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.

This service identifies U.S. Census Block Groups in which 51% or more of the households earn less than 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program requires that each CDBG funded activity must either principally benefit low- and moderate-income persons, aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or meet a community development need having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community and other financial resources are not available to meet that need. With respect to activities that principally benefit low- and moderate-income persons, at least 51 percent of the activity's beneficiaries must be low and moderate income.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program requires that each CDBG funded activity must either principally benefit low- and moderate-income persons, aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or meet a community development need having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community and other financial resources are not available to meet that need. With respect to activities that principally benefit low- and moderate-income persons, at least 51 percent of the activity's beneficiaries must be low and moderate income. For CDBG, a person is considered to be of low income only if he or she is a member of a household whose income would qualify as "very low income" under the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments program. Generally, these Section 8 limits are based on 50% of area median. Similarly, CDBG moderate income relies on Section 8 "lower income" limits, which are generally tied to 80% of area median. These data are from the 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS). To learn more about the Low to Moderate Income Populations visit: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/acs-low-mod-summary-data/, for questions about the spatial attribution of this dataset, please reach out to us at GISHelpdesk@hud.gov. Data Dictionary: DD_Low to Moderate Income Populations by Block GroupDate of Coverage: ACS 2020-2016

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Family Income in the United States (MEFAINUSA672N) from 1953 to 2024 about family, median, income, real, and USA.

Comprehensive dataset containing 3,765 verified Low income housing program businesses in United States with complete contact information, ratings, reviews, and location data.

The Rooftop Energy Potential of Low Income Communities in America REPLICA data set provides estimates of residential rooftop solar technical potential at the tract-level with emphasis on estimates for Low and Moderate Income LMI populations. In addition to technical potential REPLICA is comprised of 10 additional datasets at the tract-level to provide socio-demographic and market context. The model year vintage of REPLICA is 2015. The LMI solar potential estimates are made at the tract level grouped by Area Median Income AMI income tenure and building type. These estimates are based off of LiDAR data of 128 metropolitan areas statistical modeling and ACS 2011-2015 demographic data. The remaining datasets are supplemental datasets that can be used in conjunction with the technical potential data for general LMI solar analysis planning and policy making. The core dataset is a wide-format CSV file seeds_ii_replica.csv that can be tagged to a tract geometry using the GEOID or GISJOIN fields. In addition users can download geographic shapefiles for the main or supplemental datasets. This dataset was generated as part of the larger NREL-led SEEDSII Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies project and specifically for the NREL technical report titled Rooftop Solar Technical Potential for Low-to-Moderate Income Households in the United States by Sigrin and Mooney 2018. This dataset is intended to give researchers planners advocates and policy-makers access to credible data to analyze low-income solar issues and potentially perform cost-benefit analysis for program design. To explore the data in an interactive web mapping environment use the NREL SolarForAll app.

FY2024 full and partial census tracts that qualify as Low-Moderate Income Areas (LMA) where 51% or more of the population are considered as having Low-Moderate Income. The low- and moderate-income summary data (LMISD) is based on the 2016-2020 American Community Survey (ACS). As of August 1, 2024, to qualify any new low- and moderate-income area (LMA) activities, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grantees should use this map and data.

For more information about LMA/LMI click the following link to open in new browser tab https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/cdbg/cdbg-low-moderate-income-data/

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.”

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.

The Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool was created by the Better Building's Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator (CELICA) to help state and local partners understand housing and energy characteristics for the low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities they serve. The LEAD Tool provides estimated LMI household energy data based on income, energy expenditures, fuel type, housing type, and geography, which stakeholders can use to make data-driven decisions when planning for their energy goals. From the LEAD Tool website, users can also create and download customized heat-maps and charts for various geographies, housing, energy characteristics, and population demographics and educational attainment. Datasets are available for 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., along with their cities, counties, and census tracts, as well as tribal areas. The file below, "01. Description of Files," provides a list of all files included in this dataset. A description of the abbreviations and units used in the LEAD Tool data can be found in the file below titled "02. Data Dictionary 2022". A list of geographic regions used in the LEAD Tool can be found in files 04-11. The Low-Income Energy Affordability Data comes primarily from the 2022 U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-Year Public Use Microdata Samples and is calibrated to 2022 U.S. Energy Information Administration electric utility (Survey Form-861) and natural gas utility (Survey Form-176) data. The methodology for the LEAD Tool can viewed below (3. Methodology Document). For more information, and to access the interactive LEAD Tool platform, please visit the "10. LEAD Tool Platform" resource link below. For more information on the Better Building's Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator (CELICA), please visit the "11. CELICA Website" resource below.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the most important resource for creating affordable housing in the United States today. The LIHTC database, created by HUD and available to the public since 1997, contains information on 48,672 projects and 3.23 million housing units placed in service since 1987. Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Census Tracts must have 50 percent of households with incomes below 60 percent of the Area Median Gross Income (AMGI) or have a poverty rate of 25 percent or more. Difficult Development Areas (DDA) are areas with high land, construction and utility costs relative to the area median income and are based on Fair Market Rents, income limits, the 2010 census counts, and 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) data.

United States Household Income: $100,000 to $149,999 data was reported at 14.500 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 14.400 % for 2016. United States Household Income: $100,000 to $149,999 data is updated yearly, averaging 13.100 % from Mar 1967 (Median) to 2017, with 51 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.000 % in 1999 and a record low of 6.500 % in 1967. United States Household Income: $100,000 to $149,999 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by US Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H049: Household Income: by Income Level.

The feature set indicates the locations, and tenant characteristics of public housing development buildings for the San Francisco Bay Region. This feature set, extracted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, is from the statewide public housing buildings feature layer provided by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). HCD itself extracted the California data from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) feature service depicting the location of individual buildings within public housing units throughout the United States.

According to HUD's Public Housing Program, "Public Housing was established to provide decent and safe rental housing for eligible low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. Public housing comes in all sizes and types, from scattered single family houses to high-rise apartments for elderly families. There are approximately 1.2 million households living in public housing units, managed by some 3,300 housing agencies. HUD administers federal aid to local housing agencies that manage the housing for low-income residents at rents they can afford. HUD furnishes technical and professional assistance in planning, developing and managing these developments.

HUD administers Federal aid to local Housing Agencies (HAs) that manage housing for low-income residents at rents they can afford. Likewise, HUD furnishes technical and professional assistance in planning, developing, and managing the buildings that comprise low-income housing developments. This feature set provides the location, and resident characteristics of public housing development buildings.

Location data for HUD-related properties and facilities are derived from HUD's enterprise geocoding service. While not all addresses are able to be geocoded and mapped to 100% accuracy, we are continuously working to improve address data quality and enhance coverage. Please consider this issue when using any datasets provided by HUD. When using this data, take note of the field titled “LVL2KX” which indicates the overall accuracy of the geocoded address using the following return codes:

‘R’ - Interpolated rooftop (high degree of accuracy, symbolized as green) 
‘4’ - ZIP+4 centroid (high degree of accuracy, symbolized as green) 
‘B’ - Block group centroid (medium degree of accuracy, symbolized as yellow) 
‘T’ - Census tract centroid (low degree of accuracy, symbolized as red) 
‘2’ - ZIP+2 centroid (low degree of accuracy, symbolized as red) 
 ‘Z’ - ZIP5 centroid (low degree of accuracy, symbolized as red) 
‘5’ - ZIP5 centroid (same as above, low degree of accuracy, symbolized as red) 
Null - Could not be geocoded (does not appear on the map) 

For the purposes of displaying the location of an address on a map only use addresses and their associated lat/long coordinates where the LVL2KX field is coded ‘R’ or ‘4’. These codes ensure that the address is displayed on the correct street segment and in the correct census block. The remaining LVL2KX codes provide a cascading indication of the most granular level geography for which an address can be confirmed. For example, if an address cannot be accurately interpolated to a rooftop (‘R’), or ZIP+4 centroid (‘4’), then the address will be mapped to the centroid of the next nearest confirmed geography: block group, tract, and so on. When performing any point-in polygon analysis it is important to note that points mapped to the centroids of larger geographies will be less likely to map accurately to the smaller geographies of the same area. For instance, a point coded as ‘5’ in the correct ZIP Code will be less likely to map to the correct block group or census tract for that address. In an effort to protect Personally Identifiable Information, the characteristics for each building are suppressed with a -4 value when the “Number_Reported” is equal to, or less than 10.

HCD downloaded the HUD data in April 2021. They sourced the data from https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/fedmaps::public-housing-buildings.

To learn more about Public Housing visit: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/ph/.

United States US: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 15.500 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 17.000 % for 2020. United States US: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 17.700 % from Dec 1963 (Median) to 2021, with 59 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.000 % in 1993 and a record low of 15.500 % in 2021. United States US: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Personal Income in the United States increased 0.40 percent in August of 2025 over the previous month. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Personal Income - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

A Difficult Development Area (DDA) for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program is an area designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to its Area Median Gross Income (AMGI). All designated DDAs in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) or Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSA) may not contain more than 20% of the aggregate population of all MSAs/PMSAs, and all designated areas not in metropolitan areas may not contain more than 20% of the aggregate population of the non-metropolitan counties.

These geospatial data resources and the linked mapping tool below reflect currently available data on three categories of potentially qualifying Low-Income communities: Census tracts that meet the CDFI's New Market Tax Credit Program's threshold for Low Income, thereby are able to apply to Category 1. Census tracts that meet the White House's Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool's threshold for disadvantage in the 'Energy' category, thereby are able to apply for Additional Selection Criteria Geography. Counties that meet the USDA's threshold for Persistent Poverty, thereby are able to apply for Additional Selection Criteria Geography. Note that Category 2 - Indian Lands are not shown on this map. Note that Persistent Poverty is not calculated for US Territories. Note that CEJST Energy disadvantage is not calculated for US Territories besides Puerto Rico. The excel tool provides the land area percentage of each 2023 census tract meeting each of the above categories. To examine geographic eligibility for a specific address or latitude and longitude, visit the program's mapping tool. Additional information on this tax credit program can be found on the DOE Landing Page for the 48e program at https://www.energy.gov/diversity/low-income-communities-bonus-credit-program or the IRS Landing Page at https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/low-income-communities-bonus-credit. Maps last updated: September 1st, 2024 Next map update expected: December 7th, 2024 Disclaimer: The spatial data and mapping tool is intended for geolocation purposes. It should not be relied upon by taxpayers to determine eligibility for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program. Source Acknowledgements: The New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Tract layer using data from the 2016-2020 ACS is from the CDFI Information Mapping System (CIMS) and is created by the U.S. Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. To learn more, visit CDFI Information Mapping System (CIMS) | Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (cdfifund.gov). https://www.cdfifund.gov/mapping-system. Tracts are displayed that meet the threshold for the New Market Tax Credit Program. The 'Energy' Category Tract layer from the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) is created by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) within the Executive Office of the President. To learn more, visit https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/. Tracts are displayed that meet the threshold for the 'Energy' Category of burden. I.e., census tracts that are at or above the 90th percentile for (energy burden OR PM2.5 in the air) AND are at or above the 65th percentile for low income. The Persistent Poverty County layer is created by joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service's Poverty Area Official Measures dataset, with relevant county TIGER/Line Shapefiles from the US Census Bureau. To learn more, visit https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/poverty-area-measures/. Counties are displayed that meet the thresholds for Persistent Poverty according to 'Official' USDA updates. i.e. areas with a poverty rate of 20.0 percent or more for 4 consecutive time periods, about 10 years apart, spanning approximately 30 years (baseline time period plus 3 evaluation time periods). Until Dec 7th, 2024 both the USDA estimates using 2007-2011 and 2017-2021 ACS 5-year data. On Dec 8th, 2024, only the USDA estimates using 2017-2021 data will be accepted for program eligibility.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the primary Federal program for creating affordable housing in the United States. The LIHTC database, created by HUD and available to the public since 1997, contains information on 33,777 projects and almost 2,203,000 housing units placed in service between 1987 and 2010. Created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the LIHTC program gives State and local LIHTC-allocating agencies the equivalent of nearly $8 billion in annual budget authority to issue tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction of rental housing targeted to lower-income households. Although some data about the program have been made available by various sources, HUD's database is the only complete national source of information on the size, unit mix, and location of individual projects. With the continued support of the national LIHTC database, HUD hopes to enable researchers to learn more about the effects of the tax credit program. The LIHTC property locations depicted in this map service represent the general location of the property. The locations of individual buildings associated with each property are not depicted here. The location of the property is derived from the address of the building with the most units.

Key information about United States Monthly Earnings

• United States Monthly Earnings stood at 4,901 USD in Feb 2025, compared with the previous figure of 4,887 USD in Jan 2025
• US Monthly Earnings data is updated monthly, available from Mar 2006 to Feb 2025, with an average number of 3,469 USD
• The data reached the an all-time high of 4,901 USD in Feb 2025 and a record low of 2,743 USD in Mar 2006

• In the latest reports, US Population reached 341 million people in Dec 2024
• Unemployment Rate of US increased to 4 % in Feb 2025
• The country's Labour Force Participation Rate remained the same rate at 62 % in Feb 2025

Low Income Housing Tax Credit PropertiesThis National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) dataset, shared as a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) feature layer, displays low income housing tax credit properties in the United States. Per HUD, "the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the primary Federal program for creating affordable housing in the United States. The LIHTC program gives State and local LIHTC-allocating agencies the authority to issue tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction of rental housing targeted to lower-income households. The location of the property is derived from the address of the building with the most units".Lawndale Restoration, Chicago, ILData currency: current federal service (Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties)NGDAID: 132 (Assisted Housing - Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA))OGC API Features Link: Not AvailableFor more information, please visit: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)Support documentation: Data Dictionary - Low Income Tax Credit ProgramFor feedback please contact: Esri_US_Federal_Data@esri.comNGDA Data SetThis data set is part of the NGDA Real Property Theme Community. Per the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC), Real Property is defined as "the spatial representation (location) of real property entities, typically consisting of one or more of the following: unimproved land, a building, a structure, site improvements and the underlying land. Complex real property entities (that is "facilities") are used for a broad spectrum of functions or missions. This theme focuses on spatial representation of real property assets only and does not seek to describe special purpose functions of real property such as those found in the Cultural Resources, Transportation, or Utilities themes."For other NGDA Content: Esri Federal Datasets