How to qualify for affordable housing: income and documents

To qualify for affordable housing, your household's total gross income, before taxes, has to fall under a limit that depends on how many people will live in the home. Some programs also set a minimum income, cap your savings and have a rule about students. Each program and city sets its own details.

What are the affordable housing income limits?

Limits are a share of the area's median income (the middle income in your area), and they rise with household size. HUD, the federal housing department, publishes them every year, and its 2026 numbers took effect May 1, 2026. In HUD's very low-income and low-income charts, the limit for two people is 80% of the four-person limit. For one person it is 70%, and each extra person adds more.

But there is no single limit for a city. Each building picks its own level, like 50% or 120% of the median, so limits vary a lot inside one place. Here is what we see for two people on our open listings, as of October 5, 2026:

How to read it: a listing can offer several income levels. We use the highest level a listing offers, for a two-person household. "Lowest," "Middle" (the median) and "Highest" compare those figures across the listings in each area. Many listings only say something like "up to 80% of median" with no dollar chart, so they are left out of the last four columns. For example, New York's $67,850 is the 50% level in the city's 2026 chart, and its 30% level for two people is $40,710. See what area median income means for how the percentages work.

Who counts as your household?

Everyone who will live in the home, in most programs. HUD counts income from each household member who is 18 or older, plus unearned income (money not from a job) of children under 18. San Francisco counts every adult who will live in the unit, even if someone else claims them as a dependent, and treats a fiancé or anyone who shares finances with you as part of your household. A wrong household size changes your limit, so ask a program how it defines a household before you leave out a partner or roommate.

How do programs count your income?

They use gross pay, before taxes, projected over a year. HUD's handbook says to multiply an hourly wage by the hours you'll work in a year: 2,080 for a full-time, 40-hour week with no overtime. Weekly pay is multiplied by 52, biweekly by 26, semi-monthly by 24 and monthly by 12. HUD's rule counts all money you receive unless a specific exclusion applies, and it asks agents to estimate the next 12 months.

Here's an example with made-up pay:

• $19 an hour, 40 hours, 52 weeks: $39,520
• Five hours of overtime a week at $28.50: $7,410 more
• A $2,000 yearly bonus: $2,000 more
• Yearly total: $48,930

For two people in New York, $39,520 is under the $40,710 limit at 30% of the median, and $48,930 is over it, though still under the $67,850 limit at 50%. A few extra hours can change which homes you can apply for. Programs treat extra pay differently. San Francisco counts overtime, tips, bonuses and commissions as if they will repeat all year unless your employer documents that the pay was a one-time event, so be ready to explain it.

The method differs too. New York's handbook has agents work out income two ways, by projecting your year-to-date pay and by averaging recent pay stubs, then take the higher result. If your stubs show a raise or a cut, they use the amount that reflects your pay now. San Francisco's rental rules use current income and the greater of two pay stub methods. Freelancers are counted on net income after business expenses.

Is there a minimum income?

Often, yes. Many listings set a floor so the rent isn't too big a share of your pay. Of the 359 open rentals on Fair Shot Housing that list both a starting rent and a minimum income, the middle one asks for 2.5 times its yearly rent. That lets rent take up to 40% of income. New York's own guide says affordable means about a third of income or less. In New York, renters with a housing voucher are exempt from advertised minimums when the voucher's payment standard (the most it will pay toward rent) covers the advertised rent, though they still have to be under the maximum income.

Do savings and assets count?

Sometimes, and the rules differ more here than anywhere.

• New York City: for rentals, the savings cap equals the four-person income limit at the unit's level, from $50,880 for 30% units to $296,800 for 175% units, as of May 1, 2026. Designated retirement and college savings accounts don't count toward the cap, but their earnings count as income.
• San Francisco: for rentals, the first $60,000 of liquid assets (cash and money you can get at quickly) is ignored and 10% of the rest is added to your income.
• HUD programs: actual income from savings counts. When net assets pass $50,000, adjusted yearly for inflation ($52,787 for 2026), HUD adds an estimated return, at a 0.4% savings rate in 2026, if real earnings can't be figured. HUD won't require housing authorities to follow every part of this 2024 rule until January 1, 2027, so ask which version applies.

Can students qualify?

Usually yes, but not if everyone in the household is a full-time student. The federal tax-credit rule, which covers buildings whose owners got a tax break for keeping rents low, treats a unit as off limits when all its occupants are full-time students, with exceptions. Those include married students who file jointly, single parents with children who aren't someone else's dependents, students getting certain public assistance, young adults who were in foster care, and people in some job training programs. New York asks every adult in tax-credit units to sign a student status form. San Francisco allows more exceptions, including households with a veteran. HUD doesn't count grants or scholarships from governments, schools, nonprofits or businesses up to the cost of tuition, books, room and board and required fees.

What documents will you need?

Expect to prove everything you listed. In New York, agents ask each working adult for two recent pay stubs, or four if paid weekly. You can also give tax returns, W-2s (tax forms from an employer), 1099s (tax forms for freelance pay), and an employer form that lists salary, overtime and bonuses. You'll also show ID and either a credit check or proof of your last 12 months of rent. Keep copies in one folder so you can answer fast.

Do the rules change by program and city?

Yes, a lot. A tax-credit building can use a different HUD limit chart than a voucher program. Immigration status shows how far they differ. HUD voucher and public housing programs require citizenship or eligible status, while New York City-assisted projects can't ask. Read each listing's rules, then call the program with questions.

To see which open homes fit your household, use the free check at /qualify, or browse the open listings we have. Our guides to income-restricted apartments and the New York City housing lottery cover the next steps.