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Housing Action Plan — Context Module 5

What AMI Means in
Portsmouth Dollars

The Housing Action Plan uses AMI tiers extensively to define affordability targets. This module translates those percentages into actual household incomes and rents for Portsmouth, so those thresholds are grounded in the real market.

Area Median Income (AMI) is set annually by HUD for each metro area. For Portsmouth, HUD uses Rockingham County as the geography. AMI is the baseline for calculating income limits and maximum affordable rents. A unit is affordable at 80% AMI if a household earning 80% of the area median pays no more than 30% of their income in rent.

Select household size — Rockingham County, NH (HUD 2024)

AMI tier Annual income Monthly income Max affordable rent Context

Who earns what in Portsmouth — representative occupations

School teacher
~$62,000/yr
~75% AMI (3-person)
Maximum affordable rent: ~$1,550/mo. Portsmouth median 1BR: ~$2,300/mo. Gap: ~$750/mo.
Restaurant worker
~$38,000/yr
~46% AMI (2-person)
Maximum affordable rent: ~$950/mo. Virtually no unsubsidized housing available at this level in Portsmouth.
Healthcare tech
~$75,000/yr
~90% AMI (2-person)
Maximum affordable rent: ~$1,875/mo. Still below Portsmouth median market rent for a 1BR.
Police officer
~$72,000/yr
~87% AMI (1-person)
Earns above workforce housing threshold but below what is needed to afford Portsmouth market rents without housing cost burden.
Software developer
~$115,000/yr
~140% AMI
Can afford market rents. Supply constraints still affect this group through competition for limited units, driving prices up for all.
Home health aide
~$34,000/yr
~41% AMI (1-person)
Below 50% AMI. Requires deep subsidy (Section 8, project-based vouchers) to afford any market-rate housing in Portsmouth.

The affordability gap — what AMI tiers can afford vs. market

Maximum affordable rents at each AMI tier vs. Portsmouth's approximate median market rent for a 1-bedroom unit (~$2,250/mo, 2024).

30% AMI
$620/mo
Market ~$2,250
50% AMI
$1,035/mo
60% AMI
$1,260/mo
80% AMI
$1,620/mo
100% AMI
$2,025/mo
120% AMI
$2,430/mo

Max affordable rent = 30% of monthly income at each tier (2-person household, Rockingham County 2024). Market rent is approximate 2024 median for Portsmouth 1BR.

For triage: When the Housing Action Plan specifies an affordability target, check which AMI tier it uses and whether that tier reaches the workers Portsmouth actually needs to house. 80% AMI reaches teachers and healthcare workers — but not restaurant staff or home health aides, who require deeper subsidy or a fundamentally different supply strategy.