Affordable Housing In Kalama
Cowlitz County, Washington

2 Low Income Apartment Communities In Kalama

Guide To Affordable Housing in Kalama, Washington

There are 2 low income housing apartment communities offering 48 affordable apartments for rent in Kalama, Washington.

Income Based Apartments in Kalama, Washington

Kalama features 16 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 Kalama, Washington

There are 32 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Kalama.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Kalama, Washington

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Kalama landlords $0 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $0 towards rent in Kalama.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Kalama, Washington for a two-bedroom apartment is between $918 and $1,122.

2021 Kalama, Washington 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.

	Studio	One BR	Two BR	Three BR	Four BR
Kalama, Washington Fair Market Rent	$676	$774	$1,020	$1,460	$1,721
Kalama, Washington Payment Standard Range	$608 to $744	$697 to $851	$918 to $1,122	$1,314 to $1,606	$1,549 to $1,893

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

Kalama, WA Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties	2
Total Low Income Apartments	48
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance	16
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters	29.53%
Average Renter Household Size	2.96
Average Household Size	2.48
Median Household Income	$51,979 ±$6,806
Median Rent	$1,017 ±$256
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened	38.26% ± 15.67pp
Total Population	2,498

Population and Household Demographics

Kalama is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington with a population of 2,498. There are 1,009 households in the city with an average household size of 2.48 persons. 29.53% of households in Kalama are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in Kalama

The median gross income for households in Kalama is $51,979 a year, or $4,332 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,017 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Kalama, a household making less than $3,390 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 38.26% of households who rent are overburdened in Kalama.

Area Median Income In Kalama

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 Kalama, the AMI is calculated from all households within Cowlitz County.

In Kalama, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $69,200

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 Kalama

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 Kalama

	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person
30% AMI Income Limits Renters earning up to 30% of the Kalama AMI may qualify for rental assistance programs that target Extremely Low Income households.	$14,550	$17,240	$21,720	$26,200	$30,680	$35,160	$39,640	$44,120
50% AMI Income Limits Renters earning up to 50% of the Kalama AMI may qualify for rental assistance programs that target Very Low Income households.	$24,250	$27,700	$31,150	$34,600	$37,400	$40,150	$42,950	$45,700
80% AMI Income Limits Renters earning up to 80% of the Kalama AMI may qualify for rental assistance programs that target Low Income households.	$38,750	$44,300	$49,850	$55,350	$59,800	$64,250	$68,650	$73,100