Section 8 Waitlists Across America
Which waitlists are open, which PHAs run lotteries, and what your voucher rights are — city by city, every fact source-cited and dated.
33
Metros covered
20
States + DC
143
PHAs tracked
27
Waitlists open / lottery
How Section 8 waitlists actually work
You apply through a public housing authority (PHA), not a landlord. Most big-city waitlists stay closed for years and open in short windows — often as a lottery. You can apply to any PHA in the country regardless of where you live now, and once you have a voucher you can usually transfer it between cities after 12 months. That makes the open-waitlist map below the single most useful thing to check first.
Pick your metro
California
California guide →Texas
Texas guide →Florida
Florida guide →Ohio
Ohio guide →District of Columbia
District of Columbia guide →Massachusetts
Massachusetts guide →North Carolina
North Carolina guide →Don't see your city?
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