Low and moderate income population

In the housing context, the commonly used household income standards are those used in the Section 8 program. This post briefly explores data that shed light on the size of the Massachusetts population at different Section 8 income levels.

Section 8 standards, explored in more depth in a previous post, start from area median household income (“AMI”) as a base. The standards rely on data from the American Community Survey (an annual Census data product) to estimate AMI in different geographic areas. The standards define then eligible household income-levels as a percentage of AMI. They differentiate households of different sizes. For example, the 50% AMI level is lower for a 1-person household than for a 4-person household. However, published census data tabulate medians for households without reference to size — no published tabulation of census data shows the median income for 1-person households as opposed to 4-person households. HUD uses a mathematical formula to compute AMI thresholds for different household sizes, not actual data. It is difficult to know from census data how many people in a given area would meet the HUD income threshold.

Fortunately, a different federal program, the Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) program, references the concentration of low and middle income people as a geographic eligibility standard for grants and ties definitions to the Section 8 Program. As a result, HUD works with the Census to produce a special data tabulation of the numbers of Section-8 defined low and moderate income persons every five years. The most recent tabulation, released in June 2024, is based on American Community Survey data collected between 2016 and 2020. Just to keep things confusing, the CDBG program uses the words “low” and “moderate” differently than Section 8:

Income labels comparison CDBG vs. Section 8

	CDBG	Section 8
Up to 30% of AMI	not defined separately	Extremely low income
30% to 50% of AMI	Low income	Very low income
50% to 80% of AMI	Moderate income	Low income
80% to 120% of AMI	Medium income*	not defined separately

Another distinction between CDBG and Section 8 is that the Section 8 definitions refer to households per se, while the “L/M” rules for CDBG refer to low and moderate income persons based on their household income. Thus the special CDBG tabulation provides person counts, not household counts. The two tables below show the concentration and number of income disadvantaged persons by county in Massachusetts.

Concentration of persons by household income level
2016-2020 5-Year American Community Survey (2020 Dollars)

County	< 50% of AMI	50-80% of AMI	All < 80% of AMI	80-120% of AMI	Household Population*
Barnstable	23%	17%	40%	22%	210,795
Berkshire	22%	16%	39%	20%	119,115
Bristol	25%	15%	40%	19%	548,225
Dukes	27%	19%	46%	25%	17,165
Essex	29%	16%	44%	19%	769,075
Franklin	25%	17%	43%	20%	69,035
Hampden	29%	17%	46%	17%	452,120
Hampshire	22%	14%	35%	17%	137,945
Middlesex	22%	13%	36%	19%	1,547,940
Nantucket	21%	9%	30%	32%	10,935
Norfolk	21%	14%	34%	20%	685,420
Plymouth	21%	15%	36%	21%	507,145
Suffolk	41%	16%	57%	18%	752,780
Worcester	24%	16%	40%	20%	796,840
Massachusetts	26%	15%	41%	19%	6,624,535

Persons by household income level
2016-2020 5-Year American Community Survey (2020 Dollars)

	< 50% of AMI	50-80% of AMI	All < 80% of AMI	80-120% of AMI	Household Population*
Barnstable	48,535	36,670	85,205	45,910	210,795
Berkshire	26,580	19,375	45,955	24,300	119,115
Bristol	136,025	80,550	216,575	104,700	548,225
Dukes	4,659	3,201	7,860	4,245	17,165
Essex	221,854	119,921	341,775	149,050	769,075
Franklin	17,445	11,900	29,345	14,055	69,035
Hampden	131,755	75,405	207,160	77,485	452,120
Hampshire	29,835	18,815	48,650	23,910	137,945
Middlesex	346,762	204,843	551,605	293,315	1,547,940
Nantucket	2,290	1,010	3,300	3,550	10,935
Norfolk	141,695	92,630	234,325	136,160	685,420
Plymouth	104,564	77,851	182,415	106,850	507,145
Suffolk	310,680	117,750	428,430	133,030	752,780
Worcester	193,695	123,635	317,330	156,905	796,840
Massachusetts	1,716,374	983,556	2,699,930	1,273,465	6,624,535

The CDBG tabulation does not include data for the Extremely Low-Income (30% AMI level). The Census does, however, publish population counts for person in households at different income levels compared to the poverty line. The table below compares the HUD AMI levels for Massachusetts Statewide with the national thresholds for poverty. There are several observations to made about the data in the table:

• HUD AMI levels for 4-person families correspond fairly closely to the stated percentages of statewide median AMI, $104,900. The 4 person limits are respectively 81%, 54%, 32% of statewide AMI. (These computations are not shown in the chart, but are shown in the supporting spreadsheet.)
• The Census poverty thresholds allow more income for larger households as compared to smaller households than the HUD AMI definitions. The HUD AMI definitions are based on simple ratio calculation vs. the 4-person household, as visible in the data below and discussed in this previous post. Effectively, the Census poverty thresholds make a proportionately larger allowance for non-housing costs per person.
• The HUD ELI level for Massachusetts (“30% AMI”) is above 100% of the national poverty threshold for all but the largest households.
• The HUD ELI level for Massachusetts (“30% AMI”) is below 150% of the national poverty threshold for all but the smallest households.
• From the last two observations it follows that the Massachusetts ELI population count is between the 100% poverty population and the 150% poverty population.

2020 HUD Income Levels (Massachusetts, statewide) and Census-defined poverty levels (national)

	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person
Low-Income Limit (LIL) “80% AMI”	54,950	62,800	70,650	78,500	84,800	91,050	97,350	103,600
Very Low-Income Limit (VLIL) “50% AMI”	36,700	41,950	47,200	52,450	56,650	60,850	65,050	69,250
Extremely Low-Income Limit (ELIL) “30% AMI”	22,050	25,200	28,300	31,450	34,000	36,500	39,000	41,550
Income limits ratio to 4 person (fixed all for levels — HUD Methodology)	70.0%	80.0%	90.0%	100.0%	108.0%	116.0%	124.0%	132.0%
Census Poverty Threshold	13,171	16,733	20,591	26,496	31,417	35,499	40,406	44,755
Poverty threshold ratio to 4 person (built up from need — Census Methodology)	49.7%	63.2%	77.7%	100.0%	118.6%	134.0%	152.5%	168.9%
ELIL as % of poverty threshold	167%	151%	137%	119%	108%	103%	97%	93%

From all of the data above, we have the following summary chart. This chart is useful in considering the availability of housing at different income levels — a subject for a future post.

Persons in households below certain household income levels in Massachusetts in 2020

Resource spreadsheet with data links and underlying calculation.

Return to housing outline.