What Is Considered Low Income in Santa Clara County?

In Santa Clara County, a household is considered low income in 2025 if it earns up to 80% of the Area Median Income — $111,700 for one person and $159,550 for a family of four.¹ Those figures look high for anywhere else in the country, but they reflect what housing actually costs in Silicon Valley. Deeper levels of assistance kick in at lower tiers: very low income at roughly 50% of AMI, extremely low income at about 30%.²

The Number Every Limit Is Built From

Each income cutoff in the county traces back to one figure: the Area Median Income. For 2025, the California Department of Housing and Community Development set the AMI for a four-person household in Santa Clara County at $195,200.³ Half of local households earn more than that, half earn less. HCD recalculates the AMI each spring using HUD’s updated median family income estimates for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metropolitan Statistical Area, which captures the economic conditions specific to this region.

Every income-restricted program in the county then measures eligibility as a percentage of that AMI. The tiers break down roughly like this:²

Acutely Low Income: 0 to 15% of AMI
Extremely Low Income: 15 to 30% of AMI
Very Low Income: 30 to 50% of AMI
Lower Income: 50 to 80% of AMI (sometimes used to mean 0 to 80%)
Moderate Income: 80 to 120% of AMI

When people say “low income” in everyday conversation, they usually mean the Lower Income tier at or below 80% of AMI. That’s the threshold most affordable housing programs use.

2025 Income Limits by Household Size

The actual dollar cutoff depends on how many people live in your household. Larger families get higher limits because they face higher living costs. The 2025 numbers below are the most current published; HCD had not released 2026 limits at the time of publication.⁴¹

Low Income — About 80% of AMI

1 person: $111,700
2 persons: $127,650
3 persons: $143,600
4 persons: $159,550
5 persons: $172,350
6 persons: $185,100
7 persons: $197,850
8 persons: $210,650

Very Low Income — About 50% of AMI

1 person: $70,350
2 persons: $80,400
3 persons: $90,450
4 persons: $100,450
5 persons: $108,500
6 persons: $116,550
7 persons: $124,600
8 persons: $132,600

Extremely Low Income — About 30% of AMI

1 person: $42,200
2 persons: $48,200
3 persons: $54,250
4 persons: $60,250
5 persons: $65,100
6 persons: $69,900
7 persons: $74,750
8 persons: $79,550

Each person added past four bumps the limit by a fixed percentage, which is why the step from one person to four is much bigger than the step from four to five.

Why the Limits Look So High

Earning $111,700 as a single person and still counting as low income surprises most people. The reason is simply what housing costs here. HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area for fiscal year 2026 is $3,483 per month, with a one-bedroom at $2,982.⁵ A household with a six-figure income can still spend most of its take-home pay on rent.

HUD uses a specific adjustment to keep income limits from falling too low in expensive areas. If 35% of the very low income limit would come in below 85% of the annualized two-bedroom Fair Market Rent, HUD raises the limit.⁶ HCD then layers its own state-level calculations on top. The limits end up high in absolute dollars but reflect the real gap between local wages and local rents.

What Qualifying Unlocks

Hitting one of these tiers opens the door to several housing programs. Which program you can access depends on which tier you fall into.

Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8): federal rental assistance run by the Santa Clara County Housing Authority. Voucher holders pay roughly 30% of adjusted income toward rent, and the voucher covers the rest up to the payment standard. Eligibility uses the Very Low Income limit.⁷
Below Market Rate rental and ownership units: housing that developers set aside at restricted prices, often in exchange for density bonuses. California’s density bonus law requires those units to stay restricted at the very low, low, or moderate income tiers for at least 55 years. Eligibility is commonly set at the 80% AMI threshold.
BMR Partnership Program: the county’s homeownership assistance program. You must earn 80% of AMI or less, and in many cases must be a first-time homebuyer (no home ownership in the past three years).¹
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties: rental developments financed under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, which use the same AMI-based limits to decide who can rent and what rents can be charged.³

Programs like CalFresh use separate federal poverty-based thresholds, not these AMI numbers, so qualifying for one doesn’t automatically mean qualifying for the other.

How Household Size and Income Are Counted

Household size means everyone who will live in the unit, not just the people earning money. A family of four with one working adult is measured against the four-person limit, which works in the applicant’s favor because the ceiling is higher.

Programs count gross income — pre-tax wages, salaries, self-employment income, Social Security, pensions, and most other recurring income — for every household member age 18 or older.¹ Everyone’s income gets added together, and the total is compared to the limit for your household size.⁸ For HUD-administered programs, earned income from full-time dependent students is excluded up to $500 per year.

Income Isn’t the Only Test for Federal Programs

Even if your income fits the limits above, federally funded rental assistance like Section 8 adds an asset check. Under the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, net household assets cannot exceed $100,000, and you cannot own real property suitable for use as a residence. If your net assets come in at $50,000 or less (adjusted for inflation), the housing authority or property owner can accept a self-certification without further verification. New applicants have to meet the asset limits; there’s no discretion to waive them.

1
County of Santa Clara. Below Market Rate Partnership Program
2
California Department of Housing and Community Development. Income Limits
3
California Department of Housing and Community Development. 2025 State Income Limits Briefing Materials
4
HUD User. FY 2025 Section 8 Income Limits
5
HUD User. FY 2026 Schedule of Fair Market Rents
6
HUD User. Methodology for Determining FY 2025 Section 8 Income Limits
7
Santa Clara County Housing Authority. SCCHA Applicant Portal
8
Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 25 Section 6932 – 2025 Income Limits