Just Released: FY 2011 Income Limits

HUD has released the estimated median family incomes (MFIs) and income limits for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. MFIs are used as the basis for income limits in several HUD programs (including the Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, CDBG, and HOME programs), as well as in programs run by agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

FY 2011 estimates are calculated for 535 metropolitan and 2,037 nonmetropolitan areas in the U.S. and its territories, using the Fair Market Rent area definitions applied in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. HUD updated the methodology for producing the FY 2011 estimates, which are now based on the five-year American Community Survey data from 2005–2009, rather than the 2000 Decennial Census. The FY 2011 income estimates and limits documentation system explains the derivation of each area's limit and median income estimates and links to the current Income Limits Area Definitions and other useful information available from HUD USER at www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il11/index.html.

HUD has also developed a set of income limits specifically for projects that rely upon Internal Revenue Code Section 42 Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Section 142 projects financed with tax-exempt housing bonds and that were in service in 2007 and 2008. Projects in these two categories are referred to by HUD as Multifamily Tax Subsidy Projects (MTSPs). The FY 2011 HUD MTSP income limits documentation system explains the derivation of each area's MTSP limit and median income estimate and provides other useful information available from HUD USER at www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/mtsp.html.