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 the Housing Choice Voucher program, public housing, and properties financed with low-income housing tax credits and tax-exempt housing bonds. Miami-Dade County specifically uses AMI for programs like the Infill Housing Initiative, Workforce Housing Administration, and others. The current HUD methodology, based on Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) data with inflation adjustments, has potential shortcomings, especially in areas with high costs of living or inflation rates. The report will assess the current methodology's benefits and shortcomings, estimate the number of households facing barriers to affordable housing due to the current AMI calculation, compare HUD's AMI with other reliable estimates, and evaluate alternative methodologies such as using a wage index, median weekly earnings, or different time frames and geographic data. As of May 2026, the AMI for Miami-Dade County is $89,800 for all families and $136,200 for a family of four.