What is the current area median income for san diego county 2025?
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Executive summary
HUD and local housing agencies list San Diego County’s 2025 Area Median Income (AMI) for a family of four as $130,800 (AMI documents and charts published by the San Diego Housing Commission/HUD) [1] [2]. Other measures of “median household income” from Census-based sources show different numbers (roughly $102k–$104k for recent years), reflecting different definitions and data sources [3] [4].
1. What HUD and local housing agencies report — the official 2025 AMI used for housing programs
The HUD-adjusted AMI widely cited for San Diego County in 2025 is $130,800 for a family of four; that figure appears in the San Diego Housing Commission’s published AMI and income-limit charts derived from HUD guidance [1] [2]. Those materials are the ones housing providers, subsidy programs and many local reports use to set income thresholds (very low, low, extremely low income categories) and to calculate rent limits and program eligibility [2].
2. Why the HUD AMI differs from census “median household income” numbers
AMI (Area Median Income) is a HUD construct that starts from a median-family-income estimate and is adjusted for household size and, in high-cost areas like San Diego, further altered for housing costs — producing a higher “AMI” used for program rules [2]. By contrast, Census-based median household income estimates (e.g., $102,285 in 2023 or similar city/county metrics) measure the median of actual household incomes and are produced by different surveys and methodology [3] [4]. Both are valid but answer different policy questions [2] [3].
3. How media and local reports interpret the AMI — examples and potential confusion
Local media and state reports often translate the AMI into what counts as “low income” in the region. For example, reporting cited that for a family of four the 2025 AMI is $130,800 and that single-person thresholds in some local classifications approach six figures — a framing that can surprise readers but follows from HUD-derived AMI and state income limit usage [5] [1]. This linkage between AMI and everyday labels like “low income” is a frequent source of public confusion because AMI is a policy benchmark, not a description of the typical household’s earnings [5] [1].
4. Practical implications for renters, developers and policymakers
Programs that use HUD AMI set income cutoffs (e.g., 30%, 50%, 80% of AMI) and rent limits tied to those cutoffs; with a 2025 AMI of $130,800 for a four-person family, thresholds and rents in subsidy programs are calibrated accordingly [2] [1]. Developers, nonprofits and county agencies refer to these exact charts when qualifying applicants and setting affordable-unit rents, so the HUD AMI has real-world consequences even if it diverges from census medians [2].
5. Alternative data points and broader economic context
Separate economic indicators show lower median household incomes for the county: Census-related and research sites report median household income figures in the roughly $102k–$104k range for recent years, reflecting household-level distributions rather than HUD’s AMI adjustments [3] [4] [6]. Data aggregators and living-wage calculators use a range of sources — demonstrating there is no single “one-size-fits-all” income number for San Diego [7] [6].
6. What the available sources do not mention (limitations and open questions)
Available sources do not mention any HUD announcement changing the $130,800 AMI for San Diego after the cited 2025 charts, and they do not provide a single harmonized 2025 “median household income” number that matches the HUD AMI definition (not found in current reporting). They also do not give a county-wide timeline showing how HUD’s AMI evolved year-by-year within these documents (not found in current reporting) [1] [2] [3].
7. Bottom line for readers who asked “what is the 2025 AMI for San Diego County?”
Use $130,800 for a family of four when the question is specifically about HUD/AMI for San Diego County in 2025 and when dealing with housing program eligibility or rent limits [1] [2]. If you mean “median household income” as commonly reported by Census surveys, use the Census-derived estimates (roughly $102k–$104k in recent reporting) and be explicit about which metric you intend to cite [3] [4] [6].
If you want, I can pull the specific AMI table rows (e.g., 1–5 person income limits at 30%/50%/80%/100% AMI) from the SDHC/HUD PDF and summarize the numeric thresholds used for eligibility.