Item 32 - Second Reading of Uncodified Ordinance Amendment No. 2024-07

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Income Identifying low- or moderate-income (LMI) geographies and individuals is important to overcome patterns of segregation. HUD defines an LMI area as a census tract or block group where over 51 percent of the population is LMI (based on HUD’s income definition of up to 80 percent of the AMI). Regional Trend As shown in Table 5, 44.8 percent of Orange County households are low/moderate income, earning 80 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). There are significantly more LMI Renter occupied households (61.8 percent of total households) compared to owner occupied households (32.1 percent of total households). Figure 23 shows LMI areas regionally. Coastal cities from Seal Beach to Costa Mesa as well as the southern end of Irvine have low concentrations of LMI households. In these areas, less than 25 percent or 25 to 50 percent of the population is LMI in most tracts. LMI households are most concentrated in the central Orange County region around Santa Ana. There are smaller concentrations of LMI households in and around the cities of Garden Grove and Anaheim. Santa Ana has LMI household concentrations that are most similar with the cities immediately surrounding the city boundaries. According to the ACS, in 2021 the median income for a household in Orange County was $100,485 up from $74,344 in 2010. Table 5 Household Income Category by Tenure – Orange County Income Category Owner Renter Total 0%-30% of AMI 8.3% 23.7% 14.9% 31%-50% of AMI 8.9% 17.4% 12.5% 51%-80% of AMI 14.9% 20.7% 17.4% 81%-100% of AMI 9.9% 10.5% 10.2% Greater than 100% of AMI 57.9% 27.7% 45.0% Total 588,550 436,425 1,024,975 Source: HUD CHAS based on 2013-2017 ACS. Local Trend More than half of Santa Ana households are in the low or moderate income categories. According to HUD’s definition, there are many LMI areas in Santa Ana, especially concentrated in downtown and the west side of the city. The west side of Santa Ana historically had a large number of industrial and manufacturing sites, which typically attracted lower-income workers. According to the 2021 ACS, the median household income in Santa Ana is $77,283 significantly lower than $100,485 countywide. Santa Ana also has a lower median income than the nearby cities of Tustin ($93,901), Irvine ($114,027) and Anaheim ($81,806). Figure 24 and Figure 25 show median income in Santa Ana by tract. Downtown Santa Ana and the west side of the City has the lowest median incomes, with downtown being less than $55,000. In 2010, the median income was $54,877 and did not increase at the same rate as the median income in the County overall. ATTACHMENT 3