How long do people wait for subsidized housing in the United States?
Two years and one month, on average, in 2023. That’s a 42.1% increase since 2009, when recipients spent one year and six months on waiting lists before moving in to subsidized housing.
Though funding comes from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), housing assistance programs are administered locally by public housing authorities (PHAs), which serve whole states or, more commonly, counties and cities. Local housing availability and demand for housing assistance determine wait times, as well as any changes at HUD that influence supply (like increased funding) or demand (like changes in eligibility requirements).
Showing data for
In 2023, renters waited
25
months before recieving subsidized housing.
Wait times increased
42.1%
between 2009 and 2023.
Subsidized housing isn’t immediately available to people with financial need. To receive housing assistance, applicants must apply and be accepted through their local PHA.
Because PHAs have limited available units at a given time and a continual influx of applications, prospective renters are typically placed on a waiting list. Only once a home is available and an applicant is selected from the waiting list is their application evaluated for eligibility. To receive assistance, an applicant must meet income and other requirements at the time they are chosen from the waiting list, regardless of their eligibility when they first applied.
Changes in programs, administrative rules, or HUD funding may affect how housing assistance programs operate and, in turn, affect the amount of locally available housing and thus wait times faced by renters.
Wait times have ranged from 18 to 27 months between 2009 and 2023.
Average annual wait times for subsidized housing since 2009
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Time spent on the waiting list can also be influenced by staffing levels or other conditions at the local PHA that influence how long it takes to determine an applicant’s eligibility. Each state has a different number of PHAs. Both the number of applications each PHA receives and their available subsidized housing units vary. Consequently, housing assistance wait times vary by state, ranging from as little as eight months in Wyoming to as many as 42 months, or three years and six months, in Massachusetts in 2023.
Wait times were longest in Massachusetts and shortest in Wyoming.
Average waits for subsidized housing in 2023
