To: Contra Costa County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners
From: Joseph Villarreal, Executive Director
Report Title: NEW INCOME LIMITS EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2025, FOR ASSISTED PROGRAMS OPERATED BY HACCC
☐Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ACCEPT a report from the executive director regarding new income limits effective April 1, 2025, for assisted programs operated by HACCC.
BACKGROUND:
The United States (U.S.) Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is required by law to set income limits that determine the eligibility of applicants for HUD's assisted housing programs including the Public Housing, and the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher programs among others. HUD develops income limits based on Median Family Income estimates and Fair Market Rent area definitions for each metropolitan area, parts of some metropolitan areas, and each non-metropolitan county.
HUD also calculates median family incomes (MFIs) for every metropolitan area and nonmetropolitan county in the U.S. MFIs are an input into the income limit calculation and are based on a four-person household. MFIs are also often referred to by users of this data and in other federal programs as area median incomes (AMIs).
HUD Section 8 Income Limits begin with the production of MFIs for each area. HUD uses the Section 8 program’s Fair Market Rent (FMR) area definitions in developing median incomes, which means that income estimates are developed for each metropolitan area, parts of some metropolitan areas, and each nonmetropolitan county.
The statutory basis for HUD's income limit policies may be summarized as follows:
• Low-income families are defined as families whose incomes do not exceed 80 percent of the median family income for the area.
• Very low-income families are defined as families whose incomes do not exceed 50 percent of the median family income for the area.
• Extremely low-income families are defined as very low-income families whose incomes do not exceed the greater of 30 percent of the median family income for the area or the federal poverty guidelines as published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The extremely low-income limits based on poverty guidelines are capped by the very low-income limit.
HUD uses the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) median family income data (as opposed to household income data) as the basis of FY 2025 income limits for all areas of geography, except for the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific Islands (Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands). In the past, HUD has used the Consumer Price Index (CPI) forecast published by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to bring the ACS and PRCS data forward from the year of the ACS to the current fiscal year. For FY 2025 and going forward, HUD will use an inflation factor based on the most recent projected change in national per capita wages published by the Congressional Budget Office in an attempt to improve the accuracy of its median family income estimates. The inflation factor, representing the projected change in national per capita wages from FY 2023 through FY 2025, is approximately 1.08 (an 8 percent increase).
Effective April 1, 2025, the FY2025 income limits are as follows:
|
Family Size (# of persons) |
Extremely Low ( 30%) Income |
Very Low (50%) Income |
Low (80%) Income |
|
01 |
$33,600 |
$55,950 |
$87,550 |
|
02 |
38,400 |
63,950 |
100,050 |
|
03 |
43,200 |
71,950 |
112,550 |
|
04 |
47,950 |
79,900 |
125,050 |
|
05 |
51,800 |
86,300 |
135,100 |
|
06 |
55,650 |
92,700 |
145,100 |
|
07 |
59,500 |
99,100 |
155,100 |
|
08 |
63,300 |
105,500 |
165,100 |
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for this program is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Funding for the proposed change is provided for in the Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa's (HACCC) current budget.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
This is an information item only. There is no action needed on this matter.