A surprisingly wide variety of families and individuals cannot afford market-rate housing. Affordable housing programs target assistance to people a different income levels, usually pegged to Area Median Income. These categories are sometimes referred to by name (extremely low income, very low income, low income, moderate income) and sometimes by numbers (30% of AMI, 50-80% of AMI, etc). Most affordable housing programs are targeted to renters earning less than 60 percent of median income or homebuyers earning up to 100 percent of median.
Sample occupations and incomes. People in a wide range of occupations need affordable housing. The following chart lists some of the types of workers whose families might need housing assistance.
Category |
Sample Occupations |
Annual Earnings* (2004) |
|---|---|---|
| Extremely Low (≤30% of AMI) |
Parking lot attendants Food service workers Laundry/dry cleaning workers Sewing machine operators Hair Shampooers |
Less than $17,850/year |
| Very Low (31-50%) |
Cooks Nursing aides Medical assistants Janitors Home care aides Retail sales clerks Bakers Security guards |
$17,851 to $29,750/year |
| Low (51-80%) |
Marriage and family therapists Interpreters and translators Carpenters Plumbers Electricians Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) |
$29,751 to $47,600/year |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit Limits (60%) |
Computer/office machine repairers Marriage and family therapists Laboratory technicians Dispensing opticians |
$35,700/year |
| Moderate (81-100%) |
Elementary/middle school teachers Medical social workers Broadcast technicians Respiratory therapists Insurance sales agents |
$47,601 to $53,500/year |
*Annual income for a family of four with one wage earner.
Source: Occupational Employment Survey (2002) and Wage Survey (2003)
