Median annual family income, in US dollars, that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates for the HUD area that contains the county, for the fiscal year.
More on how it is measured
HUD bases it on American Community Survey family incomes, brought forward to the fiscal year, and uses it to set income limits for its programs: the very low income limit is 50 percent and the low income limit 80 percent of the area median for a family of four, with adjustments.
Often called AMI.
A program parameter, not a survey estimate for the county itself: it differs from the Census Bureau median household income and from the American Community Survey median family income of the county. HUD sets one value per HUD area, a metropolitan area (sometimes split into HUD Metro FMR Areas) or a non-metropolitan county, so every county of a metropolitan area shows the same figure. Counties in the six New England states have no value, because HUD defines their areas by town and a county can span several areas. Where HUD splits off part of a county, the county value is the rest of the county: Howard County, Maryland, without Columbia until FY2015, and Crawford County, Missouri, without its part of Sullivan. The year is HUD's federal fiscal year: FY2027 runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. 2 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
Citation styles
The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.
APA 7
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. (2021). HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars (US counties by area median family income (HUD), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx
MLA 9
HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars, US counties by area median family income (HUD), 2021. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 24 Mar. 2021, https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/us-counties?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. 2021. HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. US counties by area median family income (HUD), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/us-counties?period=2021.
Harvard
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research (2021) HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars, US counties by area median family income (HUD), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/us-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{department_us_counties_by_area_2021,
author = {{U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research}},
title = {{HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars: US counties by area median family income (HUD), 2021}},
year = {2021},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/us-counties?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
TI - HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars: US counties by area median family income (HUD), 2021
PY - 2021
DA - 2021/03/24
PB - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/us-counties?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/hud-area-median-family-income/us-counties?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il21/Section8-FY21.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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Rank US counties by area median family income (HUD) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"area_median_family_income","level":"province","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=area_median_family_income&level=province&within=United%20States&limit=10
Which county has the highest area median family income (HUD)?
Santa Clara County, with $151,300 in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research.
Which county has the lowest area median family income (HUD)?
Todd County, with $23,900 in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD Section 8 income limits by county: area median family income, dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 2 counties have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.