Extremely Low Income (ELI)

What Is Extremely Low Income?

Extremely low income (ELI) is the lowest of HUD’s three standard income tiers. A household is extremely low income if it earns no more than the higher of two figures: 30% of area median income, or the federal poverty guideline for a household of its size.

ELI households include many people who work. NLIHC’s 2026 report describes them as disproportionately seniors, people with disabilities, low-wage workers, and caregivers.

How It Works

Congress created the 30% standard in the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 added the poverty-guideline floor, so the limit cannot fall below the poverty line in low-income areas.

HUD calculates the limit in three steps:

1. Take 60% (30/50ths) of the area’s very low-income limit.
2. Compare it with the HHS poverty guideline for each household size, and use the higher number.
3. Cap the result at the very low-income limit.

The poverty-guideline rule does not apply in Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories. Alaska and Hawaii have their own poverty guidelines.

The definition matters because federal law reserves shares of assistance for these households. Under 42 U.S.C. 1437n, at least:

• 75% of the families a housing agency newly admits to the Housing Choice Voucher program each year must be ELI
• 40% of newly available public housing units must go to ELI families
• 40% of newly available project-based Section 8 units must go to ELI families

Why It Matters

ELI renters face the deepest shortage in the housing market. NLIHC’s March 2026 analysis of 2024 Census data counted 11 million ELI renter households but only 35 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 of them, a shortage of 7.2 million. It found that 74% of ELI renters were severely cost-burdened, spending more than half their income on rent and utilities.

The economics explain the gap. Rent equal to 30% of an ELI household’s income is usually too low to pay for a building’s operations and upkeep, let alone its debt. A typical tax credit unit restricted to 60% of AMI still costs more than an ELI household can pay. Reaching this group usually takes a rental subsidy such as a voucher, public housing, or permanent supportive housing.

For your area’s ELI limits, use HUD’s income limits lookup on the HUD User website.