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

Discover affordable housing in Houston where there are 323+ 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.

Brookside Gardens

3525 S. Sam Houston Parkway, Houston, Texas 77047

Sharon Park

5600 Chimney Rock Rd , Houston, Texas 77081

Vista on Gessner

6425 South Gessner Road, Houston, Texas 77036

Village at Piney Point

2601 Lazy Hollow Drive, Houston, Texas 77063

Hollyoak Senior Living

1830 Hollyoak Drive, Houston, Texas 77084

The Pointe at Crestmont

5602 Selinsky Rd, Houston, Texas 77048

New Hope Housing at Harrisburg

3315 Harrisburg Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77003

Pleasant Hill Village

3814 Lyons Ave, Houston, Texas 77020

The Brittmoore

6725 Brittmoore Rd, Houston, Texas 77041

Avenue Station Apartments

2010 North Main Street, Houston, Texas 77009

Village at Palm Center

5110 Griggs Rd, Houston, Texas 77021

Cypress Creek at Wayside

14220 South Wayside Drive, Houston, Texas 77048

The Vireo

12212 Tidwell Rd, Houston, Texas 77044

West Oaks Village

15059 Caseta Dr, Houston, Texas 77082

Cypress Creek at Reed Road

2910 Reed Rd, Houston, Texas 77051

New Hope Housing at Reed

2605 Reed Rd, Houston, Texas 77051

Sunset Gardens

4141 Barberry Dr, Houston, Texas 77051

Little York Villas Apartments

3111 W Little York Rd, Houston, Texas 77091

Heritage Senior Residence

1120 Moy St., Houston, Texas 77007

William Booth Garden Apartments

808 Frawley St, Houston, Texas 77009

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Houston, Texas
$25.70/hour
$18.45 (+254%) more than Texas minimum wage and $18.45 (+254%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Houston, Texas Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Houston, 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 programs for Houston, Texas.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs for Houston, Texas.
Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs for Houston, Texas.

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

How many renters live in Houston, Texas?

The City of Houston has 2,304,414 people living in 947,632 households.

There are 1,254,370 renters living in 561,256 renter households in this City. Renters make up 54.43 percent of the population living in Houston.

What is the rental market like in Houston, Texas?

There are an estimated 1,043,326 housing units in the Houston area. Of these, 616,675 units are rental homes, making up 59 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Houston, Texas, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Houston?

The rental vacancy rate in Houston is 8 percent. This is a higher than average vacancy rate. When rental vacancy rates are high it means that there are a lot of available units and rents tend to be lower.

How many rental units are in Houston for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Houston
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
65,183 200,661 197,768 77,895 16,803
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Houston

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

Among renter households in this market, 50 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 24 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 Houston

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,073 to $2,303. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,073
One BR $1,135
Two BR $1,357
Three BR $1,792
Four BR $2,303
2024 Fair Market Rents in Houston, Texas

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

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 28,633 44 percent
One BR 104,734 52 percent
Two BR 101,186 51 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Houston, Texas

How many affordable rental units are in Houston?

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

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 39,007
Public Housing 2,316
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 5,915
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 1,266
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 155
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Houston, Texas

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

Income Based Apartments in Houston, Texas

Houston features 12,987 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 Houston, Texas

There are 38,017 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Houston.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Houston, Texas

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Houston landlords $800 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Houston.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Houston, Texas for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,221 and $1,493.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.