Until about a decade ago, people living in Bridgeport and Fairfield got the same amount of money for their housing vouchers, even though rent is much higher in Fairfield.

The amount of aid through the federally-funded housing choice voucher program — better known as Section 8 — is determined by averaging rent costs in a large, economically diverse metro area.

These housing vouchers, used at private apartments, are typically administered through towns and can be used anywhere in a set region. But using such a big geographic area to determine the voucher value made it hard for people to live in wealthier towns like Fairfield. Because of this, advocates say the widely used system led to significant housing segregation, with most voucher holders forced to live in lower-income areas with cheaper rents because it’s all they can afford. 

“That means you’re actually kind of coming up with a number that is going to be too low to ever reach a lot of places that are higher-rent areas,” Erin Boggs, executive director of Open Communities Alliance. 

Data shows little change in CT housing voucher segregation, Sasha Allen & Ginny Monk, CT Mirror, November 8, 2026, available here