Long-form · ~1,600 words · Includes 2025 HPD income chart
Every affordable housing lottery lists a percentage: 30%, 60%, 80%, 130%, and so on. Those percentages are “AMI” bands — the Area Median Income range a lottery is targeting. Your household income needs to fit within the specific range that applies to the unit size you’re applying for. This guide explains what AMI means, where the numbers come from, and how to read a lottery listing.
What AMI is
AMI stands for Area Median Income. It is set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) each year for every metropolitan area. For New York City, HUD uses the “New York–Newark–Jersey City” metropolitan area and applies a “High Housing Cost Adjustment,” which produces an AMI figure higher than NYC’s actual median household income.
For 2025 — the figures currently in use as of April 2026 because HUD’s 2026 update has been delayed — 100% AMI for a three-person household in New York City is $145,800, and for a four-person household is $162,000. That number is the baseline. All the percentages (30%, 60%, 80%, 130%) are scaled from it.
2025 HPD income guidelines
HPD publishes an official chart each year showing the income ranges by household size and AMI band. For 2025, the 100% AMI row is:
- 1 person: $113,400
- 2 people: $129,600
- 3 people: $145,800
- 4 people: $162,000
- 5 people: $175,000
- 6 people: $188,000
Other bands are a fraction of the 100% row. Common bands and their 3-person figures:
- 30% AMI: $43,740
- 40% AMI: $58,320
- 50% AMI: $72,900
- 60% AMI: $87,480
- 80% AMI: $116,640
- 100% AMI: $145,800
- 130% AMI: $189,540
- 165% AMI: $240,570
How HPD categorizes income levels
HPD groups AMI bands into income categories:
- Extremely Low Income: 0–30% AMI.
- Very Low Income: 31–50% AMI.
- Low Income: 51–80% AMI.
- Moderate Income: 81–120% AMI.
- Middle Income: 121–165% AMI.
When you see a lottery described as a “Middle Income” project, that usually means 130% AMI or similar. “Low Income” means 80% AMI or below.
What the rent looks like
Affordable rents are roughly calibrated to 30% of the AMI-band income, adjusted for unit size. Examples from HPD’s 2025 maximum rent schedule:
- Studio at 50% AMI: $1,417/month.
- 1-bedroom at 50% AMI: $1,518/month.
- 2-bedroom at 50% AMI: $1,822/month.
- Studio at 100% AMI: $2,835/month.
- 1-bedroom at 100% AMI: $3,037/month.
- 2-bedroom at 100% AMI: $3,645/month.
Actual rents for specific lotteries can vary, but they are capped by HPD’s schedule.
How to read a lottery listing
A typical listing shows, for each available unit type:
- Monthly rent (usually before utilities).
- The target AMI band (e.g., “60% AMI”).
- The minimum income for each household size.
- The maximum income for each household size.
- Occupancy limits for each unit size (how many people can live in a studio vs. a one-bedroom, etc.).
You qualify for a specific unit type only if your household:
- Meets the occupancy rules for that unit size.
- Falls within both the minimum income floor and the maximum income ceiling for that unit.
Voucher holders (Section 8, CityFHEPS, etc.) can apply even below the minimum income floor — the voucher covers the affordability calculation.
The minimum income rule
Most HDC-financed lotteries use a “35% of annual rent” minimum income rule. Applied to the numbers: a $2,000-per-month apartment has $24,000 annual rent; the minimum income would be about $68,571.
Some market-rate listings you see outside Housing Connect advertise “40 times monthly rent” as the minimum — that is not the Housing Connect rule, and you should not apply that formula to affordable listings.
Household size and how it changes your numbers
Each additional household member raises your AMI cap by roughly 8–10%. A 3-person household qualifying at 80% AMI ($116,640) would, as a 4-person household, have a cap of about $129,600. More people in the household generally means you can earn more and still qualify, though the relationship is not linear at every band.
Some rules to be aware of:
- Unborn children can be counted with appropriate documentation (a physician’s statement is typically required).
- Households in which every member is a full-time student are generally disqualified from Section 8–funded units, with limited federal exceptions.
- Live-in aides for disabled household members typically do not count toward income but may count toward bedroom allocation.
Rent does not change if your income changes
Once you are approved and move in, your rent does not adjust year to year based on your income. Your income will be reverified annually — marketing agents are required to collect updated documentation — but the rent is what the lottery set, increased only by Rent Guidelines Board orders at lease renewal. This is different from Section 8 and public housing, where rent is explicitly 30% of adjusted income.
2026 update notes
HUD’s 2026 AMI figures were originally scheduled to release April 1, 2026, but were delayed to May 1, 2026 due to delayed U.S. Census Bureau data. As of April 2026, the 2025 numbers shown above are the current applicable figures. HUD has also adjusted asset parameters for 2026 — net family asset cap of $105,574 and imputed income asset threshold of $52,787 for Section 8 / HOTMA purposes.
AMI vs. actual NYC median income
An important context note: HUD’s AMI figure is higher than NYC’s actual median household income. The Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) has noted that in 2022, 3-person 100% AMI was $120,100 while NYC’s actual 3-person median income was about $93,643 — a 28% gap. That gap has widened over the past decade. What this means in practice: “affordable” units at 100% or 130% AMI often target households above NYC’s actual median. That is a genuine concern about how the system is calibrated, and it is worth understanding when you look at your own eligibility.
One example
Suppose you are a 3-person household with a combined annual income of $95,000. Here is what you can and cannot apply for under 2025 HPD guidelines:
- Units at 30% AMI (3-person cap $43,740): Too much income. Not eligible.
- Units at 50% AMI (3-person cap $72,900): Too much income. Not eligible.
- Units at 60% AMI (3-person cap $87,480): Still over the cap. Not eligible.
- Units at 80% AMI (3-person cap $116,640): Income fits. Check minimum income for specific unit.
- Units at 100% AMI (3-person cap $145,800): Income fits. Check minimum income.
- Units at 130% AMI (3-person cap $189,540): Income fits, but the rent will be high; check affordability yourself.
This is why household composition and income matter so much. A 3-person household at $95,000 has a meaningfully different set of options than a 2-person household at the same income.
Always verify current AMI figures against HPD’s published chart at the time you apply. Numbers change annually, and published articles may lag by months.
