Median Family Income Estimates and Income Limits HUD annually calculates estimates of median family income for every area of the country. These estimates are used to calculate various income limits, which are defined as percentages of median family income, and vary by the number of persons in a household. HUD uses income limits to define low-income status and resulting eligibility for many of its housing assistance programs. For more information, please see the Median Family Income and Income Limits Methodology documents here: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html#2022_documents.
Since FY 2011, HUD has based its median family income estimates on data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Since FY 2012, there has been a 3-year lag between the ACS estimates and the fiscal year for which the income limits are in effect. For example, the FY 2022 median family incomes and income limits were based on the ACS 2019 data.
On July 29, 2021, the Census Bureau announced that it would not release standard 1-year estimates from the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS) because of the impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic on data collection, which resulted in the 1-year estimates not meeting the Census Bureau’s Statistical Data Quality Standards.
The FY 2023 median family incomes and income limits would ordinarily be based on the ACS 2020 estimates. However, because of the lack of 1-year ACS 2020 estimates described above, HUD intends to instead base the FY 2023 median family incomes and income limits on ACS 2021 data. Since 2014, HUD has released median family incomes and income limits in March or April of each year. Because the special tabulations of ACS 2021 data HUD needs for median family income calculations will not be available until early 2023 , HUD intends to delay the release of FY 2023 median family incomes and income limits until on or about May 15, 2023. Should HUD revise this date, HUD will make a similar announcement on https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html.