How many people live in subsidized housing in North Carolina?
About 230,000 people lived in subsidized housing in 2023, or about 2.1 people per 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 had lived in their units for seven years and eleven months.
Showing data for
In 2023
230K
people lived in subsidized housing in North Carolina
In 2023
2.1%
of the North Carolina 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 Washington County, 9.4% of people live in subsidized housing, the most of any county in North Carolina.
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 94% of households in subsidized housing as very low income and 73% as extremely low income. The average household in subsidized housing earned $14,847 in annual income. Across all subsidized housing, 76% of households earned less than $20,000.
40% of households with subsidies earned $10K–$15K in annual income.
North Carolina, 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 25% of households earned the majority of their income through wages, salaries, and business income. Finally, for 68% of households living in subsidized housing, 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 6% of income sources were unaccounted for in the data.
Welfare assistance programs were the primary source of income for 1% of households in subsidized housing.
North Carolina, 2023
Households living in subsidized housing contribute to their rent. In 2023, households living in subsidized housing in North Carolina paid average monthly rent of $353, which translates to an average of $4,236 per year, or 28.5% of the average household’s annual income. HUD contributed $701 per household per month, on average.
Households that qualify for subsidies have a variety of family structures. HUD data focused on homes with children, female-headed households, and households that include people with disabilities. In 2023:
- 41% of households had one or more children under 18 years, and about 95% of these were headed by single parents.
- 79% of households were headed by women, and 38% were headed by women with children.
- 21% of all people living in subsidized housing had a disability.
In addition, 75% of households that lived in subsidized housing in North Carolina 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.
North Carolina, 2023
Thirty-five percent of households living in subsidized housing in North Carolina are headed by people age 62 and older, the youngest age when people can qualify for Social Security. People aged 25 to 50 are considered “prime-age workers,” and households led by this group make up 44% of all households in subsidized housing. This data highlights the significant presence of both older adults and prime-age workers in the subsidized housing demographic.
