percentage Of Renters Overburdened | 47.08% ± 1.34pp |
Population and Household Demographics
Pittsburgh is a City in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with a population of 305,928. There are 132,468 households in the city with an average household size of 2.13 persons. 51.97% of households in Pittsburgh are renters.
Income and Rent Overburden in Pittsburgh
The median gross income for households in Pittsburgh is $40,715 a year, or $3,393 a month. The median rent for the city is $810 a month.
Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Pittsburgh, a household making less than $2,700 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 47.08% of households who rent are overburdened in Pittsburgh.1
Area Median Income In Pittsburgh
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.
HUD often uses an area larger than a city to determine the AMI because HUD anticipates those searching for housing will look beyond individual cities during their housing search. For Pittsburgh, the AMI is calculated from all households within Allegheny County.
In Pittsburgh, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $79,900
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 Pittsburgh
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.
Income Qualifications for Pittsburgh HUD Rental Assistance in Pittsburgh
| Income | 1 Person | 2 Person | 3 Person | 4 Person | 5 Person | 6 Person | 7 Person | 8 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30% of Median | $16,800 | $19,200 | $21,600 | $25,750 | $30,170 | $34,590 | $39,010 | $43,430 |
| 50% of Median | $28,000 | $32,000 | $36,000 | $39,950 | $43,150 | $46,350 | $49,550 | $52,750 |
| 80% of Median | $44,750 | $51,150 | $57,550 | $63,900 | $69,050 | $74,150 | $79,250 | $84,350 |
Low Income Housing Tax Credits in Pittsburgh
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program aims to create affordable rental housing for low and very low income families.
From 1987 to 2012, 78 low income apartment communities containing 3,180 rental apartments have been constructed and made affordable to low income persons in Pittsburgh by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
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.
Income Qualifications for Low Income Housing Tax Credit Apartments in Pittsburgh
| Income | 1 Person | 2 Person | 3 Person | 4 Person | 5 Person | 6 Person | 7 Person | 8 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% of Median | $28,000 | $32,000 | $36,000 | $39,950 | $43,150 | $46,350 | $49,550 | $52,750 |
| 60% of Median | $33,600 | $38,400 | $43,200 | $47,940 | $51,780 | $55,620 | $59,460 | $63,300 |
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 Pittsburgh is $43,200 a year, or $3,600 a month. To determine the maximum rent in the table below we multiply the monthly maximum income, $3,600 by 30% to get a maximum rent of $1,080 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 | 1 Bed | 2 Bed | 3 Bed | 4 Bed | 5 Bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | $700 | $750 | $900 | $1,039 | $1,159 | $1,279 |
| 60% | $840 | $900 | $1,080 | $1,247 | $1,391 | $1,535 |
Fair Market Rents in Pittsburgh
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.
2019 Fair Market Rents
| Studio | One BR | Two BR | Three BR | Four BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $647 | $725 | $896 | $1,137 | $1,248 |
