Which US states have the longest Housing Choice Voucher waitlists in 2024?
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Executive summary
New York had the longest measured wait for subsidized housing in 2024, with an average wait of about 51 months (four years and three months), according to a state-by-state compilation of HUD wait-time data used by USAFacts [1]. That headline is consistent with a broader pattern: wait times for Housing Choice Vouchers vary widely by locality and program, and some large metro housing authorities — notably San Diego County and Miami‑Dade — reported multi‑year queues at the agency level even earlier in the decade [2], while District of Columbia data show long waits when public housing (a distinct program) is measured [3].
1. The state ranking headline: New York tops 2024 (and why that matters)
The clearest state‑level finding in the available reporting is that residents of New York faced the longest average wait for subsidized housing in 2024 — roughly 51 months — based on USAFacts’ aggregation of HUD data [1]; that figure is the best single answer to “which states have the longest Housing Choice Voucher waitlists in 2024” when using publicly available HUD-derived state averages. This matters because HUD’s voucher program is tenant‑based and portable only to the extent local voucher supply permits, so a state‑level long average signals sustained mismatch between local demand and voucher supply across many housing authorities [4].
2. Local extremes: county and city agencies with multi‑year queues
While state averages give a useful headline, the longest waits are often concentrated at large local housing authorities: a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis highlighted that the longest waits among major agencies reached seven to eight years — for example, San Diego County reported more than seven years of waiting with tens of thousands on its list, and Miami‑Dade had processing backlogs effectively reflecting an eight‑year lag in some periods [2]. These agency‑level outliers demonstrate that even if a state’s average is lower, specific metropolitan areas can produce the multi‑year waits that most affect low‑income households [2].
3. Different metrics shift who “has the longest” — public housing vs. vouchers
Comparisons are complicated by program differences and how the data are reported: Statista’s representation of HUD data shows the District of Columbia had the longest waiting period for public housing in 2023 (a different program from Housing Choice Vouchers), underscoring that public‑housing waitlists and voucher waitlists are distinct and can point to different jurisdictions as the worst‑affected [3]. HUD itself warns applicants to apply to multiple Public Housing Agency waitlists because demand outstrips supply and waitlists vary by agency, preference categories, and local voucher availability [4].
4. Limits, contours and what the data cannot say decisively
Available reporting makes clear that national and state summaries smooth over important local variation and that HUD’s published averages reflect those who ultimately received vouchers, not every applicant who ever applied, so figures understate unmet need [2] [4]. Public aggregations such as USAFacts provide the best ready answer at the state level (New York highest in 2024), but they rely on HUD reporting practices and omit granular differences among housing authorities and special programs; agency websites and portals (including AffordableHousingOnline, state housing agencies and local PHAs) remain necessary to understand exact waitlist status in any city or county [5] [6] [7]. Any definitive ranking should therefore be read as descriptive of measured averages from HUD‑based compilations rather than an exhaustive accounting of every applicant’s experience [1] [4].