Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Charlottesville, VA

Discover affordable housing in Charlottesville where there are 37+ 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.

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Charlottesville, Virginia
$31.78/hour
$19.78 (+165%) more than Virginia minimum wage and $24.53 (+338%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Charlottesville, Virginia Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Charlottesville, Virginia?

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, Homeownership Voucher, Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) programs for Charlottesville, Virginia.

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

How many renters live in Charlottesville, Virginia?

The City of Charlottesville has 46,289 people living in 19,511 households.

There are 24,395 renters living in 11,249 renter households in this City. Renters make up 52.7 percent of the population living in Charlottesville.

What is the rental market like in Charlottesville, Virginia?

There are an estimated 21,425 housing units in the Charlottesville area. Of these, 11,801 units are rental homes, making up 55 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Charlottesville, Virginia, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Charlottesville?

The rental vacancy rate in Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Charlottesville
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
506 2,963 3,918 2,533 1,061
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Charlottesville

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

Among renter households in this market, 53 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 29 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 Charlottesville

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,392 to $2,608. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,392
One BR $1,415
Two BR $1,678
Three BR $2,114
Four BR $2,608
2024 Fair Market Rents in Charlottesville, Virginia

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

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 342 68 percent
One BR 2,048 69 percent
Two BR 2,167 55 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Charlottesville, Virginia

How many affordable rental units are in Charlottesville?

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

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 774
Public Housing 337
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 302
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 19
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Charlottesville, Virginia

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

Income Based Apartments in Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville features 876 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 Charlottesville, Virginia

There are 1,616 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Charlottesville.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Charlottesville, Virginia

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Charlottesville landlords $700 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Charlottesville.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Charlottesville, Virginia for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,510 and $1,846.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.