Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Santa Cruz, CA (2024)

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Discover affordable housing in Santa Cruz where there are 30+ housing opportunities based on income and household needs like accessible units for seniors or persons with disabilities. Find and apply to these low income apartments now.

Mission Gardens

90 Grandview St, Santa Cruz, California 95060

bed1-3

Garfield Park Village

721 Bay St, Santa Cruz, California 95060

bedStudio-2

East Cliff Village

1635 Tremont Dr, Santa Cruz, California 95062

bed1

Jessie Street

314 Jessie Street, Santa Cruz, California 95060

bedStudio-1

Ocean Street Apartments

350 Ocean St, Santa Cruz, California 95060

bed1-3

How To Identify Affordable Housing in Santa Cruz, California

Look for program and preference badges on affordable apartment listings. These badges can help you identify the types of low income housing each apartment offers and if you may be eligbile for rental assistance or reduced rents.

Badge	Description
switch_access_shortcutShort Wait	Low income apartments with no or short waiting lists.
paymentSubsidized	Low income housing where the rent is subsidized and the renter pays only a portion of total rent.
real_estate_agentAccepts Vouchers	Apartments that accept Section 8 vouchers near you
elderlySenior	Rental housing for seniors who are 55 (or sometimes 62) and older.
paymentIncome Based	Affordable apartments where the rent paid is based on renter income.
accessibilityAccessible	Meets Accessibilty Requirements of the Fair Housing Act, the ADA, or HUD policy.
accessible_forwardDisability	Apartments for individuals or families with disabilities.

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The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment InSanta Cruz, California

$76.78/hour

$60.78

(+380%) more thanCalifornia minimum wage and

$69.53

(+959%) more than the Federal minimum wage.

Learn More About Santa Cruz, California AffordableHousing ↓

What HUD offices serve Santa Cruz, California?

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

Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), Family Unification Program (FUP) programs for Santa Cruz, California.

Go to theCaliforniaPublic Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Santa Cruz.

How many renters live in Santa Cruz, California?

The City of Santa Cruz haspeople living in households.

There are renters living inrenter households in thisCity. Renters make up 41.85percent of the population living in Santa Cruz.

What is the rental market like in Santa Cruz, California?

There are an estimated housing units in theSanta Cruz area. Of these, units are rentalhomes, making up percent of the housing market. Forevery renter household in Santa Cruz, California, there are1.03 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Santa Cruz?

The rental vacancy rate in Santa Cruz is 2 percent.This is alower than averagevacancy rate.When rental vacancy rates are low there are fewer available units. Rents tend to be higher as morepeoplecompete for scarce housing.

How many rental units are in Santa Cruz for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Santa Cruz

Studio	One-Bedroom	Two-Bedroom	Three-Bedroom	Four+ Bedrooms
1,793	3,267	3,683	1,757	656

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Santa Cruz

A large number of apartments in Santa Cruz have two or fewer bedrooms. Seniors and youngprofessionalsespecially may have more success finding an apartment that meets their needs.

How Much Is Rent in Santa Cruz

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - rangesfrom $2,849 to $5,504. FMRs areupdated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size	2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio	$2,849
One BR	$3,085
Two BR	$4,054
Three BR	$5,000
Four BR	$5,504

2024 Fair Market Rents in Santa Cruz, California

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Santa Cruz?

Renters with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher must select a home that is at or below the area’s FairMarket Rent. Markets with a large share of units above FMR tend to have longer search times to find aqualified unit, while those with a large share of units below FMR tend to have more choices and shortersearch times. The share below FMR can vary by size of unit, as shown in the table below.

These are the approximate number of units renting below the FMR in this market:

Unit Size	Count of Units Below FMR	Percentage of Total Units Below FMR
Studio	779	43 percent
One BR	789	24 percent
Two BR	487	13 percent

Rental Units Below FMR in Santa Cruz, California

How many affordable rental units are in Santa Cruz?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households inSanta Cruz, California including the following:

Federal Program	Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance
Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities

Tracked Units by Federal Program in Santa Cruz, California

Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.

Income Based Apartments in Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz features 1,077 income based apartments.Tenants of income based apartments typically pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent andutilities.

Low Rent Apartments in Santa Cruz, California

There are 800 rent subsidized apartments that do notprovide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Santa Cruz.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Santa Cruz, California

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Santa Cruz landlords$1,400 per month towards rent. The average voucher holdercontributes $500 towards rent inSanta Cruz.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Santa Cruz, California fora two-bedroom apartment is between $3,649 and $4,459.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.comresearch.

Affordable Housing Tip

Affordable housing is for both families and individuals.

There is no requirement to have family members or children to live in affordable housing. Single persons are eligible for housing.

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