STATE DIRECTORY · HUD PIH
Section 8 housing authorities by state
Every Public Housing Authority that administers Housing Choice Vouchers, grouped by state - 3,780 PHAs across 51 jurisdictions with dual rankings by agency count and authorized units.
- 51
- States + DC
- 3,780
- PHAs listed
- 2,773,294
- Authorized HCV units
- TX
- #1 by PHA count
PHA count ≠ authorized HCV
According to HUD PIH's FY2025 PHA directory, Texas is #1 of 51 states and DC by PHA headcount (379 authorities) at authorized-HCV rank 3 (183,544 units) ≠ California #1 by authorized HCV (369,815 units) at PHA-count rank 20 (96 authorities).
- 379
- Texas PHAs (#1 headcount)
- 369,815
- California HCV (#1 units)
- #3
- Texas HCV rank
- #20
- California PHA-count rank
Ranks use the 51-row states table (50 states + DC), the same corpus as methodology § corpus placement. Territories coded RQ, GQ, VQ, and TQ sit outside that table. Tie-break: state slug A–Z.
Top 10 states by PHA headcount
Public Housing Authorities administering Section 8 / HCV (HUD PIH)
- TX
Texas
379 PHAs
- GA
Georgia
178 PHAs
- NY
New York
159 PHAs
- LA
Louisiana
153 PHAs
- AL 142
Alabama
142 PHAs
- MN 135
Minnesota
135 PHAs
- MA 130
Massachusetts
130 PHAs
- AR 127
Arkansas
127 PHAs
- MI 126
Michigan
126 PHAs
- MO 123
Missouri
123 PHAs
What this shows Texas leads PHA headcount at 379 authorities. Dual tables below sort the same extract by agency count and by authorized HCV units.
Texas posts the most PHAs (379), while California posts the most authorized HCV units (369,815). Those leaders diverge, open either ranking table, then drill into a state for its full PHA directory. Totals exclude territories outside the 51-row states corpus .
Most PHAs (agency headcount)
Most authorized HCV units
| # | State | HCV units |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 369,815 |
| 2 | New York | 297,342 |
| 3 | Texas | 183,544 |
| 4 | Florida | 131,552 |
| 5 | Illinois | 112,085 |
| 6 | Ohio | 107,047 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 102,787 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 102,391 |
| 9 | New Jersey | 90,352 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 73,360 |
| 11 | Georgia | 71,997 |
| 12 | Washington | 68,087 |
Unit totals scale with population and large urban PHAs, pair with agency headcount.
All states & DC (A–Z)
| State | PHAs | PHA rank | HCV units | HCV rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama (AL) | 142 | #5 | 41,554 | #22 |
| Alaska (AK) | 2 | #50 | 4,997 | #50 |
| Arizona (AZ) | 23 | #39 | 26,753 | #31 |
| Arkansas (AR) | 127 | #8 | 28,724 | #30 |
| California (CA) | 96 | #20 | 369,815 | #1 |
| Colorado (CO) | 59 | #25 | 38,585 | #25 |
| Connecticut (CT) | 50 | #28 | 46,981 | #18 |
| Delaware (DE) | 6 | #47 | 6,098 | #49 |
| District of Columbia (DC) | 2 | #51 | 16,823 | #34 |
| Florida (FL) | 97 | #19 | 131,552 | #4 |
| Georgia (GA) | 178 | #2 | 71,997 | #11 |
| Hawaii (HI) | 6 | #48 | 14,587 | #40 |
| Idaho (ID) | 10 | #44 | 8,077 | #46 |
| Illinois (IL) | 106 | #14 | 112,085 | #5 |
| Indiana (IN) | 54 | #26 | 46,237 | #19 |
| Iowa (IA) | 63 | #24 | 24,437 | #32 |
| Kansas (KS) | 102 | #17 | 14,928 | #38 |
| Kentucky (KY) | 119 | #12 | 40,589 | #23 |
| Louisiana (LA) | 153 | #4 | 59,931 | #15 |
| Maine (ME) | 24 | #38 | 15,810 | #37 |
| Maryland (MD) | 30 | #34 | 59,815 | #16 |
| Massachusetts (MA) | 130 | #7 | 102,391 | #8 |
| Michigan (MI) | 126 | #9 | 67,559 | #13 |
| Minnesota (MN) | 135 | #6 | 39,402 | #24 |
| Mississippi (MS) | 52 | #27 | 28,730 | #29 |
| Missouri (MO) | 123 | #10 | 48,947 | #17 |
| Montana (MT) | 12 | #43 | 7,729 | #47 |
| Nebraska (NE) | 105 | #15 | 14,642 | #39 |
| Nevada (NV) | 3 | #49 | 17,752 | #33 |
| New Hampshire (NH) | 20 | #41 | 12,119 | #42 |
| New Jersey (NJ) | 99 | #18 | 90,352 | #9 |
| New Mexico (NM) | 26 | #36 | 15,993 | #36 |
| New York (NY) | 159 | #3 | 297,342 | #2 |
| North Carolina (NC) | 123 | #11 | 73,360 | #10 |
| North Dakota (ND) | 26 | #37 | 10,312 | #44 |
| Ohio (OH) | 75 | #23 | 107,047 | #6 |
| Oklahoma (OK) | 104 | #16 | 29,418 | #28 |
| Oregon (OR) | 22 | #40 | 43,276 | #20 |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | 85 | #21 | 102,787 | #7 |
| Rhode Island (RI) | 28 | #35 | 11,590 | #43 |
| South Carolina (SC) | 42 | #29 | 30,771 | #27 |
| South Dakota (SD) | 35 | #31 | 7,404 | #48 |
| Tennessee (TN) | 85 | #22 | 42,979 | #21 |
| Texas (TX) | 379 | #1 | 183,544 | #3 |
| Utah (UT) | 19 | #42 | 14,194 | #41 |
| Vermont (VT) | 9 | #45 | 9,457 | #45 |
| Virginia (VA) | 41 | #30 | 61,522 | #14 |
| Washington (WA) | 33 | #32 | 68,087 | #12 |
| West Virginia (WV) | 32 | #33 | 16,463 | #35 |
| Wisconsin (WI) | 115 | #13 | 34,981 | #26 |
| Wyoming (WY) | 8 | #46 | 2,769 | #51 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which U.S. state has the most Public Housing Authorities?
Texas leads this HUD PIH extract with 379 PHAs (authorized HCV rank #3). PHA headcount and authorized voucher units are complementary axes, a high-agency state is not always the highest-unit state.
Which state authorizes the most Housing Choice Voucher units?
California leads authorized Section 8 / HCV units at 369,815 (PHA-count rank #20). Absolute unit totals scale with population and urban PHA concentration; pair with the PHA-count table, never alone.
How many states and PHAs does PlainVoucher cover?
This directory lists 51 jurisdictions (50 states + DC) covering 3,780 Public Housing Authorities and 2,773,294 authorized HCV units in the current HUD PIH extract. Territories coded RQ, GQ, VQ, and TQ sit outside the 51-row states table, see methodology.
Where does PlainVoucher source state PHA totals?
PHA names, size bands, and authorized unit counts come from HUD PIH Open Data (directory vintage 2026-08-14). PlainVoucher is not affiliated with HUD and does not publish application advice, open any state for its PHA directory and contacts.
Download the metro voucher-vs-market extract cited on this page: hud-hcv-metro-gaps.csv (CC BY 4.0).