How many subsidized housing units are available in Kansas?
Data updated August 27, 2024
About 35,270 in 2023. Approximately 17% 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 programs overseen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Showing data for
In 2023
35.3K
subsidized housing units existed in Kansas
In 2023
6K
subsidized housing units were unoccupied and available to rent
In 2023
17%
of all subsidized housing units were available to rent
There were about 29,091 occupied subsidized housing units in Kansas in 2022, and around 379,620 occupied rental units — subsidized and unsubsidized — in the state. That means approximately 7.7% of all occupied rentals in Kansas were provided by housing assistance programs. In 2022, 18% of all subsidized units in Kansas were vacant, compared with 6.4% of all rental properties.
The number of available subsidized housing units varies throughout Kansas. 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, Wyandotte 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, also known as the Housing Choice Voucher program, are the most common form of housing assistance, providing 14,479 housing units in Kansas in 2023. Housing vouchers allow recipients to choose their own housing in the private market, provided it meets program requirements. These account for 41% of the subsidized housing stock. In Kansas, tenant-based programs are less common than in the US, where they account for 54% of the subsidized housing stock.
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 36% of all subsidized housing in Kansas.
The remainder of subsidized units — 23% of the total — are public housing, where units are built and managed by local housing agencies.
