State housing officials raised Orange County’s 2026 low-income limit by nearly $10,000 from last year’s cutoff.
A single person earning $104,200 a year in Orange County, California, now falls under the state’s “low income” category for 2026, after the California Department of Housing and Community Development updated income limits used by designated affordable-housing programs effective May 29.
“Unlike much of the rest of California, Orange County has not been hemorrhaging residents,” UC Irvine School of Social Ecology Dean Jon Gould said after a 2024 county poll. “However, there is a strong storm brewing off our coast in which more than 1/3 of residents are actively considering leaving the OC.”
The new threshold marks a $9,450 increase from the 2025 low-income cutoff of $94,750 for a one-person household. HCD’s 2026 table lists Orange County’s area median income at $138,600 and sets the county’s one-person median income at $97,000, meaning the low-income limit for a single resident is higher than the county’s one-person median-income figure.
The state housing department said the annual tables are used to determine who qualifies for some income-restricted housing and local assistance programs, though program rules can vary.
“State Income Limits apply to designated programs, are used to determine applicant eligibility (based on the level of household income), and may be used to calculate affordable housing costs for applicable housing assistance programs,” HCD said in its 2026 filing.
HCD said the figures are tied to federal housing calculations and state adjustments, including area housing-cost conditions and family size. The agency’s briefing materials said the “low-income” category does not always track a simple percentage of median family income.
“This can result in low-income limits exceeding MFI in certain counties,” HCD said.
Homeownership remained out of reach for most Orange County households even as statewide affordability improved in early 2026. The California Association of Realtors said 16% of Orange County households could afford a median-priced, existing single-family home in the first quarter, when the median home price was $1,442,930 and the minimum qualifying income was $350,400.
“Despite improvements from a year ago, housing affordability remains low and continues to pose challenges for both buyers and sellers in many counties in California,” C.A.R. said.
The pressure has also shown up in polling. UC Irvine’s 2024 poll found 51% of Orange County residents were “potential leavers,” with high housing costs and the broader cost of living cited as the main reasons.
“Half of renters and one out of five homeowners said that, over the last year, they had been worried about being able to cover their housing payments,” Gould said. “Unless county leaders take decisive action soon, this brewing storm threatens our future.”
Population data showed the region was already losing residents. The Census Bureau’s 2025 county estimates showed Orange County dropped from 3,158,027 residents in 2024 to 3,149,507 in 2025, while neighboring Los Angeles County posted the largest numeric decline in the nation, losing about 54,000 residents.
“With fewer gains from international migration, these types of counties saw their population growth diminish or even turn into loss,” Census Bureau demographer George M. Hayward said.
