How many subsidized housing units are available in Pennsylvania?
Data updated August 27, 2024
223,554 in 2023. Approximately 13% 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
224K
subsidized housing units existed in Pennsylvania
In 2023
29.1K
subsidized housing units were unoccupied and available to rent
In 2023
13%
of all subsidized housing units were available to rent
There were about 195,706 occupied subsidized housing units in Pennsylvania in 2022, and around 1,635,866 occupied rental units — subsidized and unsubsidized — in the state. That means approximately 11.96% of all occupied rentals in Pennsylvania were provided by housing assistance programs. In 2022, 12% of all subsidized units in Pennsylvania were vacant, compared with 4.8% of all rental properties.
The number of available subsidized housing units varies throughout Pennsylvania. 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, Philadelphia 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 — known today as the Housing Choice Voucher program — are the most common form of housing assistance. Housing vouchers allow recipients to choose their own housing in the private market, provided it meets program requirements. These account for approximately 53.66% 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 31.13% of all subsidized housing in Pennsylvania.
The remainder of subsidized units — 25% of the total — are public housing, where units are built and managed by local housing agencies.
