Public Housing Agencies Serving Columbia, South 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.

Columbia, South Carolina Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia features 4,851 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 Columbia, South Carolina

There are 3,530 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Columbia.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Columbia, South Carolina

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Columbia landlords $600 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Columbia.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Columbia, South Carolina for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,013 and $1,238.

2023 Columbia, South Carolina 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.

Columbia, SC Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	99
Total Low Income Apartments	8,429
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	4,851
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	54.93%
Average Renter Household Size	2.27
Average Household Size	2.31
Median Household Income	$41,260 ±$1,069
Median Rent	$836 ±$14
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	51.38% ± 2.5pp
Total Population	131,958

Population and Household Demographics

Columbia is a city in Richland County, South Carolina with a population of 131,958. There are 44,506 households in the city with an average household size of 2.31 persons. 54.93% of households in Columbia are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Columbia

The median gross income for households in Columbia is $41,260 a year, or $3,438 a month. The median rent for the city is $836 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Columbia, a household making less than $2,787 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 51.38% of households who rent are overburdened in Columbia.

Area Median Income In Columbia

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 Columbia, the AMI is calculated from all households within Richland County.

In Columbia, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $83,900

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 Columbia

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 Columbia