; Low Income Apartments For Rent in San Luis Obispo, CA

Apply to San Luis Obispo Apartment Waiting Lists

Iron Works Apartments

3682 Broad Street
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC
Call For Rent
1-3 BR

860 on the Wye Apartments

2775 Victoria Ave
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC
Call For Rent
Studio-2 BR

Broad Street Place

3720 Broad St.
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC
Call For Rent
Studio-3 BR

Bishop Street Studios

1750 Bishop Street
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC
HOME
Call For Rent
Studio-1 BR

Marvin Gardens

1105 Laurel Ln
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC

Pismo Buchon Apartments

1363 Pismo St
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC
Call For Rent
2-3 BR

Islay Hills

1102 Ironbark St
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC

Dan Law Apartments

649 Branch St
San Luis Obispo, California
Subsidized
Rent Assisted
PBRA
BMIR
S236

Monterey Arms

955 Monterey St
San Luis Obispo, California
Subsidized
PBRA
BMIR

Madonna Road Apartments

1550 Madonna Rd
San Luis Obispo, California
Subsidized
Rent Assisted
LIHTC
BMIR
S236
Call For Rent
1-4 BR

South Hills Crossing

313 South Street
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC
Call For Rent
1-3 BR

1330 Southwood Dr

1330 Southwood Dr
San Luis Obispo, California
$1,100
1 BR

1750 Prefumo Canyon Rd Unit 70

1750 Prefumo Canyon Rd Unit 70
San Luis Obispo, California
$950
1 BR

Villas at Higuera

3085 S Higuera St
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC

Poinsettia Street Apartments

4035 Poinsettia St
San Luis Obispo, California
Rent Assisted
LIHTC
Showing Results 1-15

There are 574 low-income apartments in San Luis Obispo that offer reduced rents to eligible households.

Rental assistance programs support 307 low-income homes in San Luis Obispo where households pay rent based on how much they earn. For 2024, elgible households participating in federally assisted housing pay an average of $441 towards rent each month.

Affordable rent data for some communities last confirmed on July 2nd, 2024. Subdsidized rents typically change once a year based on federal guidance.

Public Housing Agencies Serving San Luis Obispo, California

Public Housing Agencies operate federally assisted affordable housing programs at local levels on behalf of HUD. Notably, housing agencies are responsible for managing Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Public Housing, and Project-Based Voucher waiting lists within their jurisdiction.

Housing Authority Programs
Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Public Housing; Section 8 Project-Based Voucher (PBV)
Go to the California Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near San Luis Obispo.

San Luis Obispo, California Affordable Housing Data

Income Based Apartments in San Luis Obispo, California

San Luis Obispo features 307 income based apartments. Tenants of income based apartments typically pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent and utilities.

Low Rent Apartments in San Luis Obispo, California

There are 574 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in San Luis Obispo.

Housing Choice Vouchers in San Luis Obispo, California

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay San Luis Obispo landlords $900 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $400 towards rent in San Luis Obispo.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in San Luis Obispo, California for a two-bedroom apartment is between $2,047 and $2,501.

2024 San Luis Obispo, California Fair Market Rents and Housing Choice Voucher Payment Standards

Fair Market Rents can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Fair Market Rents are used by HUD to establish payment and rent standards for federal rental assistance programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Studio One BR Two BR Three BR Four BR
San Luis Obispo, California Fair Market Rent $1,541 $1,731 $2,274 $3,045 $3,465
San Luis Obispo, California Payment Standard Range $1,387 to $1,695 $1,558 to $1,904 $2,047 to $2,501 $2,741 to $3,350 $3,119 to $3,812

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

San Luis Obispo, CA Affordable Housing Snapshot

Total Affordable Apartment Properties 23
Total Low Income Apartments 883
Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance 307
Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters 63.32%
Average Renter Household Size 2.52
Average Household Size 2.50
Median Household Income $46,058 ±$3,148
Median Rent $1,284 ±$48
Percentage Of Renters Overburdened 61.02% ± 4.08pp
Total Population 46,337

Population and Household Demographics

San Luis Obispo is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California with a population of 46,337. There are 18,044 households in the city with an average household size of 2.50 persons. 63.32% of households in San Luis Obispo are renters.

Income and Rent Overburden in San Luis Obispo

The median gross income for households in San Luis Obispo is $46,058 a year, or $3,838 a month. The median rent for the city is $1,284 a month.

Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In San Luis Obispo, a household making less than $4,280 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 61.02% of households who rent are overburdened in San Luis Obispo.

Area Median Income In San Luis Obispo

Affordable housing program eligibility is always determined by one's income. Each household's income is compared to the incomes of all other households in the area. This is accomplished through a statistic established by the government called the Area Median Income, most often referred to as AMI. The AMI is calculated and published each year by HUD.

HUD often uses an area larger than a city to determine the AMI because HUD anticipates those searching for housing will look beyond individual cities during their housing search. For San Luis Obispo, the AMI is calculated from all households within San Luis Obispo County.

In San Luis Obispo, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $113,100

Most affordable housing programs determine eligibility based on the percent of AMI a given household's income is. Among the programs that determine eligibility based on the AMI are Section 8, HOME, LIHTC, Section 515, 202 and 811.

Rental Assistance in San Luis Obispo

Rental assistance is a type of housing subsidy that pays for a portion of a renter’s monthly housing costs, including rent and tenant paid utilities. This housing assistance can come in the form of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, project-based Section 8 contracts, public housing, USDA Rental Assistance (in Section 515 properties) as well as HUD Section 202 and 811 properties for elderly and disabled households.

Income Qualifications for HUD Rental Assistance in San Luis Obispo

1 Person 2 Person 3 Person 4 Person 5 Person 6 Person 7 Person 8 Person
30% AMI Income Limits
Renters earning up to 30% of the San Luis Obispo AMI may qualify for rental assistance programs that target Extremely Low Income households.
$24,350 $27,800 $31,300 $34,750 $37,550 $40,350 $45,420 $50,560
50% AMI Income Limits
Renters earning up to 50% of the San Luis Obispo AMI may qualify for rental assistance programs that target Very Low Income households.
$40,550 $46,350 $52,150 $57,900 $62,550 $67,200 $71,800 $76,450
80% AMI Income Limits
Renters earning up to 80% of the San Luis Obispo AMI may qualify for rental assistance programs that target Low Income households.
$64,900 $74,150 $83,400 $92,650 $100,100 $107,500 $114,900 $122,300