Area median income by county, and what sitting under it is worth
Qualifying income for everyone on the loan, before tax.
Add a loan amount to see it in dollars.
100% of area median · Travis County, TX
$134,400
80% is $107,520
2026 figures · not adjusted for household size
Your $90,000 is 67% of area median
HomeReady and Home Possible
3% down, reduced mortgage insurance, and no loan-level price adjustments.
Price adjustments waived
$3,000
0.750 points at 740+ credit and 90% LTV (85.01–90%)
This is what Fannie would otherwise charge and does not, for a first-time buyer at or under area median on a principal residence. It is a price adjustment, not a rate — what it is worth to you depends on the day's pricing. See today's rates →
HomeReady / Home Possible
3% down and mortgage insurance below the standard card
80% AMI
First-time buyer price-adjustment waiver
Fannie waives every loan-level price adjustment
100% AMI
FHFA 2026 Area Median Income File (MI2026). Programme eligibility depends on more than income — occupancy, property type and first-time buyer status all apply. Or start an application →
Altgage Inc. NMLS #2447252 | 100 Cambridge St, Floor 14, Boston, MA 02114|Area median income is the midpoint for a metropolitan area: half of households earn more, half earn less. It is not a national number and it is not your neighbourhood’s number — it is the whole metro’s, which is why the same $95,000 can sit comfortably under the limit in one county and above it in the next one over.
Two thresholds carry money on a conventional loan, and they do different things.
At or under 80% opens HomeReady and Home Possible: 3% down, mortgage insurance at a reduced rate rather than the standard card, and no loan-level price adjustments. The reduced MI is the part people underestimate — it runs well below standard coverage at the same loan-to-value, and unlike the rate benefit it shows up every month until the policy cancels.
At or under 100%, a first-time buyer has every loan-level price adjustment waived. Those adjustments are the risk-based surcharges set by credit score and down payment, and they are priced into the rate you get quoted rather than itemised, so a borrower rarely sees what they are paying. Removing them is worth real money on a conventional loan.
Neither applies to FHA or VA. Those programmes are not priced with loan-level adjustments, so there is nothing for a waiver to waive — an FHA quote advertising an area-median discount is inventing one.
Counting the wrong income. The test is qualifying income for the people on the loan, not household income. A parent or partner who contributes to the bills but is not on the application does not count against the limit — and leaving them off is sometimes what brings a borrower under it. The reverse trap is counting bonus or self-employment income the lender cannot document, which inflates the figure against a limit it was never going to clear.
Working from a stale table. The figures are published annually in June and they move more than people expect. Between the 2024 and 2026 tables the median county rose about 9%, and at a $90,000 income more than six hundred counties changed from ineligible to eligible. A borrower told “no” eighteen months ago may be a yes now, on the same income. The vintage is printed beside the figure above for that reason.
AMI is area median income — the midpoint income for the metropolitan area or county a home sits in, published annually by federal agencies. Half of households in the area earn more and half earn less. It is the yardstick most affordable-lending programmes measure a borrower against, which is why the same income can qualify in one county and not the next.
It means a household income at or under 80% of the area median. That is the income limit for Fannie Mae’s HomeReady and Freddie Mac’s Home Possible, which allow 3% down, charge reduced mortgage insurance, and waive loan-level price adjustments. On a $134,400 area median, 80% is $107,520.
Not for these programmes. HUD publishes limits adjusted by household size for rental and voucher programmes, but Fannie and Freddie test qualifying income against the flat area figure, so a single borrower and a family of five face the same threshold. The figure on this page is the flat one, which is the one the mortgage programmes use.
Qualifying income for everyone who will be on the loan — the same income the lender uses to underwrite. Income from household members who are not on the loan is generally excluded, which is a common and expensive misunderstanding. Bonus, overtime and self-employment income count only to the extent the lender can document a history of them.
For a first-time buyer, Fannie Mae waives every loan-level price adjustment — the risk-based surcharges normally set by credit score and down payment. Those adjustments are priced into the rate you are quoted, so removing them is worth real money on a conventional loan. It applies to a principal residence, and it does not apply to FHA or VA loans, which have no loan-level price adjustments to waive.
Annually, published in June. The change is not always small: between the 2024 and 2026 figures the median county moved about 9%, and at a $90,000 income more than 600 counties changed from ineligible to eligible. A calculator showing a stale table is showing a stale eligibility answer, which is why the vintage is printed beside the figure here.
The county is enough almost everywhere. Area median income is set for a metropolitan area, so every census tract in a county shares one figure — with one real exception: Connecticut, where limits are set by planning region and the regions cut across the old county lines. For a Connecticut address, check the specific property before relying on the county figure.