Public Housing Agencies Serving Scranton, 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.

Scranton, Pennsylvania Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Scranton features 3,144 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 Scranton, Pennsylvania

There are 144 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Scranton.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Scranton, Pennsylvania

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Scranton landlords $500 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Scranton.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Scranton, Pennsylvania for a two-bedroom apartment is between $907 and $1,109.

2023 Scranton, Pennsylvania Fair Market Rents and Housing Choice Voucher Payment Standards

Fair Market Rents can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Fair Market Rents are used by HUD to establish payment and rent standards for federal rental assistance programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

Scranton, PA Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	27
Total Low Income Apartments	3,608
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	3,144
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	48.12%
Average Renter Household Size	2.33
Average Household Size	2.43
Median Household Income	$37,218 ±$1,042
Median Rent	$709 ±$14
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	46.32% ± 2.59pp
Total Population	76,064

Population and Household Demographics

Scranton is a city in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania with a population of 76,064. There are 28,946 households in the city with an average household size of 2.43 persons. 48.12% of households in Scranton are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Scranton

The median gross income for households in Scranton is $37,218 a year, or $3,102 a month. The median rent for the city is $709 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Scranton, a household making less than $2,363 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 46.32% of households who rent are overburdened in Scranton.

Area Median Income In Scranton

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 Scranton, the AMI is calculated from all households within Lackawanna County.

In Scranton, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $86,500

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 Scranton

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 HUD Rental Assistance in Scranton