How many subsidized housing units are available in District of Columbia, DC?
Refreshed annually
In 2025, about 34,500 subsidized housing units were available in District of Columbia, DC. Approximately 20 percent 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).
In 2025
34.5K
subsidized housing units existed in District of Columbia, DC
In 2025,
6.91K
subsidized housing units were unoccupied and available to rent
In 2025,
20%
of all subsidized housing units were available to rent
The number of available subsidized housing units varies throughout District of Columbia, DC. 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 2025, District of Columbia provided 498 subsidized housing units per 10K people.
Subsidized housing units per 10,000 people (2025)
What types of subsidized housing are available in District of Columbia, DC?
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 — are the most common form of housing assistance. Housing choice vouchers 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 2025, the most common type of subsidized housing in District of Columbia, DC was Tenant-based with 16,697 housing units. These accounted for 48% of the county’s subsidized housing stock. Privately-owned, project-based programs accounted for 30% and public housing accounted for 22%.
Tenant assistance was the most common type of housing program in 2025.
Share of subsidized housing units in District of Columbia, DC, by program (2025)
How Can the Government Help with Affordable Housing?
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USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
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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.
