Section 8 income limits for 2026: the 30%, 50% and 80% tiers

To qualify for Section 8, your household's yearly income must usually be at or under the "very low income" limit for your county. These Section 8 income limits are set each year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the federal housing department. In 2026, that limit for a family of four is $45,700 in Jackson, Mississippi and $82,200 in Seattle.

Here Section 8 means the Housing Choice Voucher, which pays part of the rent on an apartment you find yourself. A Section 8 building uses a different limit, the 80% one.

What are the Section 8 income limits?

For each county or metro area, HUD publishes three income limits, at 30%, 50% and 80%, for each household size from one to eight people. Your household qualifies for a tier if its yearly income before taxes is at or under that tier's limit.

The area median income is the middle income in your area: half of the families there earn more, and half earn less. HUD often moves a limit up or down from the plain percentage, where incomes or housing costs are unusual, so always read the published number. Our guide to what area median income means shows how HUD works it out.

What do the 30%, 50% and 80% tiers mean for Section 8?

The 50% limit decides who can get a voucher. HUD's rule on who can get a voucher says an applicant must usually be at or under the very low income limit.

The 30% limit decides who gets most of the new vouchers. Each year, at least 75% of the families a housing office gives new vouchers to from its waitlist must be at or under the extremely low income limit. A waitlist is the line of people waiting for a voucher. The rule counts only that year's new vouchers, not every family the office already serves. HUD can approve a lower share.

Say your income is 45% of the median. You qualify, but families like yours can get at most a quarter of that year's new vouchers. A preference, a rule that moves certain groups up the list, can also change your place in line. Being under the 30% limit does not put you at the top on its own.

The 80% limit matters for other kinds of housing. Many income-restricted apartments use it, as our guide to what counts as low income explains. So does a Section 8 building, a privately owned building where the government pays part of the rent for its tenants. Under the federal rule for these buildings, households up to the 80% limit can rent there, but most apartments go to households under the 50% limit. At least 40% of the apartments that come free each year go to households under the 30% limit.

What are the 2026 limits in eight areas?

HUD's 2026 income limits for eight areas are below. The last column is the 50% limit for one person. The other limits are for a family of four.

The same tier means different dollars. A family of four at the 50% limit can earn $45,700 in Jackson and $82,200 in Seattle.

A limit is often not the plain percentage of the median. In Jackson, 30% of $91,400 is $27,420, but the limit is $33,000, because the poverty guideline is higher there. In Denver, the 80% limit for four people is $106,800, well under 80% of $144,000. In these eight areas the 50% limit is exactly half the median, but not everywhere. In New York City, HUD's median is $104,300, while its 50% limit for four people is $84,800, because HUD raises limits where housing costs are high.

A worked check: three people in Allegheny County

HUD's 2026 limits for one to five people in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which includes Pittsburgh:

Now test three households of three people:

• Household A earns $28,000. That is under $29,800, so it is extremely low income. It qualifies, and it is in the group that gets at least 75% of new vouchers.
• Household B earns $42,000. That is over $29,800 and under $49,700. It is very low income, so it qualifies, but it is not in the 30% group.
• Household C earns $60,000. That is over $49,700 and under $79,500. It is low income, and under the usual rule it can't get a voucher. It could still rent in a Section 8 building.

Meeting the limit gets you on a list. It does not guarantee a voucher, as our Section 8 requirements guide explains.

How is your income counted?

HUD's rule on what counts as income counts money before taxes from all sources for each household member who is 18 or older. It doesn't count the pay that children under 18 earn from work, but it does count some of their other income. Some kinds of income don't count, and the list is long, so ask the housing office about yours.

The housing office checks your income within 60 days before it gives you a voucher, as HUD's voucher rule requires. So if your pay changes during a long wait, the income that counts is the one checked just before you get the voucher.

What if you earn a little over the limit?

For most applicants, the 50% limit is firm. HUD's voucher rule lets a housing office give a voucher to a household at or under the 80% limit in a few cases:

• households already living in public housing, where the housing office is the landlord, or in a Section 8 building when they get the voucher;
• households that meet extra rules the housing office has written into its own plan;
• a few special cases, such as families who have to move when an owner leaves a federal program.

Ask each housing office whether it has such rules. If you are over the limit, look at Section 8 buildings. Also look at lotteries and waitlists for income-restricted apartments, which often go up to 60% or 80% of the area median income. Our qualify check tests you against those too.

How do you find your own county's limit?

Open HUD's income limits page, choose the 2026 data, pick your state and county, and read the row for your household size. When the housing office picks you, it uses the highest limit among the areas it covers. When you first rent with the voucher, your income must be under the limit for the area where the apartment is. Our Section 8 application guide lists the steps to apply.

Where can you apply?

Apply to your housing office's Section 8 waitlist. Many area-wide waitlists, which are lists for a whole city or county run by a housing office, are for Section 8 vouchers, and applying is free. Our guide to open Section 8 waitlists explains how lists open and close. To estimate what you would pay with a voucher, try our Section 8 calculator. For Allegheny County, see the Pennsylvania page, and for other open homes, see the listings page.