Low-income apartments in Sacramento: how to find and apply

Low-income apartments in Sacramento come through two doors. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) runs public housing and Section 8 vouchers (federal rent help) from waitlists on its website, sacwaitlist.com. Tax-credit and other income-restricted apartments take applications at each building. As of October 5, 2026, we track six open lists, all run by SHRA.

What is open in Sacramento today?

Not much. As of October 5, 2026, we track six open waitlists in Sacramento County, all run by SHRA, and nothing else.

Every open list is for a large home. We found none for studios, one-bedrooms or two-bedrooms. The tenant-based voucher list was closed. None of the six posts a dollar income limit. They say only that SHRA's limits apply.

We hold no open listings for Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights, Folsom or Galt, and none for homes for sale or tax-credit buildings in the county. California has 404 open listings on our site, mostly in Los Angeles and the Bay Area (see California). For Sacramento, see the Sacramento waitlists and the listings page.

The wider picture is the building directory. It holds 248 subsidized and tax-credit rental buildings in Sacramento County, with about 28,000 apartments: 175 in the city of Sacramento, 20 in Elk Grove, 9 in Folsom, 8 in Rancho Cordova, 6 in Citrus Heights and 7 in Galt. It comes from three HUD datasets, and HUD is the federal housing department. We have no vacancy information for these buildings. Browse the Sacramento buildings and call to ask about a waitlist.

Which door is which?

SHRA says its voucher program covers all the incorporated cities in Sacramento County. Yolo County Housing serves communities including Woodland and West Sacramento. Placer County's authority covers Placer County except Roseville, which has its own, according to the county's page as archived in March 2025.

SHRA's site says each privately owned affordable property must be contacted on its own for vacancies and waitlists, and it advises joining as many lists as you can.

How do openings and waitlists work in Sacramento?

SHRA says it manages 12 waitlists that open and close based on availability and other factors. Openings are short. SHRA opened the senior voucher list on June 24, 2025, at 7 a.m. and said it would stay open until 1,000 applications arrived. The voucher list was open from January 12 to January 26, 2022, and SHRA said 5,000 applicants would then be picked at random.

How to apply:

• Apply online at sacwaitlist.com with an email address. SHRA says there is no charge, and you can ask for a paper application.
• Expect preference points for living or working in Sacramento County, a disability in the household, rent that takes a large share of your income, a veteran in the household, or homelessness.
• Tell SHRA in writing within 30 days if your address, household or income changes.
• Join every list you qualify for. SHRA cannot tell you your place in line.

At least one family member must be a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status. SHRA runs criminal background checks on the adults who apply.

How much rent will you pay?

In public housing and with a voucher, HUD says your share is usually 30% of your adjusted monthly income. That is income after the deductions the rules allow. With a voucher it can be as high as 40%. The voucher pays the rest, up to a limit the agency sets.

Tax-credit buildings work differently. Rent is capped at a maximum the program sets, less a utility allowance, and is not tied to your pay. SHRA says many owners ask for income of two to three times the rent. For how limits become rent caps, see income-restricted apartments.

What are the 2026 income limits for Sacramento?

None of our Sacramento listings states a dollar limit, so these figures come from HUD's own file. They apply to Sacramento County, where the area median income (AMI), the middle income in the area, is $124,000. They took effect May 1, 2026. California's 2026 state limits list the same extremely-low, very-low and low-income figures for the county.

Use the dollars as HUD published them, because they do not always equal a plain percentage of the median. Voucher admission usually uses the very low column. SHRA says its financed affordable apartments generally ask for income at or below 60% of the median, but each property sets its own level. Yolo County has its own HUD figures. SHRA's affordable-housing page still links a chart dated July 2021, so use the current numbers. Learn what AMI means, how to qualify or try the qualify tool.

What about senior housing?

The senior voucher list covers one-bedroom apartments, mostly in downtown high-rises, with a minimum age of 50 at those buildings, according to SHRA's June 2025 release. The Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) lists Biele Place, a 35-unit building for ages 62 and older with a 60% income limit. Our directory lists 61 buildings in the county that serve older adults. Each takes applications itself.

How do you avoid application-fee scams?

SHRA warns that flyers advertising help with Section 8 that list govassistance.org are not legitimate, and that all its waitlists appear only on sacwaitlist.com. It says there is never a fee to apply, and it says an outside party offering help for a credit-check fee is not part of its process. Do not pay anyone to join an SHRA list or give personal details to someone who contacts you first. HUD notes that some private landlords charge application fees when you apply for a unit, so ask what a fee covers.

What should you do next?

1. Find your household size in the table and compare it with your income before taxes.
2. Check sacwaitlist.com and apply to every open list that fits your bedroom size.
3. Call buildings from the Sacramento buildings page and ask to join their waitlists.
4. See open waitlists in other areas, and update SHRA within 30 days if anything changes.