Public Housing Agencies Serving Amarillo, Texas

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.

Amarillo, Texas Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in Amarillo, Texas

Amarillo features 669 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 Amarillo, Texas

There are 2,187 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Amarillo.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Amarillo, Texas

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

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Amarillo, Texas for a two-bedroom apartment is between $875 and $1,069.

2023 Amarillo, Texas 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.

Amarillo, TX Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	28
Total Low Income Apartments	2,856
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	669
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	38.92%
Average Renter Household Size	2.44
Average Household Size	2.60
Median Household Income	$47,735 ±$1,379
Median Rent	$766 ±$16
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	44.93% ± 2.23pp
Total Population	196,571

Population and Household Demographics

Amarillo is a city in Potter County, Texas with a population of 196,571. There are 74,769 households in the city with an average household size of 2.60 persons. 38.92% of households in Amarillo are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Amarillo

The median gross income for households in Amarillo is $47,735 a year, or $3,978 a month. The median rent for the city is $766 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Amarillo, a household making less than $2,553 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 44.93% of households who rent are overburdened in Amarillo.

Area Median Income In Amarillo

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 Amarillo, the AMI is calculated from all households within Potter County.

In Amarillo, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $87,300

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 Amarillo

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 Amarillo