Households earning $117K now considered ‘low income’ in San Francisco Bay Area

Households earning $117,000 a year now qualify as “low income” in three California counties, according to new federal data.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released new data on income nationwide this week. Analysis from multiple news outlets reveals that in three Bay Area counties, the low income limit is set at $117,400.

In San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties, the median family income is $118,400. For a one-person household, $82,200 is the threshold to be considered low income.

{mosads}Ken Cole, the director of the San Mateo County Department of Housing, told San Francisco’s local CBS affiliate that the number was a 10 percent increase from the previous year.

“That kind of shocks you,” Cole said. “How is that possibly poverty by anybody’s measure? But it actually is for a family of four in our area.”

The HUD data shows that the median price for a single-family home in the area is $935,000, a 64 percent increase since 2013, according to CBS News.

Many have credited the increase to the influx of highly paid tech workers to the area, which has driven up home prices.

The HUD data comes days after another report revealed that workers earning minimum wage cannot afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.