Lease Lantern tracks more than 23,700 affordable and income-based properties—over 1.7 million units—across all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories. For 22,606 of those properties we have a HUD physical-condition inspection score. Taken together, they offer a rare, data-driven look at the actual quality of subsidized housing in America. Here is what the numbers show.
Most properties score well—on paper
The average inspection score is 90.2 out of 100, and roughly 69% of scored properties land in the 90–100 range. Another 21% fall between 80 and 89. By that measure, the large majority of affordable housing is being maintained to a solid standard, which pushes back on the common assumption that subsidized housing is uniformly run-down.
But a real tail of distressed properties exists
The averages hide a meaningful minority of properties in poor condition. About 10% of scored properties score below 80, and roughly 4.4% score below 70—the range where serious health-and-safety deficiencies typically drive the deductions. Nearly 700 properties (about 3%) score below 60. For the families living in that tail, the physical conditions can be genuinely poor, and a high program-wide average is little comfort. This is exactly why a property's individual score matters more than any national headline number.
Flood exposure is a quieter risk
Condition is not the only quality signal. Cross-referencing FEMA flood data, about 833 properties—roughly 3.5%—sit in a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Flood risk rarely shows up in a rental listing, yet it directly affects safety, insurance, and long-term habitability.
Where the supply is
Affordable housing is concentrated where population is. The largest inventories in our dataset are in California, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Illinois—each with roughly 950 to 1,800 tracked properties. But supply per capita varies widely, and within any state the gap between the best- and worst-maintained properties is often larger than the gap between states.
The takeaway for renters
National averages are reassuring but misleading at the individual level. The single most useful thing a renter can do is check the specific property's inspection history and flood exposure before applying—precisely the data most listings omit. Our guide to understanding HUD inspection scores explains how to read them, and you can browse properties by state to see scores, flood risk, and neighborhood data side by side. For background on the programs themselves, see what income-based housing is.
Figures reflect Lease Lantern's database as of 2026 and the most recent available HUD inspection score for each property.