HUD PIH · FY2025 · Census ACS, public data

Section 8 / Housing Choice Voucher statistics

The national picture of the U.S. Housing Choice Voucher program, agencies, capacity, payment standards, and how the 2-bedroom standard lines up against local market rent. Every figure is derived live from official HUD and Census open data.

3,780
Public Housing Authorities
2.8M
authorized HCV units
4,764
2-BR payment standards
359
metros with a rent-margin read

The national picture

Section 8 / Housing Choice Voucher capacity is administered by 3,780 Public Housing Authorities authorizing roughly 2.8 million units. HUD's 2-bedroom payment standard meets or exceeds the median 2-bedroom gross rent in 96% of the 359 metros we track, a typical cushion of 1610% - though asking rents for newly available units usually run higher than the median.

3,780
Public Housing Authorities
2.8M
authorized HCV units
96%
metros where the 2-BR standard ≥ median rent
1610%
typical cushion over median 2-BR rent

Derived: HUD FY2025 Public Housing Authority and payment-standard records vs. U.S. Census ACS 2-bedroom median gross rent, matched within each HUD FMR area.

Key findings

  1. 01 · 3,780 agencies administer roughly 2.8 million HCV units

    The Housing Choice Voucher program reaches tenants through 3,780 Public Housing Authorities spread across 55 states and territories. Together they authorize about 2,812,771 Section 8 units in HUD's FY2025 administrative records.

  2. 02 · New York City Housing Authority is the single largest PHA, at 122,210 units

    New York City Housing Authority (NY) alone accounts for 4.3% of every authorized HCV unit in the country. The five largest agencies together administer 11.5% of national capacity, a reminder that voucher supply is dominated by a handful of big-city authorities.

  3. 03 · The 2-BR payment standard meets or exceeds the median 2-BR rent in 96% of metros we track

    Across 359 metropolitan areas, HUD's 2-bedroom payment standard covers the Census ACS median 2-bedroom gross rent in 96% of them, with a typical cushion of 1610% over the median. Median gross rent reflects rents paid by all current tenants; asking rents for newly available units typically run higher, so a positive cushion does not guarantee a unit is findable.

  4. 04 · The margin is tightest around Austin County, TX

    Where the payment standard runs closest to (or below) the local median rent, voucher holders face the hardest search. The tightest read in our data is Austin County, TX, where the 2-BR standard sits about 28% below the metro's median 2-BR gross rent.

  5. 05 · 4,764 payment standards and 85,154 HCV tracts are mapped

    Payment standards vary by bedroom size and FMR area, not by a single national figure. PlainVoucher reconciles 4,764 HUD 2-BR payment standards and locates voucher use across 85,154 census tracts so a renter can check the number that actually applies to their address.

Cite this page

These statistics are free to reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution to PlainVoucher. Suggested citation:

PlainVoucher (2026). “Section 8 / HCV Statistics, National Voucher Data.” https://plainvoucher.com/statistics/ Derived from HUD FY2025 and U.S. Census ACS open data.

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development & Research (Public Housing Authority directory, Fair Market Rents & payment standards). Figures reflect the current PlainVoucher dataset. HUD FMR / PIH FY2025 · 2025

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year estimates, median 2-bedroom gross rent by metropolitan/micropolitan statistical area. ACS 5-Year (B25031) · 2023