Affordable Housing In Travis County
Texas

Housing Authorities that serve Travis County

Housing Authority	Programs
Housing Authority of Travis County	Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Public Housing

Other Housing Authorities located in Travis County

Housing Authority	Programs
Housing Authority of the City of Austin	Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Public Housing; Family Self-sufficiency
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs	Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV)

Guide To Affordable Housing in Travis County, Texas

There are 154 low income housing apartment communities offering 19,263 affordable apartments for rent in Travis County, Texas. Travis County features 4,584 low income apartments with rental assistance where households typically pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent. Additionally, there are 14,503 other low income apartments that don't provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Travis County.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

Travis County, TX Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	154
Total Low Income Apartments	19,263
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	4,584
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	48.29%
Average Renter Household Size	2.36
Average Household Size	2.57
Median Household Income	$61,451 ±$591
Median Rent	$1,054 ±$7
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	47.89% ± 0.98pp
Total Population	1,121,645

Population and Household Demographics

Travis County is a County in Texas with a population of 1,121,645. There are 428,220 households in the county with an average household size of 2.57 persons. 48.29% of households in Travis County are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Travis County

The median gross income for households in Travis County is $61,451 a year, or $5,121 a month. The median rent for the county is $1,054 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Travis County, a household making less than $3,513 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 47.89% of households who rent are overburdened in Travis County.¹

Area Median Income In Travis County

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.

In Travis County, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $95,900

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 Travis County

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 Travis County HUD Rental Assistance in Travis County

Income	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person
30% of Median	$19,900	$22,750	$25,600	$28,400	$30,700	$34,590	$39,010	$43,430
50% of Median	$33,150	$37,850	$42,600	$47,300	$51,100	$54,900	$58,700	$62,450
80% of Median	$52,850	$60,400	$67,950	$75,500	$81,550	$87,600	$93,650	$99,700

Low Income Housing Tax Credits in Travis County

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program aims to create affordable rental housing for low and very low income families.

From 1987 to 2007, 88 low income apartment communities containing 9,372 rental apartments have been constructed and made affordable to low income persons in Travis County by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

If your income is less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), you should not expect to pay more than the rent value for a unit in the table below. However, Affordable apartment communities that receive funding through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program may have rental units that are not subject to income and rent limits.

Rent limits for the LIHTC Program are determined so that a household making the maximum income for the expected household size of the unit would only pay 30% of their income for rent.

Income Qualifications for Low Income Housing Tax Credit Apartments in Travis County

Income	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person
50% of Median	$33,150	$37,850	$42,600	$47,300	$51,100	$54,900	$58,700	$62,450
60% of Median	$39,780	$45,420	$51,120	$56,760	$61,320	$65,880	$70,440	$74,940

For example, the expected household size for a two bedroom apartment is 3 people. Using the table above, the maximum income for a 3 person household at 60% of the AMI in Travis County is $51,120 a year, or $4,260 a month. To determine the maximum rent in the table below we multiply the monthly maximum income, $4,260 by 30% to get a maximum rent of $1,278 a month.

Rent for units in the LIHTC Program include a utility allowance which is determined by the average monthly cost of utilities paid directly by residents. This allowance has not been subtracted from the rents in the table below. These utility allowances are set on a property by property basis.

% of AMI	Studio	1 Bed	2 Bed	3 Bed	4 Bed	5 Bed
50%	$829	$888	$1,065	$1,230	$1,373	$1,514
60%	$995	$1,065	$1,278	$1,476	$1,647	$1,817

Fair Market Rents in Travis County

Fair Market Rents, often abbreviated as FMR, can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Notably, Fair Market Rents are used to establish the payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, maximum rents in HOME financed rental projects and initial rents for Section 8 project based assistance.

2020 Fair Market Rents

Studio	One BR	Two BR	Three BR	Four BR
$988	$1,134	$1,356	$1,763	$2,128