The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program requires that each CDBG funded activity must either principally benefit low- and moderate-income persons, aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or meet a community development need having a particular urgency. With respect to activities that benefit all the residents of a given area, at least 51 percent of the area’s residents must be low and moderate income.
The Office of Community Planning and Development provides estimates of the number of persons that can be considered Low, Low to Moderate, and Low, Moderate, and Medium income persons according to annually revised income limits. Data are provided at the Census Bureau's Geographic Summary Level "150": State-County-County Subdivision-Census Tract-Block Group. The statistical information used in the calculation of estimates identified in the data sets linked to the right comes from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS). ACS data are used with Income Limits for Metropolitan Areas and for Non Metropolitan Counties prepared by the Department's Office of Policy Development and Research to calculate the Low to Moderate Income Summary Data (LMISD). The Bureau of Census matches the income limits to the ACS surveys in a special tabulation in order to produce the estimates.
Estimates are provided at three income levels: Low Income (50 percent); Moderate Income (80 percent), and Medium Income (120 percent). Additional Summary levels are also made available for city, town, county and Census Designated Places and Census Civil Divisions. Each block group record has an identification section containing Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) codes and names for the block group, census tract, county and state, plus the name, type, and the HUD Unit-of-Government-Identification-Code for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grantee with jurisdiction over the block group area for FY 2016.
Questions about the calculation of the estimates may be directed to Formula Help Desk.
Questions about the use of the data should be directed to the staff of the CPD Field Office.