What Is the Housing Voucher Program? Individuals and families with low incomes use vouchers to help pay for privately owned housing. The program is federally funded and run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and a network of about 2,170 state and local public housing agencies (PHAs). More than 5 million people in 2.3 million low-income families use vouchers. Who Is Eligible for Vouchers? Federal rules ensure that vouchers are targeted to the families who need them most. Seventy-five percent of new households admitted each year must have “extremely low incomes,” defined as incomes up to the poverty line or 30 percent of the local median, whichever is higher. Other new households may have incomes up to 80 percent of the area median.