The 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.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also issues each year in the Federal Register Federal Poverty Guidelines. These numbers are a simplification of U.S. Census Bureau poverty thresholds that federal agencies may use for administrative purposes, such as determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs. The guidelines are the same for all 48 contiguous states (with separate guidelines for Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories).
The following tables show both HUD and HHS Guidelines for 2021 and, for comparison, 2011.
The 2021 median family income for Los Angeles County is determined by HUD to be $80,000.
| Family Size (Persons in Family/Household) |
Annual Family Income | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUD Low Income Level 1 | HUD Very Low Income Level 2 | HUD Extremely Low Income Level 3 | Federal Poverty Level* | |
| 1 | $66,250 | $41,400 | $24,850 | $12,880 |
| 2 | $75,700 | $47,300 | $28,400 | $17,420 |
| 3 | $85,150 | $53,200 | $31,950 | $21,960 |
| 4 | $94,600 | $59,100 | $35,450 | $26,500 |
| 5 | $102,200 | $63,850 | $38,300 | $31,040 |
| 6 | $109,750 | $68,600 | $41,150 | $35,580 |
| 7 | $117,350 | $73,300 | $44,000 | $40,120 |
| 8 | $124,900 | $78,050 | $46,800 | $44,660 |
| For each additional person in families of more than 8, add: | --- | --- | --- | $4,480 |
* Federal guidelines in this column are for 2021. HUD guidelines in HUD columns are for Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
1) Low-Income Families are defined as families whose incomes do not exceed 80 percent of the median family income.
2) Very Low-Income families do not exceed 50 percent of the median family income.
3) In 2010, Extremely Low-Income families did not exceed 30 percent of the median family income. The FY 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act, however, changed the definition of extremely low-income to be the greater of 30/50ths (60 percent) of the Section 8 very low-income limit or the poverty guideline as established by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provided that this amount is not greater than the Section 8 50% very low-income limit. Consequently, the extremely low income limits may equal the very low (50%) income limits.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
For comparison, guidelines a decade ago (notes for table above also apply to following table):
The 2011 median family income for Los Angeles County was determined by HUD to be $64,000.
| Family Size (Persons in Family/Household) |
Annual Family Income | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUD Low Income Level 1 | HUD Very Low Income Level 2 | HUD Extremely Low Income Level 3 | HHS Federal Poverty Levels | |
| 1 | $47,850 | $29,900 | $17,950 | $10,890 |
| 2 | $54,650 | $34,200 | $20,500 | $14,710 |
| 3 | $61,500 | $38,450 | $23,050 | $18,530 |
| 4 | $68,300 | $42,700 | $25,600 | $22,350 |
| 5 | $73,800 | $46,150 | $27,650 | $26,170 |
| 6 | $79,250 | $49,550 | $29,700 | $29,990 |
| 7 | $84,700 | $52,950 | $31,750 | $33,810 |
| 8 | $90,200 | $56,400 | $33,800 | $37,630 |
| For each additional person in families of more than 8, add: | --- | --- | --- | $3,820 |
