What is the AMI for San Diego CA
Executive summary
San Diego’s 2025 Area Median Income (AMI) is reported as $130,800 by the San Diego Housing Commission’s HUD-adjusted materials; city redevelopment documents and county tools use HUD-adjusted AMI limits and family-size multipliers to derive 30%/50%/80% thresholds for program eligibility [1] [2] [3]. Local outlets and some city materials cite earlier figures near $119,500–$120,000 for a family of four in prior years, reflecting year-to-year changes and different reporting bases [4] [5].
1. What “the AMI” number means for San Diego today
When people ask “What is the AMI for San Diego?” they usually mean the HUD-defined Area Median Income used to set eligibility for affordable housing and subsidy programs; the most recent documents in this search list the 2025 San Diego median income as $130,800 and present income limits and rent charts derived from that figure [1] [2]. Those HUD-adjusted limits are then converted into program thresholds — for example, 30%, 50%, 60%, 80%, 100% and 120% of AMI — which determine who qualifies for deed-restricted units, density bonuses, or assistance programs [3] [6].
2. How local agencies present AMI and apply it to rents and eligibility
City and county planning and housing handbooks do not simply publish one number; they use the HUD median as the starting point and then publish detailed rent and income charts by household size, program type, and AMI percentage. San Diego redevelopment guidance, the SDHC charts and County pages convert the $130,800 median into income limits and “affordable rent” amounts (typically calculated as 30% of adjusted household income) for specific household sizes and program rules [2] [3] [7].
3. Apparent discrepancies in reporting and why they exist
Local news stories and some municipal communications cite earlier or slightly different AMI figures — for example, 2024-era references show a $119,500 or $120,000 AMI for a four-person household — creating potential confusion [4] [5]. Those differences reflect year-to-year HUD adjustments, updates to which agency is reporting (city, county, or SDHC), and sometimes whether the figure cited is the overall median or the median for a specific household size or metropolitan statistical area used for certain programs [1] [3].
4. Practical implications for renters, developers and program applicants
A stated AMI number matters because eligibility bands (e.g., “household must be under 60% AMI to avoid falling into the 60–80% category per SB 341”) influence how federal, state and local funding and restrictions are applied to projects; the redevelopment guidance explicitly warns that units must be restricted below certain AMI percentages to meet funding rules [3]. Affordable-rent calculations in city charts are commonly done as 30% of median-derived incomes, and SDHC and county programs use the HUD-adjusted AMI to screen applicants and set loan or subsidy limits [3] [2] [8].
5. Competing viewpoints and potential hidden agendas
Official housing agencies emphasizing the higher $130,800 2025 median may be doing so to more precisely align with HUD’s high-cost area adjustments and program compliance [1]. Local advocates and media citing lower earlier medians (around $119,500–$120,000) highlight affordability pressures on workers and may use headline numbers that resonate politically with readers; both frames are accurate in context but serve different communications aims [4] [5].
6. What to check next if you need to act on AMI
If you are applying for housing, subsidies, or a development bonus, use the agency-specific 2025 income and rent charts published by SDHC, the City of San Diego redevelopment attachments, or the County AMI pages to find the correct income limits by household size and program [2] [3] [8]. These documents explicitly translate the HUD median into the limits programs apply; the SDHC and city redevelopment PDFs cited here are the authoritative program references [2] [3].
Limitations: available sources do not mention a single, universally quoted “AMI for San Diego” beyond the HUD-adjusted 2025 median of $130,800 and prior-year figures cited by local outlets; always confirm which agency’s chart governs the specific program you’re dealing with [1] [4].