Seattle Low-Income Public Housing: 2026 Income Limits, Properties and Wait Times
Seattle low-income public housing is available to households with income up to 80% of Area Median Income, but meeting that ceiling does not mean every eligible applicant has the same chance of being reached quickly. Seattle Housing Authority gives waitlist priority to households at or below 30% AMI and to applicants who meet its homelessness preference.
Choosing the right property matters just as much as checking income. SHA's current housing directory spans neighborhoods across Seattle, different bedroom sizes and dramatically different historical wait times. Applicants to the Low-Income Public Housing program can select up to two properties, so those choices are worth comparing carefully before submitting the application.
2026 Seattle Public Housing Income Limits
SHA's current Low-Income Public Housing income limits took effect in May 2026. A household must generally be at or below the applicable 80% AMI ceiling to qualify for this program.
- 1 person: 30% AMI is $34,550; 80% AMI is $81,700.
- 2 people: 30% AMI is $39,450; 80% AMI is $93,350.
- 3 people: 30% AMI is $44,400; 80% AMI is $105,000.
- 4 people: 30% AMI is $49,300; 80% AMI is $116,650.
- 5 people: 30% AMI is $53,250; 80% AMI is $126,000.
- 6 people: 30% AMI is $57,200; 80% AMI is $135,350.
- 7 people: 30% AMI is $61,150; 80% AMI is $144,650.
- 8 people: 30% AMI is $65,100; 80% AMI is $154,000.
- 9 people: 30% AMI is $69,050; 80% AMI is $163,350.
- 10 people: 30% AMI is $73,000; 80% AMI is $172,650.
The 80% figure is an eligibility ceiling, not the income level SHA primarily serves. SHA states that households at 30% AMI or below receive priority on the Low-Income Public Housing waitlist, and its eligibility guidance warns that availability for households above that level is extremely limited.
Applicants trying to understand why the same income can qualify differently depending on household size can use the Area Median Income eligibility explanation before comparing properties.
Income Below 30% AMI Changes Your Waitlist Priority
A household can fall below the 80% AMI ceiling and still be behind households that qualify for SHA's priority. The current Low-Income Public Housing rules give priority to applicants whose income is 30% of AMI or less. SHA also gives priority to applicants who meet its homelessness criteria.
SHA verifies priority after an applicant is selected from a waiting list. The household has to meet the applicable income or homelessness condition at the eligibility interview or during the qualifying period SHA uses for that preference.
That is why an applicant with income at 60% or 70% AMI should not interpret “eligible up to 80% AMI” as evidence of a short or predictable path to housing. Eligibility determines whether the household can qualify; priority influences how the waiting list is served.
Start With Properties That Match Your Household
SHA's property directory currently displays 81 results across its housing programs. Those results are not 81 vacant Low-Income Public Housing apartments. The directory includes different SHA programs, and every property can have its own unit mix and wait-time pattern.
The search tools allow applicants to narrow the list using factors such as:
- Program type.
- Seattle neighborhood.
- Number of bedrooms.
- Published average wait time.
- Pet preferences or restrictions.
Selecting Low-Income Public Housing as the program type helps prevent mixing LIPH choices with Seattle Senior Housing or other SHA programs that have different eligibility and rent rules.
The broader public housing guide explains how federally assisted public housing differs from vouchers and other forms of rental assistance. For a Seattle application, however, SHA's own property selection controls which local waitlists you join.
Your Household Composition Determines Bedroom Size
SHA does not let applicants choose any bedroom size they prefer. Bedroom assignment is based on the number of people in the household and how many are adults.
- 1 person: studio or 1 bedroom.
- 2 people with 1 adult: 2 bedrooms.
- 2 adults: studio or 1 bedroom.
- 3 people: 2 bedrooms.
- 4 people with 1 adult: 3 bedrooms.
- 4 people with 2 or more adults: 2 bedrooms.
- 5 people: 3 bedrooms.
- 6 people with 1 adult: 4 bedrooms.
- 6 people with 2 or more adults: 3 bedrooms.
- 7 people: 4 bedrooms.
- 8 people with 1 adult: 5 bedrooms.
- 8 people with 2 or more adults: 4 bedrooms.
Larger households have additional assignments under SHA's current chart. Applicants should use the household-composition tool before choosing properties rather than relying only on total household size.
SHA also warns single-person applicants not to choose properties with studios unless they are willing to accept a studio. Its studios have full kitchens and private bathrooms and are described as comparable to one-bedroom apartments in square footage.
The Neighborhood Can Change the Available Unit Mix
Low-Income Public Housing is spread throughout Seattle rather than concentrated in a single area. Current SHA listings include properties in Downtown, First Hill, Capitol Hill, Rainier Valley, West Seattle, Ballard, Queen Anne, Northgate/Lake City, the University District and other neighborhoods.
Bedroom availability varies substantially by property. Some buildings primarily show one-bedroom apartments, while larger developments such as NewHolly, High Point, Yesler and other family properties include several bedroom sizes.
This matters for households with children or larger family sizes. A property that looks attractive because of its neighborhood may have no realistic unit size for your household, while another property several miles away may have the bedroom category SHA assigns to you.
Published Wait Times Vary From Under a Year to Many Years
SHA publishes average historical wait times for its properties, but these numbers need to be read carefully. They are based on historical waits for applicants with the highest priority. SHA explicitly says an individual's actual wait can be shorter or longer.
Current listings show how wide the range can be. Examples in the Low-Income Public Housing directory include:
- Center West: 0/1-bedroom currently shows an average wait of 0–1 year.
- Bayview Tower: 1-bedroom currently shows 1–2 years.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Apartments: current estimates vary by bedroom size, including roughly 2–4 years.
- High Point: published waits vary by bedroom size from several years to substantially longer.
- NewHolly: current estimates range from a few years for some larger units to roughly a decade for certain smaller units.
- Rainier Vista: some bedroom categories currently show waits measured in well over a decade.
Other properties are marked Undetermined or Rarely available. Neither label should be converted into a guessed number.
A Shorter Published Wait Does Not Guarantee Faster Housing
The property with the lowest number on the search page is not automatically the best application choice. Historical wait times can change, and they do not account for every change in turnover, unit availability, household priority or bedroom need.
More importantly, the published number is not a promise that SHA will offer you an apartment after that amount of time. A household without the highest waitlist priority may experience a very different timeline from the historical average shown for a property.
Use the estimate to compare otherwise suitable choices, not as a move-in date.
You Can Choose Up to Two Low-Income Public Housing Properties
SHA currently allows an applicant to join waitlists for up to two properties in the Low-Income Public Housing program. That makes the selection step consequential: the goal is not simply to pick the two shortest published waits.
A stronger comparison looks at four questions together:
- Does the property belong to the Low-Income Public Housing program?
- Does it offer the bedroom size SHA assigns to your household?
- Is the neighborhood workable for your household?
- What does SHA currently publish as the historical wait for that bedroom size?
For many households, a property with a slightly longer published estimate but the right bedroom size and location is a more realistic choice than a shorter-looking list with unsuitable inventory.
Scattered Sites Are an Additional LIPH Choice
SHA's Low-Income Public Housing inventory also includes hundreds of Scattered Sites units located in neighborhoods around Seattle. SHA states that those individual sites do not appear as separate properties in its online search results.
Applicants can still select Scattered Sites as a property choice on the SHA Housing application. Current published wait information for Scattered Sites varies substantially by bedroom size, so it should be evaluated the same way as the named developments.
How to Apply After Choosing Your Properties
SHA's current online application is specifically for its low-income and senior housing properties. It is separate from the Housing Choice Voucher application process.
- Check the current LIPH income limits for your household size.
- Use SHA's bedroom-assignment rules to determine the unit size your household can receive.
- Filter SHA's property search to Low-Income Public Housing.
- Compare neighborhoods, appropriate bedroom sizes and current published wait estimates.
- Select up to two LIPH property choices.
- Complete the SHA Housing application with accurate household, income, asset and contact information.
SHA asks for information about everyone who will live in the household, household income and sources, assets, contact information and the household's current living situation. Once the application is processed, SHA sends a confirmation with further instructions.
Keep that information current while you wait. A change in household size can affect the bedroom assignment, and an address change can prevent SHA from reaching you when your application comes up.
Use the 80% AMI Limit as a Starting Test, Not a Housing Promise
For Seattle Low-Income Public Housing in 2026, the first financial test is whether household income falls within the current 80% AMI limit. The more consequential question for waitlist position is whether the household also qualifies for SHA's priority, particularly at 30% AMI or below.
After that, compare only properties that match your assigned bedroom size and realistic neighborhood needs. SHA's wait estimates can help distinguish suitable choices, but they remain historical estimates rather than guaranteed housing timelines.