How many subsidized housing units are available in South Carolina?
Data updated August 27, 2024
About 64,096 in 2023. Approximately 12% 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
64.1K
subsidized housing units existed in South Carolina
In 2023
7.7K
subsidized housing units were unoccupied and available to rent
In 2023
12%
of all subsidized housing units were available to rent
There were about 56,458 occupied subsidized housing units in 2022, and around 598,102 occupied rental units — subsidized and unsubsidized — in South Carolina. That means 9.4% of all occupied rentals in South Carolina were provided by housing assistance programs. In 2022, 12% of all subsidized units in South Carolina were vacant, compared with 7.6% of all rental properties.
The number of available subsidized housing units varies throughout South Carolina. These units are administered by local public housing authorities (PHAs). Availability is shaped by local policy and factors like geography (e.g., urban vs. rural vs. suburban) and need.
In 2023, Allendale 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, providing 30,156 housing units in South Carolina in 2023. Housing vouchers allow recipients to choose their own housing in the private market, provided it meets program requirements. These account for 47% of the subsidized housing stock. Nationally, tenant-based programs account for 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 34.07% of all subsidized housing in South Carolina.
The remainder of subsidized units — 18.88% of the total — are public housing, where units are built and managed by local housing agencies.
