What is AMI?
The three letters behind every affordable apartment in New York City.
The short version
AMI stands for Area Median Income. It is the median household income for the New York City metro area, calculated and released every year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Nearly every affordable apartment in NYC, lottery or re-rental, uses your household income as a percentage of AMI to decide whether you qualify and what rent you pay.
When a listing says "60% AMI," it means the unit is reserved for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. The lower the percentage, the lower the rent, and the lower the income you need to qualify.
The income bands
HPD groups AMI percentages into bands. These are the ones you will see on listings:
- Extremely low income: 0 to 30% of AMI
- Very low income: 31 to 50% of AMI
- Low income: 51 to 80% of AMI
- Moderate income: 81 to 120% of AMI
- Middle income: 121 to 165% of AMI
A single building usually mixes bands. That is why two neighbors can pay very different rents for similar apartments: one household qualified at 40% AMI, the other at 130% AMI, and each band has its own rent.
Why household size matters
AMI is not one number. HUD publishes income limits for each AMI percentage by household size, because a single person and a family of four need different incomes to land at the same percentage. A "60% AMI" limit for one person is lower than the "60% AMI" limit for four people.
This is why every listing asks for your household size. Your income might qualify you at 60% AMI as a household of two but not as a household of one, or the other way around. When you check a listing, always match your income against the row for your household size.
How rents are set from AMI
Housing is generally considered affordable when it costs about one-third or less of household income, and HPD publishes maximum affordable rents for each AMI percentage and apartment size every year. A unit's rent is capped at that maximum, and the exact rent can vary by program. The key point: the rent on an affordable unit is tied to the AMI band, not to whatever the market would pay. That is what makes it below market, by design.
Because rents are regulated this way, they also cannot jump dramatically year to year the way market rents can.
What AMI does not do
- It does not guarantee you a unit. It only sets the income range that can apply for one.
- It does not include assets. Programs also check asset limits and other tenant selection criteria, and you must be at least 18 to apply.
- It is not the same as your tax bracket or any city poverty line. It is its own scale, rebuilt by HUD every year.
The official numbers change annually. For the current income limits and maximum rents, see HPD's Area Median Income page and the Do You Qualify page.
How AMI shows up on ReRentalAlert
Every listing on this site carries its AMI band, and our filters let you match listings against your household size and income, so you only see units you could qualify for. Read how re-rentals work next, or browse current listings.
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