FY2026 Household Income Increases for Nantucket County

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released its FY 2026 Income Limits, which help determine eligibility for rental and homeownership opportunities on Nantucket and in communities across the country. Because these limits are set by county, Nantucket’s data reflects the island’s high cost market and helps ensure local housing programs remain responsive to the needs of the year-round community.

HUD income limits are organized by household size and percentage of Area Median Income (AMI), and are used to establish eligibility for affordable rentals, homeownership opportunities, and housing assistance programs.

While Nantucket County’s FY 2026 Median Family Income (MFI) decreased slightly from the prior year, the household size income limits increased across several key categories. This reflects HUD’s broader methodology, which incorporates factors beyond the headline MFI figure, including household size adjustments, regional housing costs, poverty guidelines, and limits on how dramatically income thresholds may rise or fall year to year.

For Housing Nantucket’s work, these distinctions are important. Traditional affordable housing programs often rely on the 80% AMI limits established by HUD and the state. Locally tailored workforce housing programs serving households at higher AMI levels, such as 175% or 240% AMI, are frequently calculated using HUD’s 50% AMI figures as the baseline for determining local eligibility thresholds. Meanwhile, Housing Nantucket’s Covenant Program, which serves households earning up to 150% AMI, uses the published Median Family Income figure as its basis for calculating eligibility and Maximum Sales Price.

These numbers underscore the ongoing challenge facing the island’s year-round community. Even as income limits rise and allowable affordable and workforce housing prices increase alongside them, the cost of purchasing land, constructing new housing, and acquiring existing homes continues to escalate at an extraordinary pace. For many working residents, income growth still cannot keep up with the realities of Nantucket’s housing market. The gap between local earning power and the actual cost of creating and securing year-round housing remains one of the defining challenges affecting the island’s workforce, families, businesses, and long-term community stability.

As a Community Development Partner, Housing Nantucket continues working to expand and preserve year-round housing opportunities through new development, homeownership programs, rental housing, and long-term deed restrictions that help strengthen the island’s year-round community over time. Continued donor support remains essential to advancing these long-term housing solutions.

For more information on HUD FY 2026 Income Limits, visit HUD User Income Limits Documentation.