Area Median Income (AMI) Calculator
Enter your household's income and size, plus your area's four-person median income from HUD, to estimate where you fall as a percentage of AMI.
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How this is calculated
HUD publishes income figures for a four-person household and scales them for other sizes: 70% for one person, 80% for two, 90% for three, 100% for four, and 108%, 116%, 124% and 132% for five through eight. This calculator applies those factors to the four-person median you enter, then divides your income by the result.
The bands use HUD's definitions — extremely low (up to 30%), very low (up to 50%) and low (up to 80%). Above 80%, there is no single federal definition; many programs call 80–120% "moderate income," and that is the core range for workforce housing.
This is an estimate. HUD's official income limits include further adjustments — caps, floors and rounding — so a program's published limit can differ from a simple percentage of the median. To check eligibility for a specific program, always use the published limit for your area and household size.
Related terms
- Area Median Income (AMI)
The midpoint income for families in a metro area or county, published each year by HUD and used to decide who qualifies for most affordable housing programs.
- Income Limits
The maximum household incomes, set as percentages of area median income and adjusted for household size, that determine who is eligible for HUD-assisted and other affordable housing.
- Extremely Low Income (ELI)
HUD's lowest income tier: households earning no more than 30% of area median income or the federal poverty guideline, whichever is higher.
- Very Low Income (VLI)
The middle of HUD's three standard income tiers: households earning no more than 50% of area median income, adjusted for household size and for areas with unusually high or low incomes or housing costs.
- Low Income (80% of AMI)
In HUD's housing programs, a household earning no more than 80% of area median income, adjusted for household size. It is the upper eligibility line for public housing and many other federal programs.
- Moderate Income
An income band with no single legal definition. Federal programs place it anywhere from 50% to about 115% of area median income, and workforce housing programs commonly use roughly 80% to 120%.
- Workforce Housing
Housing priced for working households that earn too much to qualify for most housing assistance but too little to afford market-rate homes near their jobs, often defined as roughly 60% or 80% up to 120% of area median income.