Jobst was a son of Count John V of Hoya and Elizabeth of Diepholz.
Since his father married fairly late, Jobst was not yet old enough to govern the county when he inherited it in 1466.
In 1504, Jobst had to his imperial immediacy and accept the County of Hoya as a fief from the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
He had to pay a large sum of money to receive this fief.
This debt burdened the Counts of Hoya for the rest of the 16th century and caused the financial decline of the family.