How many people live in subsidized housing in Nevada?

Data updated August 27, 2024
In 2023, about 50,000 people lived in subsidized housing in Nevada, or about 2.2 people per housing unit. Subsidized housing options vary by location, ranging from high-rise or garden-style apartments to single-family dwellings, duplexes, and more. On average, 2023 residents have lived in their units for twelve years and one month.
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In 2023

50.4K

people lived in subsidized housing in Nevada
In 2023

1.6%

of the Nevada population lived in subsidized housing
Federally subsidized rental housing began with 1937’s US Housing Act, which created the United States Housing Authority and provided financial assistance to state and local governments for housing low-income people. Since then, the government has provided housing assistance to low-income renters through programs overseen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In Carson City, 2% of people live in subsidized housing, the most of any county in Nevada.

Share of population living in subsidized housing in 2023, by county

People who live in subsidized housing share one thing: incomes low enough to qualify for housing assistance. In 2023, HUD classified 93% of households in subsidized housing in Nevada as very low income and 74% as extremely low income. The average household in subsidized housing earned $16,570 in annual income. Across all subsidized housing, 70% of households earned less than $20,000.

39% of households with subsidies earned $10K–$15K in annual income.

Nevada, 2023

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Renters in subsidized housing earned income from different sources. Welfare was the main income source for 1% of households. According to HUD and the Census Bureau, “welfare” includes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, general assistance, or emergency assistance payments. Another 24% of households earned the majority of their income through wages, salaries, and business income. For 66% of households, the majority of income came from other sources, a broad category that includes Social Security payments; insurance benefits; pensions; interest or dividends; and payments in lieu of salary like worker’s compensation, severance, unemployment, or disability. The remaining 9% of income sources were not specified in the data.

Welfare assistance programs were the primary source of income for 1% of households in subsidized housing.

Nevada, 2023

Households living in subsidized housing contribute to their rent. In 2023, households living in subsidized housing in Nevada paid average monthly rent of $413, which translates to an average of $4,956 per year, or approximately 30% of the average household’s annual income. HUD contributed $1,041 per household per month, on average.
Households that qualify for subsidies have a variety of family structures. HUD data focuses on homes with children, female-headed households, and households that include people with disabilities. In Nevada:
  • 39% of households had one or more children under 18 years, and about 92% of these were headed by single parents.
  • 74% of households were headed by women, and 36% were headed by women with children.
  • 24% of all people living in subsidized housing had a disability.
In Nevada, 69% of households that lived in subsidized housing were headed by people belonging to minority groups, which the Census Bureau defines as anyone whose race and ethnicity is anything other than “white alone, non-Hispanic.”

Subsidized households were most often headed by those aged 25 to 50.

Nevada, 2023

Thirty-seven percent of households living in subsidized housing in Nevada are headed by people age 62 and older, the youngest age when people could qualify for Social Security. People aged 25 to 50 are considered “prime-age workers,” a term that signifies individuals in their most economically productive years, and households led by this group make up 42% of all households in subsidized housing.

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