San Diego County just had its biggest year of low-income housing construction

There were more low-income rentals added in San Diego County last year than any time in almost 40 years.

The nonprofit California Housing Partnership said in a new report that the number of subsidized, or rent-restricted, apartments added in 2025 was up by 90% from the previous year. There were 3,116 units constructed and 719 new rentals acquired or rehabilitated.

It was the highest number of rent-restricted units - 3,835 - added to San Diego County in a given year in records going back to 1987. The only year that came somewhat close was 2001 when 2,966 units were added.

Almost all of the new rental units are required to stay affordable for 55 years. Renters qualify for subsidized housing based on income tied to a region’s area median income, which is $130,900 a year in San Diego County. Anyone below that is considered low-income by the state definition, but the majority of people approved for housing vouchers are extremely low income.

The largest subsidized housing project to open last year was Harrington Heights in East Village with 270 new apartments, mainly studios. Rent is capped around $1,000 a month for most units, said real estate tracker CoStar. In addition to space for low-income renters, units were set aside for veterans, people recently homeless and individuals with developmental disabilities.

Even with all the new construction, the partnership said the region still fell short. It said there are 129,829 low-income renter households in San Diego County who don't have access to rent-restricted housing or naturally occurring cheaper rentals.

The partnership said 79% of extremely low-income county residents, earning $36,750 a year for an individual, were paying more than half of their income on rent in fiscal year 2024-2025. The same went for 46% of very low-income renters ($61,250 a year) and 14% of low-income renters ($97,950 a year).

The California Housing Partnership reasons a household in San Diego County would need to earn $50.12 per hour to afford the average monthly rent of $2,606. However, that figure defines affordability as someone paying only a third of their monthly income on rent - something increasingly rare across the nation.

The report said there were 8,123 beds available for homeless people across San Diego County in fiscal year 2024, a mix of interim housing, like shelters and permanent housing. That number was down by 958 beds from the previous fiscal year, but an increase of 2,386 additional beds in five years.

Despite the increase in subsidized housing, many waitlists for Section 8 vouchers throughout California have been paused because of a reduction in federal funds.

Data for the report came from the U.S. Census, CoStar, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and figures for low-income tax credits, which are large subsidies given to developers for construction of rent-restricted housing.

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 1:34 PM.