Affordable Senior Apartments

Income-restricted (affordable) rental housing for older adults from government programs such as HUD Section 202, USDA Section 515, LIHTC, and state housing finance agencies. Rent is limited to households under income caps that vary by area. Market-rate senior apartments have no public registry.

We currently list 21,605 income-restricted affordable senior apartment properties across 54 states and territories from government housing data.

Affordable senior apartment rent context

County Fair Market Rent and income-limit rows light up when HUD data is loaded into this database. We do not invent FMRs while that file is pending.

How affordable senior apartments work: programs, income limits and waiting lists

This directory lists income-restricted senior housing from government data. The rules are the same in every state, so this is the place to learn them once.

Where these listings come from

Every property in this directory comes from a government housing program: HUD Section 202 (built for people 62 and older, with rent set at about 30 percent of income), USDA Section 515 (rural rental housing, some of it for seniors), the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (rents capped by area income, often 55 or 62 and older), and state housing finance agencies. Market-rate senior apartments have no public registry, so they are not here.

Income limits, in plain terms

Limits are set by HUD for each county or metro area as a percentage of the area median income (AMI). Section 202 buildings generally take households at or below 50 percent of AMI, and many prefer 30 percent. Tax-credit properties set units at 50 or 60 percent of AMI, and rent is capped by the unit's bracket rather than by your income, so a 60 percent unit costs the same for everyone in it. Our state and city pages show the local very-low-income limit next to the rent range.

How to apply

You apply to each property, not to a program. Most keep their own waiting list, and the wait at a Section 202 building in a large city can run a year or more. Apply to several at once, keep copies, and ask each property how it notifies you when your name comes up; a missed letter can cost your place.

A Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) is a separate program run by your local public housing agency. It follows you to a private apartment, senior or not, and the waiting list is often closed for long stretches. Ask the housing agency whether the senior list is open; some run a separate, shorter list for people 62 and older.

Who qualifies for senior apartments?

Age and income. Section 202 requires a head of household 62 or older; tax-credit senior properties are usually 55 or 62 and older. Income must be under the property's limit, set by HUD as a share of area median income and shown on our state and city pages.

How much does an affordable senior apartment cost?

In a Section 202 building, about 30 percent of your adjusted income. In a tax-credit property, a fixed rent for the unit's bracket, typically below the HUD Fair Market Rent for the area. Our state pages show the local rent range under program limits.

Why are there no market-rate senior apartments in this list?

Market-rate communities are private businesses with no licensing or registry, so there is no public data to list them from. Our directory only shows properties that appear in government housing programs.

Sources: HUD Section 202 program · HUD LIHTC database · USDA multifamily housing programs · HUD income limits. Checked 2026-09-07.