METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATING AMI AND RENT LEVELS

Board of County Commissioners · 2026-07-21 · resolution

Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) is directing the County Mayor or designee to provide a written report assessing the methodology used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to calculate Area Median Income (AMI) for Miami-Dade County, and to explore potential alternative methods. The report is due within 90 days of the resolution's effective date. The AMI is crucial for determining eligibility for various housing programs, including Section 8, public housing, low-income housing tax credits, and local initiatives like the Infill Housing Initiative and Workforce Housing Administration. The current HUD methodology uses Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) data, with potential adjustments for inflation and reliability. Concerns exist that the AMI may be inaccurate due to lags in data collection and varying income growth rates. The resolution specifically requests an assessment of how the current methodology impacts low-income households and a comparison with alternative methods such as using a wage index or median weekly earnings data. The AMI for Miami-Dade County as of May 2026 is $89,800 for all families and $136,200 for a family of four. The Housing Committee forwarded this item to the BCC with a favorable recommendation.