IL · Section 8 / HCV
Public Housing Authority records in Illinois
HUD PIH directory records for 106 Public Housing Authorities in Illinois, with reported HCV unit counts and contact details. A zero-unit record does not establish an active voucher program or waitlist.
- 106
- PHAs in state
- 112,085
- Authorized HCV units
- 3%
- of all U.S. PHAs
- 47,085
- Total HUD units
Need to narrow the directory first? Search and filter all Illinois PHA records in the Finder. The Finder keeps the same HUD directory records while letting you set a reported-unit threshold; it does not show current availability or waitlists.
PHAs in Illinois by HUD size band
Exclusive HUD PIH section8_size bands across all 106 agencies in this state, not a restatement of the top-12 chart below.
The largest voucher programs in Illinois
Public Housing Authorities ranked by authorized Housing Choice Vouchers
- Chicago HA
Chicago Housing Authority
54,082 vouchers
- HA Cook County 14,142
Housing Authority Cook County
14,142 vouchers
- DuPage HA 3,360
DuPage Housing Authority
3,360 vouchers
- HA County of Lake, IL. 3,282
Housing Authority of the County of Lake, IL.
3,282 vouchers
- HA Joliet 2,797
Housing Authority of Joliet
2,797 vouchers
- St. Clair County HA 2,695
St. Clair County Housing Authority
2,695 vouchers
- Springfield HA 2,463
Springfield Housing Authority
2,463 vouchers
- HA Champaign County 2,430
Housing Authority of Champaign County
2,430 vouchers
- Rockford HA 2,363
Rockford Housing Authority
2,363 vouchers
- Peoria HA 2,146
Peoria Housing Authority
2,146 vouchers
- HA Aurora 1,499
Housing Authority of the City of Aurora
1,499 vouchers
- Decatur HA 1,249
Decatur Housing Authority
1,249 vouchers
According to HUD PIH's FY2025 PHA directory, Illinois ranks #14 of 51 by PHA headcount (106 authorities) and #5 of 51 by authorized HCV (112,085 units). National dual: 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).
- 3% of all U.S. PHAs
- #14 of 51 PHA count
- #5 of 51 authorized HCV
- Cross-referenced with HUD FY2026 Payment Standards
What HUD's PIH Record for Illinois Tells You
Few states carry as many separately chartered PHA records as Illinois: HUD's PIH directory ranks it #14 of 51 by headcount, with 106 records (3% of the 3,780 U.S. total we track) reporting 112,085 authorized Section 8 / HCV units combined. Across all HUD programs (public housing, HCV, and related subsidy streams) those same records report 47,085 total units. 40 of these records (38%) report zero authorized HCV units; that source field does not establish an active voucher program, a waitlist, or an application route.
Payment standards inside IL metros are set at 90–110% of HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent, cross-referenced in our payment standards directory, so voucher value is metro-specific even within the same state. A city, county, regional, or statewide authority may share the state; the directory does not determine service-area eligibility, waitlist status, or whether an agency is accepting applications, use the source contact details to verify a specific agency's current programs. See the waitlist guide for general federal-program context and the portability guide for federal move rules.
PHAs in Illinois
Sorted by reported authorized HCV units, highest first. Many regions carry multiple PHA records (a city PHA, a county PHA, and sometimes a regional authority) - check the source contact details before relying on any single record for a current program, service area, or waitlist.
Showing the top 24 of 106 HUD PHA records in Illinois, ordered by reported authorized HCV units. A zero-unit record does not establish an active program or waitlist.
Browse all Illinois PHA records in the filterable finder →Checking current program information in Illinois
Contact the agency directly to confirm current availability. These guides cover the general federal process:
Nationwide states with similar PHA count or voucher inventory
Two cross-state peer sets for Illinois, outside the alphabetically adjacent states below.
Similar PHA headcount
Nearest states by agency count (106 PHAs in IL).
- Nebraska · 105 PHAs
- Oklahoma · 104 PHAs
- Kansas · 102 PHAs
- New Jersey · 99 PHAs
Similar authorized HCV units
Nearest states by summed Section 8 inventory (112,085 units in IL).
- Ohio · 107,047 HCV units
- Pennsylvania · 102,787 HCV units
- Massachusetts · 102,391 HCV units
- Florida · 131,552 HCV units
Higher-rent HUD FMR areas in Illinois
These are the highest published FY2026 two-bedroom Fair Market Rents among HUD areas with a PlainVoucher detail page. They are reference amounts, not a local PHA payment-standard promise.
- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,781/mo for 2 BR
- Kankakee, IL MSA · $1,326/mo for 2 BR
- Bloomington, IL MSA · $1,302/mo for 2 BR
- Springfield, IL MSA · $1,203/mo for 2 BR
- Rockford, IL MSA · $1,175/mo for 2 BR
- Champaign-Urbana, IL HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,122/mo for 2 BR
- Decatur, IL MSA · $1,063/mo for 2 BR
- Peoria, IL MSA · $1,039/mo for 2 BR
HUD FMR and local market-rent context in Illinois
Illinois's HUD FMR areas show a mixed market lean: of 12 tracked areas, 8 (67%) priced above the local market, 3 sat inside HUD's 95–110% reference band, and 1 priced below the 2019–2023 ACS two-bedroom median gross rent.
This is an area-level comparison of HUD FY2026 FMR and Census ACS rent data. It is not an individual PHA payment-standard, availability, eligibility, or waitlist result. Explore the metro comparisons →
Five-year HUD FMR change in Illinois
HUD FMR rose strongly across Illinois's 83 tracked areas: the median published two-bedroom rent climbed 30.9%, from $700 in FY2021 to $916 in FY2026.
This is a historical HUD reference-rent trend across FMR areas, not a forecast or an individual PHA payment-standard, rent, availability, eligibility, or waitlist result. Check HUD's current FMR documentation →
Nearby states
Illinois borders 5 other states in our directory, voucher portability lets a household move across any of these lines:
Source: HUD PIH Open Data (FY25). Payment standards: HUD USER FY2026 FMR. The PHA directory source was consolidated in April 2026. PlainVoucher is not affiliated with HUD, the State of Illinois, or any local PHA. Verify with HUD →. See our methodology for how we compile this directory.
Disclaimer. This is general information about Section 8 / HCV administration in Illinois. Waitlist status, eligibility, and local preferences are set by each PHA and change frequently. Always contact the specific PHA directly.
What to do with Illinois's desk
Illinois has 106 HUD PIH directory PHAs in this corpus - use the dual PHA-count vs authorized-HCV read before treating any single agency as the whole state.
- Browse the Illinois PHA roster and open individual agency profiles. Illinois PHAs
- Look up Fair Market Rent schedules for metros in this state. Payment standards
- Compare national PHA-count vs authorized-HCV dual rankings. Rankings
- Compare land-border neighbors such as Indiana. Indiana
State aggregates are directory facts from HUD PIH Open Data. Waitlist status, eligibility, and local preferences are set by each PHA and change frequently.