This dataset and map service provides information on the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) low to moderate income areas. The term Low to Moderate Income, often referred to as low-mod, has a specific programmatic context within the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Over a 1, 2, or 3-year period, as selected by the grantee, not less than 70 percent of CDBG funds must be used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income persons. HUD uses special tabulations of Census data to determine areas where at least 51% of households have incomes at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI). This dataset and map service contains the following layer.

Between April 2008 and March 2024, households from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups were the most likely to live in low income out of all ethnic groups, before and after housing costs.

This dataset represents the geospatial extent as polygons and the corresponding attribution for census block groups that meet the definition of low-income communities according to the Virginia 2020 Environmental Justice Act: “Low-income community” definition: “’Low-income community’ means any census block group in which 30 percent or more of the population is composed of people with low income.”

The referenced “low income” definition is also provided below: “Low income” definition: “’Low income’ means having an annual household income equal to or less than the greater of (i) an amount equal to 80 percent of the median income of the area in which the household is located, as reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and (ii) 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.”Click Here to view Data Fact Sheet.

Text source: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/HOME-Income-limits.htmlLanding page description:HOME Income Limits data are available from FY 1998 to the present. The HOME Income Limits are calculated using the same methodology that HUD uses for calculating the income limits for the Section 8 program, in accordance with Section 3(b)(2) of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended. These limits are based on HUD estimates of median family income, with adjustments based on family size. Please note that the 30 percent income limits for the HOME program have been calculated based on the definition of Extremely Low–Income Family (ELI) as described in Consolidated Submission for CPD Programs section of 24 CFR part 91.5. Therefore, the ELI Limit is calculated as 30 percent of median family income for the area and may not be the same as the Section 8 ELI Limit for your jurisdiction. The Section 8 Limit is calculated based on the definition of ELI as described in The 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act, (Section 238 on page 128 Stat 635) which defines ELI as very low–income families whose incomes do not exceed the higher of the Federal poverty level or 30% of area median income. Family sizes in excess of 8 persons are calculated by adding 8% of the four-person income limit for each additional family member. That is, a 9-person limit should be 140% of the 4-person limit, the 10-person limit should be 148%.The HOME income limit values for large households (9-12 persons) must be rounded to the nearest $50. Therefore, all values from 1 to 24 are rounded down to 0, and all values from 25 to 49 are rounded up to 50.Note: The FY 2024 HOME Income Limits effective date is June 01, 2024.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Poverty (EQ5)

FULL MEASURE NAME
The share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit

LAST UPDATED
January 2023

DESCRIPTION
Poverty refers to the share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit, which varies based on the number of individuals in a given household. It reflects the number of individuals who are economically struggling due to low household income levels.

DATA SOURCE
U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census - http://www.nhgis.org
1980-2000

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/
2007-2021
Form C17002

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
The U.S. Census Bureau defines a national poverty level (or household income) that varies by household size, number of children in a household, and age of householder. The national poverty level does not vary geographically even though cost of living is different across the United States. For the Bay Area, where cost of living is high and incomes are correspondingly high, an appropriate poverty level is 200% of poverty or twice the national poverty level, consistent with what was used for past equity work at MTC and ABAG. For comparison, however, both the national and 200% poverty levels are presented.

For Vital Signs, the poverty rate is defined as the number of people (including children) living below twice the poverty level divided by the number of people for whom poverty status is determined. The household income definitions for poverty change each year to reflect inflation. The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or non-cash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid and food stamps).

For the national poverty level definitions by year, see: US Census Bureau Poverty Thresholds - https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html.

For an explanation on how the Census Bureau measures poverty, see: How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty - https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.

American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020.

To be consistent across metropolitan areas, the poverty definition for non-Bay Area metros is twice the national poverty level. Data were not adjusted for varying income and cost of living levels across the metropolitan areas.

Locations of disadvantaged and/or low-income communities designated by both California and Justice40.Definitions:California-designated Disadvantaged Communities – The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) identifies four types of geographic areas as disadvantaged: (1) census tracts receiving the highest 25 percent of overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0; (2) census tracts lacking overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 due to data gaps, but receiving the highest 5 percent of CalEnviroScreen 4.0 cumulative pollution burden scores; (3) census tracts identified in the 2017 DAC designation as disadvantaged, regardless of their scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0; (4) and areas under the control of federally recognized Tribes. California-designated Low-income Communities – Census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with median household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low income by the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted under Health and Safety Code Section 50093. Justice40-designated disadvantaged communities - Consistent with the Justice40 Interim Guidance, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) developed a joint interim definition of disadvantaged communities for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. The joint interim definition uses publicly available data sets that capture vulnerable populations, health, transportation access and burden, energy burden, fossil dependence, resilience, and environmental and climate hazards.

This layer shows census tracts that meet the following definitions: Census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with median household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low income by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted under Healthy and Safety Code section 50093 and/or Census tracts receiving the highest 25 percent of overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 or Census tracts lacking overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 due to data gaps, but receiving the highest 5 percent of CalEnviroScreen 4.0 cumulative population burden scores or Census tracts identified in the 2017 DAC designation as disadvantaged, regardless of their scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 or Lands under the control of federally recognized Tribes.

This dataset provides data on Qualified Census Tracts for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program for 2024. LIHTC Qualified Census Tracts, as defined under the section 42(d)(5)(C) of the of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, include any census tract (or equivalent geographic area defined by the Bureau of the Census) in which at least 50 percent of households have an income less than 60 percent of the Area Median Gross Income (AMGI), or which has a poverty rate of at least 25 percent. Maps of Qualified Census Tracts and Difficult Development Areas are available at: huduser.gov/sadda/sadda_qct.html .

Low income census tract designation as per criteria for identifying a census tract as low income from the Department of Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. Guidelines defined as census tract exceeding 20% population under Federal Poverty Level or median family income below 80% of state or metro area median. Derived from U.S. Census American Community Survey 5 YR 2011-2015 tables; B17001 and B19113. Metadata information provided at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/documentation/

Relative concentration of the estimated number of people in the Sierra Nevada region that live in a household defined as "low income." There are multiple ways to define low income. These data apply the most common standard: low income population consists of all members of households that collectively have income less than twice the federal poverty threshold that applies to their household type. Household type refers to the household's resident composition: the number of independent adults plus dependents that can be of any age, from children to elderly. For example, a household with four people ' one working adult parent and three dependent children ' has a different poverty threshold than a household comprised of four unrelated independent adults.

Due to high estimate uncertainty for many block group estimates of the number of people living in low income households, some records cannot be reliably assigned a class and class code comparable to those assigned to race/ethnicity data from the decennial Census.

"Relative concentration" is a measure that compares the proportion of population within each Census block group data unit to the proportion of all people that live within the 775 block groups in the Sierra Nevada RRK region. See the "Data Units" description below for how these relative concentrations are broken into categories in this "low income" metric.

Between 2018 and 2022, people in households in the ‘other’, Asian and black ethnic groups were the most likely to be in persistent low income, both before and after housing costs, out of all ethnic groups.

Low income cut-offs (LICOs) before and after tax by community size and family size, in current dollars, annual.

Approximately **** percent of individuals in the United Kingdom were defined as living with relative income in 2023/24, after housing costs were considered, with **** percent of people considered as being low-income before housing costs.

Low-income cut-offs, after tax (LICO-AT) - The Low-income cut-offs, after tax refers to an income threshold, defined using 1992 expenditure data, below which economic families or persons not in economic families would likely have devoted a larger share of their after-tax income than average to the necessities of food, shelter and clothing. More specifically, the thresholds represented income levels at which these families or persons were expected to spend 20 percentage points or more of their after-tax income than average on food, shelter and clothing. These thresholds have been adjusted to current dollars using the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI).The LICO-AT has 35 cut-offs varying by seven family sizes and five different sizes of area of residence to account for economies of scale and potential differences in cost of living in communities of different sizes. These thresholds are presented in Table 4.3 Low-income cut-offs, after tax (LICO-AT - 1992 base) for economic families and persons not in economic families, 2015, Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016.When the after-tax income of an economic family member or a person not in an economic family falls below the threshold applicable to the person, the person is considered to be in low income according to LICO-AT. Since the LICO-AT threshold and family income are unique within each economic family, low-income status based on LICO-AT can also be reported for economic families.Return to footnote1referrerFootnote 2Low-income status - The income situation of the statistical unit in relation to a specific low-income line in a reference year. Statistical units with income that is below the low-income line are considered to be in low income.For the 2016 Census, the reference period is the calendar year 2015 for all income variables.Return to footnote2referrerFootnote 3The low-income concepts are not applied in the territories and in certain areas based on census subdivision type (such as Indian reserves). The existence of substantial in-kind transfers (such as subsidized housing and First Nations band housing) and sizeable barter economies or consumption from own production (such as product from hunting, farming or fishing) could make the interpretation of low-income statistics more difficult in these situations.Return to footnote3referrerFootnote 4Prevalence of low income - The proportion or percentage of units whose income falls below a specified low-income line.

A Qualified Census Tract (QCT) is any census tract (or equivalent geographic area defined by the Census Bureau) in which at least 50% of households have an income less than 60% of the Area Median Gross Income (AMGI). HUD has defined 60% of AMGI as 120% of HUD's Very Low Income Limits (VLILs), which are based on 50% of area median family income, adjusted for high cost and low income areas.

Low-income cut-offs, after tax (LICO-AT) - The Low-income cut-offs, after tax refers to an income threshold, defined using 1992 expenditure data, below which economic families or persons not in economic families would likely have devoted a larger share of their after-tax income than average to the necessities of food, shelter and clothing. More specifically, the thresholds represented income levels at which these families or persons were expected to spend 20 percentage points or more of their after-tax income than average on food, shelter and clothing. These thresholds have been adjusted to current dollars using the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI).The LICO-AT has 35 cut-offs varying by seven family sizes and five different sizes of area of residence to account for economies of scale and potential differences in cost of living in communities of different sizes. These thresholds are presented in Table 4.3 Low-income cut-offs, after tax (LICO-AT - 1992 base) for economic families and persons not in economic families, 2015, Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016.When the after-tax income of an economic family member or a person not in an economic family falls below the threshold applicable to the person, the person is considered to be in low income according to LICO-AT. Since the LICO-AT threshold and family income are unique within each economic family, low-income status based on LICO-AT can also be reported for economic families.Return to footnote1referrerFootnote 2Low-income status - The income situation of the statistical unit in relation to a specific low-income line in a reference year. Statistical units with income that is below the low-income line are considered to be in low income.For the 2016 Census, the reference period is the calendar year 2015 for all income variables.Return to footnote2referrerFootnote 3The low-income concepts are not applied in the territories and in certain areas based on census subdivision type (such as Indian reserves). The existence of substantial in-kind transfers (such as subsidized housing and First Nations band housing) and sizeable barter economies or consumption from own production (such as product from hunting, farming or fishing) could make the interpretation of low-income statistics more difficult in these situations.Return to footnote3referrerFootnote 4Prevalence of low income - The proportion or percentage of units whose income falls below a specified low-income line.

The percentage of low-income individuals in the population is defined by low-income measures (LIMs). LIMs are relative measures of low income, set at 50.0% of adjusted median household income. These measures are categorized according to the number of people present in the household, reflecting the economies of scale inherent in household size. Data is sourced from Statistics Canada and reflects post-tax income.

Between 1990 and 2023, the mean household income for the low-paid workers in the lowest quintile went from 15,940 U.S. dollars in 1990 to 17,650 U.S. dollars in 2023, while the mean income of the top five percent increased from 285,000 U.S. dollars to 467,100 U.S. dollars over the same period. The income for this period has been adjusted to the 2023 U.S. dollar value.

Low-income cut-offs, after tax (LICO-AT) - The Low-income cut-offs, after tax refers to an income threshold, defined using 1992 expenditure data, below which economic families or persons not in economic families would likely have devoted a larger share of their after-tax income than average to the necessities of food, shelter and clothing. More specifically, the thresholds represented income levels at which these families or persons were expected to spend 20 percentage points or more of their after-tax income than average on food, shelter and clothing. These thresholds have been adjusted to current dollars using the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI).The LICO-AT has 35 cut-offs varying by seven family sizes and five different sizes of area of residence to account for economies of scale and potential differences in cost of living in communities of different sizes. These thresholds are presented in Table 4.3 Low-income cut-offs, after tax (LICO-AT - 1992 base) for economic families and persons not in economic families, 2015, Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016.When the after-tax income of an economic family member or a person not in an economic family falls below the threshold applicable to the person, the person is considered to be in low income according to LICO-AT. Since the LICO-AT threshold and family income are unique within each economic family, low-income status based on LICO-AT can also be reported for economic families.Return to footnote1referrerFootnote 2For more information on generation status variables, including information on their classifications, the questions from which they are derived, data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Place of Birth, Generation Status, Citizenship and Immigration Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2016.Return to footnote2referrerFootnote 3Low-income status - The income situation of the statistical unit in relation to a specific low-income line in a reference year. Statistical units with income that is below the low-income line are considered to be in low income.For the 2016 Census, the reference period is the calendar year 2015 for all income variables.Return to footnote3referrerFootnote 4The low-income concepts are not applied in the territories and in certain areas based on census subdivision type (such as Indian reserves). The existence of substantial in-kind transfers (such as subsidized housing and First Nations band housing) and sizeable barter economies or consumption from own production (such as product from hunting, farming or fishing) could make the interpretation of low-income statistics more difficult in these situations.Return to footnote4referrerFootnote 5Prevalence of low income - The proportion or percentage of units whose income falls below a specified low-income line.Return to footnote5referrerFootnote 6For more information on the Visible minority variable, including information on its classification, the questions from which it is derived, data quality and its comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Visible Minority and Population Group Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2016.Return to footnote6referrerFootnote 7The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as 'persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.'Return to footnote7referrerFootnote 8For example, 'East Indian,' 'Pakistani,' 'Sri Lankan,' etc.Return to footnote8referrerFootnote 9For example, 'Vietnamese,' 'Cambodian,' 'Laotian,' 'Thai,' etc.Return to footnote9referrerFootnote 10For example, 'Afghan,' 'Iranian,' etc.Return to footnote10referrerFootnote 11The abbreviation 'n.i.e.' means 'not included elsewhere.' Includes persons with a write-in response such as 'Guyanese,' 'West Indian,' 'Tibetan,' 'Polynesian,' 'Pacific Islander,' etc.Return to footnote11referrerFootnote 12Includes persons who gave more than one visible minority group by checking two or more mark-in responses, e.g., 'Black' and 'South Asian.'Return to footnote12referrerFootnote 13Includes persons who reported 'Yes' to the Aboriginal group question (Question 18), as well as persons who were not considered to be members of a visible minority group.

The StatXplore Children in low-income families' local area statistics (CiLIF) provides information on the number of children living in Relative low income by local area across the United Kingdom.The summary Statistical Release and tables which also show the proportions of children living in low income families are available here: Children in low income families: local area statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Statistics on the number of children (by age) in low income families by financial year are published on Stat-Xplore. Figures are calibrated to the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) survey regional estimates of children in low income but provide more granular local area information not available from the HBAI, for example by Local Authority, Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and Ward.

Relative low-income is defined as a family in low income Before Housing Costs (BHC) in the reference year. A family must have claimed Child Benefit and at least one other household benefit (Universal Credit, tax credits, or Housing Benefit) at any point in the year to be classed as low income in these statistics. Gross income measure is Before Housing Costs (BHC) and includes contributions from earnings, state support and pensions.