How many subsidized housing units are available in Arizona?
Data updated August 27, 2024
In 2023, there were about 41,856 subsidized housing units in Arizona. Approximately 10% of these units were unoccupied and available for rent in 2023. 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).
Showing data for
In 2023
41.9K
subsidized housing units existed in Arizona
In 2023
4.2K
subsidized housing units were unoccupied and available to rent
In 2023
10%
of all subsidized housing units were available to rent
There were about 35,838 occupied subsidized housing units in 2022, and around 929,223 occupied rental units — subsidized and unsubsidized — in Arizona. That means 3.86% of all occupied rentals in Arizona were provided by housing assistance programs. In 2022, 14% of all subsidized units in Arizona were vacant, compared with 5.6% of all rental properties.
The number of available subsidized housing units varies throughout Arizona. These units are administered by local public housing authorities (PHAs). Availability is shaped by local policy, geography (e.g., urban vs. rural vs. suburban), and need.
In 2023, Yuma County had the most 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 — widely recognized today as the Housing Choice Voucher program — are the most common form of housing assistance, providing 26,102 housing units in 2023. Housing vouchers allow recipients to choose their own housing in the private market, provided it meets program requirements. These vouchers account for 62.36% of the subsidized housing stock in Arizona. In Arizona, tenant-based programs are more common than in the US, where they account for 53.66% of the total subsidized housing units.
Tenant assistance was the most common type of housing program in 2023.
Privately-owned, project-based programs provide subsidized housing in larger, multifamily housing developments through agreements between landlords and HUD, and account for 28% of all subsidized housing.
The remainder of subsidized units — 9.6% of the total — are public housing, where units are built and managed by local housing agencies.
