What Qualifies As Low Income On Long Island

It's no secret Long Island is more expensive than other areas, but how much more expensive is it?

If your family's income is less than six figures and you are living on Long Island, you are below the median family income, according to Department of Housing and Human Development (HUD) data that was released earlier this month.

The 2017 median family income is estimated to be $110,800 in Nassau and Suffolk counties, which is way above the national average of $68,000, according to HUD. And things aren't getting any easier; the national average of median family income has gone up 3.5 percent from 2016 to 2017.

If you have a salary that seems high in other places of the country, you might still qualify for Section 8 subsidized housing vouchers in Nassau County or Suffolk County.

For example, a family of four making $81,000 a year can qualify as low income in this area, data reports.

HUD divides low incomes up into three categories:

• Low income— 80 percent of the median income for the area
• Very low— 50 percent of the median income for the area
• Extremely low— which is defined by Vox.com as 30 percent of the median income or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater.

Here's what qualifies as low income in Nassau County and Suffolk County:

A 7-person family on Long Island that makes a six-figure salary, or less than $100,450, can be considered low income.

It should come as no surprise that the 2017 state low-income limit for New York is much lower than what qualifies as low income on Long Island. The state limit is $41,100 for a 1-person family and $58,700 for a 4-person family.

In fact, low-income rates are higher in Nassau and Suffolk than in New York City and any other part of the state. A 1-person family in New York needs to make $53,450 to qualify as low income.

Maybe it's time to flee the state to somewhere warmer. Mississippi has the lowest state low-income limit. There, the limit is $29,000 for a 1-person family and $41,450 for a 4-person family.

• To see if you qualify as low income, use Vox's tool found in this story.

To make things a bit more bleak: just because you qualify as low income doesn't mean you are guaranteed public housing, Vox reports.

On the bright side, at least Long Island isn't as expensive as San Francisco. A 4-person family there can make $105,350 per year and still qualify as low income.

Image via Shutterstock