How many people live in subsidized housing in Washington, DC?
Data updated August 27, 2024
About 49,352 people in 2023, or about 1.9 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, residents have lived in their units for 348 months.
Showing data for
In 2023
49.4K
people lived in subsidized housing in Washington, DC
In 2023
7.3%
of the Washington, DC 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).
People who live in subsidized housing share one thing: incomes low enough to qualify for housing assistance. In 2023, HUD classified 96% of households in subsidized housing as very low income and 85% as extremely low income. The average household in subsidized housing earned $19,076 in annual income. Across all subsidized housing, 66% of households earned less than $20,000.
34% of households with subsidies earned more than $20K in annual income.
Washington, DC, 2023
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Renters in subsidized housing earn income from different sources. Welfare is the main income source for 8% 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 26% of households earn the majority of their income through wages, salaries, and business income. Finally, for 55% of households living in subsidized housing, the majority of income comes 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 11% of households is unaccounted for in the data.
Welfare assistance programs were the primary source of income for 8% of households in subsidized housing.
Washington, DC, 2023
Households living in subsidized housing contribute to their rent. In 2023, households living in subsidized housing in the District of Columbia paid average monthly rent of $396, which translates to an average of $4,752 per year, or approximately 25% of the average household’s annual income. HUD contributed $1,252 per household per month, on average.
Households that qualified for subsidies in 2023 had a variety of family structures. HUD data focused on homes with children, female-headed households, and households that included people with disabilities. In 2023:
- 29% of households had one or more children under 18 years, and about 97% of these were headed by single parents.
- 75% of households were headed by women, and 28% were headed by women with children.
- 19% of all people living in subsidized housing had a disability.
In addition, 97% 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.”
People of all ages receive housing assistance.
Subsidized households were most often headed by those 62 and older.
Washington, DC, 2023
Thirty-nine percent of households living in subsidized housing 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 37% of all households in subsidized housing.
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
United States Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Policy Development and Research
