Affordable Housing In Seattle
King County,
Washington
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There are 361 low income housing apartment complexes which contain 32,678 affordable apartments for rent in Seattle, Washington. Many of these rental apartments are income based housing with about 12,334 apartments that set rent based on your income. Often referred to as "HUD apartments", there are 2,819 Project-Based Section 8 subsidized apartments in Seattle. There are 22,748 other low income apartments that don't have rental assistance but are still considered to be affordable housing for low income families.
The HUD funded Public Housing Agency that serves Seattle is the Seattle Housing Authority.
Affordable Apartments in Seattle
Housing Authorities that serve Seattle
The Seattle Housing Authority is a Section 8 and Public Housing public housing agency in Seattle, Washington.
Understanding Affordable Housing in Seattle, Washington
- Population And Household Demographics
- Income and Rent Overburden
- Fair Market Rents
- Area Median Income
- Low Income Housing Tax Credit
- Rental Assistance
Seattle, WA Affordable Housing Snapshot
| Total Affordable Apartment Properties | 361 |
|---|---|
| Total Low Income Apartments | 32,678 |
| Total Rent Assisted Apartments | 12,334 |
| Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters | 53.87% |
| Average Renter Household Size | 1.89 |
| Total Population | 653,017 |
| Housing Units | 296,633 |
| Average Household Size | 2.12 |
| Median Household Income | $70,594 ±$880 |
| Median Rent | $1,185 ±$10 |
| Percentage Of Renters Overburdened | 43.87% ± 1.1pp |
Population and Household Demographics
Seattle is a City in King County, Washington with a population of 653,017. There are 296,633 households in the city with an average household size of 2.12 persons. 53.87% of households in Seattle are renters.
Income and Rent Overburden in Seattle
The median gross income for households in Seattle is $70,594 a year, or $5,883 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,185 a month.
Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Seattle, a household making less than $3,950 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 43.87% of households who rent are overburdened in Seattle.1
Data derived from 2010 Census and 2015 5-Year American Community Survey. Learn More.
1 Margin of Error: ± 1.1 percentage points.
Area Median Income In Seattle
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 Seattle, the AMI is calculated from all households within King County.
In Seattle, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $96,000
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 Seattle
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.
Seattle HUD Rental Assistance Income Limits
| AMI Band | 1 Person | 2 Person | 3 Person | 4 Person | 5 Person | 6 Person | 7 Person | 8 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30% | $20,200 | $23,050 | $25,950 | $28,800 | $31,150 | $33,450 | $37,140 | $41,320 |
| 50% | $33,600 | $38,400 | $43,200 | $48,000 | $51,850 | $55,700 | $59,550 | $63,400 |
| 80% | $50,400 | $57,600 | $64,800 | $72,000 | $77,800 | $83,550 | $89,300 | $95,050 |
You can identify apartment communities that participate in a program that provides rental assistance by looking for the tags in the apartment list above. View Apartments.
Low Income Housing Tax Credits in Seattle
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program aims to create affordable rental housing for low and very low income families.
From 1987 to 2009, 237 low income apartment communities containing 18,539 rental apartments have been constructed and made affordable to low income persons in Seattle by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
You can identify apartment communities that participate in the program in Seattle by looking for the tag in the apartment list above. View Apartments.
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.
Seattle Low Income Housing Tax Credit Income Limits
| AMI Band | 1 Person | 2 Person | 3 Person | 4 Person | 5 Person | 6 Person | 7 Person | 8 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | $33,600 | $38,400 | $43,200 | $48,000 | $51,850 | $55,700 | $59,550 | $63,400 |
| 60% | $40,320 | $46,080 | $51,840 | $57,600 | $62,220 | $66,840 | $71,460 | $76,080 |
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 Seattle is $51,840 a year, or $4,320 a month. To determine the maximum rent in the table below we multiply the monthly maximum income, $4,320 by 30% to get a maximum rent of $1,296 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 | 2 Bed | 3 Bed | 4 Bed | 1 Bed | 5 Bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | $840 | $900 | $1,080 | $1,248 | $1,393 | $1,537 |
| 60% | $1,008 | $1,080 | $1,296 | $1,498 | $1,671 | $1,844 |
Fair Market Rents in Seattle
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.
2017 Fair Market Rents
| Studio | One BR | Two BR | Three BR | Four BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,093 | $1,249 | $1,544 | $2,240 | $2,654 |
© 2002-2017, David Layfield and ApartmentSmart.com, Inc.
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