How many subsidized housing units are available in Cook County, IL?
Data updated August 21, 2024
About 127,543 in 2023. Approximately 11.0% of these were unoccupied and available to rent. 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 different programs overseen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Showing data for
In 2023
128K
subsidized housing units existed in Cook County
In 2023
14K
subsidized housing units were unoccupied and available to rent
In 2023
11%
of all subsidized housing units were available to rent
There were about 113,094 occupied subsidized housing units in 2022, and around 899,072 occupied rental units — subsidized and unsubsidized — in Cook County, IL. That means 12.6% of all occupied rentals in Cook County were provided by housing assistance programs. In 2022, 11.0% of all subsidized units in Cook County were vacant, compared with 4.0% of all available rentals.
The number of available subsidized housing units varies throughout Cook County, IL. Administered by local public housing authorities (PHAs), availability is shaped by local policy and factors like geography (e.g., urban vs. rural vs. suburban), need, and more.
In 2023, Cook County provided 250 subsidized housing units per 10K people.
Subsidized housing can take different forms — from high-rise buildings to garden-style apartments to single-family dwellings, duplexes, and more — but all are accessed via eight different housing assistance programs under HUD. These are classified as either public housing; tenant-based programs; or privately-owned, project-based housing.
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Tenant-based programs — known today as the Housing Choice Voucher program — allow recipients to choose their own housing in the private market, so long as it meets program requirements. Privately-owned, project based programs provide subsidized housing in larger, multifamily housing developments through agreements between landlords and HUD. Public housing units are built and managed by local housing agencies.
In 2023, the most common type of subsidized housing in Cook County, IL was tenant-based with 74,895 housing units. These accounted for 58.7% of the county’s subsidized housing stock. Privately-owned, project-based programs accounted for 29.6% and public housing accounted for 11.6%.
