Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Austin, TX

Discover affordable housing in Austin where there are 198+ 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.

Windcrest Parkside Apartments

1088 Park Plz, Austin, Texas 78753

Arrowhead Park Apartments

605 Masterson Pass, Austin, Texas 78753

Kinney Avenue Apartments

1703 Kinney Avenue, Austin, Texas 78704

Benjamin Todd Apartments

1507 W 39th 1/2 Street, Austin, Texas 78756

Esct Austin Housing II

7685 Northcross Drive, Austin, Texas 78757

Elm Ridge Apartments

1161 Harvey St, Austin, Texas 78702

Fourth Street Apartments

2402 S 4th Street, Austin, Texas 78704

Eberthart Place

808 Eberhart Ln, Austin, Texas 78745

East 12th Street Apartments

3005 E 12th Stret, Austin, Texas 78702

Stassney Apartments

5600 Nancy Drive, Austin, Texas 78745

Manchaca Road Apartments

3810 Manchaca Rd, Austin, Texas 78704

Mountain Ranch Apartments

2425 E Riverside Dr, Austin, Texas 78741

Volente Villas

11908 Anderson Mill Rd, Austin, Texas 78726

Country Club Creek

4501 E Riverside Dr, Austin, Texas 78741

Greentree Apartments

6103 Manor Rd, Austin, Texas 78723

Austin Oaks

4821 E Riverside Dr, Austin, Texas 78741

Highland Heights

909 Reinli St, Austin, Texas 78751

Versailles Princeton Apartments

4411 Airport Blvd, Austin, Texas 78722

Waterloo Apartments

45 Waller St, Austin, Texas 78702

Franklin Park

4509 E Saint Elmo Rd, Austin, Texas 78744

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Austin, Texas
$36.44/hour
$29.19 (+403%) more than Texas minimum wage and $29.19 (+403%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Austin, Texas Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Austin, 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.

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, Family Self-Sufficiency, Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) programs for Austin, Texas.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, Moving to Work programs for Austin, Texas.

Go to the Texas Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Austin.

How many renters live in Austin, Texas?

The City of Austin has 975,335 people living in 458,505 households.

There are 472,550 renters living in 255,809 renter households in this City. Renters make up 48.45 percent of the population living in Austin.

What is the rental market like in Austin, Texas?

There are an estimated 482,411 housing units in the Austin area. Of these, 267,341 units are rental homes, making up 55 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Austin, Texas, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Austin?

The rental vacancy rate in Austin is 3 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 Austin for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Austin
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
26,935 97,758 86,777 32,153 11,336
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Austin

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

Among renter households in this market, 45 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 21 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 Austin

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,519 to $2,840. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,519
One BR $1,635
Two BR $1,924
Three BR $2,470
Four BR $2,840
2024 Fair Market Rents in Austin, Texas

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Austin?

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 19,861 74 percent
One BR 59,898 61 percent
Two BR 25,870 30 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Austin, Texas

How many affordable rental units are in Austin?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Austin, Texas including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 22,279
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 3,909
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 151
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 176
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Austin, Texas

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

Income Based Apartments in Austin, Texas

Austin features 5,181 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 Austin, Texas

There are 20,693 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Austin.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Austin, Texas

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Austin landlords $900 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in Austin.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Austin, Texas for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,732 and $2,116.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.