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<br />What is Affordable Housing?
<br />The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines “affordable housing”
<br />as housing on which the occupant pays no more than 30% of gross income for housing costs,
<br />including utilities. “Affordable housing” also generally means housing affordable to lower-
<br />income households, with income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for rental
<br />housing developments; affordable homeownership programs more typically target households
<br />with income up to 120% of AMI.
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<br />Pursuant to State law and other requirements, affordability is classified into several brackets,
<br />defined on the basis of a household’s income as a proportion of the County AMI. Those
<br />brackets and respective income limits for Alameda County are shown in Table 1.
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<br />Table 1: Affordability and Income Limits for Alameda County, 2024
<br /> MAXIMUM ANNUAL INCOME
<br />Persons in Extremely Low Very Low Low Low Median Moderate
<br />Household (30%) (50%) (60%) (80%) (100%) (120%)
<br />1 $32,700 $54,500 $65,400 $84,600 $109,000 $130,800
<br />2 $37,400 $62,300 $74,730 $96,650 $124,550 $149,500
<br />3 $42,050 $70,100 $84,090 $108,750 $140,150 $168,150
<br />4 $46,700 $77,850 $93,420 $120,800 $155,700 $186,850
<br />5 $50,450 $84,100 $100,890 $130,500 $168,150 $201,800
<br />6 $54,200 $90,350 $108,360 $140,150 $180,600 $216,750
<br />7 $57,950 $96,550 $115,830 $149,800 $193,050 $231,700
<br />8 $61,650 $102,800 $123,300 $159,500 $205,500 $246,650
<br />*Derived from the Oakland-Fremont, CA HUD Metro Fair Market Rate (FMR) Area most recent median income
<br />level for a family of four (*). The Oakland-Fremont FMR Area includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
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<br />For rental and for-sale housing, the household income limits are used to establish the
<br />maximum “affordable” monthly rent or home sales price, taking into account various housing
<br />costs. For rental projects, housing costs include utilities and a monthly rent; for ownership
<br />projects, housing costs include the monthly mortgage payment, property taxes and insurance,
<br />and other typical costs of home ownership.
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<br />Examples of affordable maximum monthly rents are provided in Table 2, below. It is more
<br />complicated to assess maximum affordable home prices since those cover a broader range of
<br />cost factors (e.g., interest rates, insurance costs) that can vary significantly over time.
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