AMI & Affordability

Who is Affordable Housing Affordable for?

Since people's incomes vary, "affordability" looks different to different people.

So, when housing is considered affordable, it might be affordable to people with higher incomes, but expensive for people with lower incomes.

AMI Definition

Area Median Income (AMI) is the average income level within a particular region, where half the households in the area make more and half the households make less. AMI is usually based on household income before taxes. For most purposes, conversations about AMI use the AMI for 4-person households.

All housing programs use the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development's (HUD's) standards to determine average incomes within metro areas across the country.

"Market rate" housing prices usually align within or above AMI. Anything below "market rate" can be considered affordable because it accommodates incomes that are below the AMI.

HOWEVER,

 There is a WIDE range of household incomes that fall below the AMI.

The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metro area's AMI in 2024 was $112,100.

So, even though 80% AMI is technically "below average," households at this income level can afford a lot more than households at 30% AMI.

Who is Affordable Housing Affordable for?

To answer this question, the chart below breaks down how affordable rent differs across income levels.

Affordable Housing is for EVERYONE! Where do you fall on this chart? Think about a time when you made less money than you do now; What would have been affordable for you then?

New housing developments with affordable unites will describe who they're affordable for by using AMI. Currently, Evanston's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requires units to be affordable to those at 60% of the AMI.

Based on the information in the chart, we can now understand that 60% AMI means "for people with an annual income of at least $67,280."

Unfortunately, if households make less than that amount, it is very difficult to find housing that is affordable to them. This forces people to spend more than 30% of their income on housing making them housing cost burdened.