15 March 2012
State Median Income for Four-Person Household 2013
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15376-15378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6220]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
State Median Income Estimates for a Four-Person Household: Notice
of the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2013 State Median Income Estimates for
Use Under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
AGENCY: Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community
Services, Division of Energy Assistance, HHS.
ACTION: Notice of State median income estimates for FFY 2013.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces to grantees of the Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) the estimated median income of four-
person households in each State and the District of Columbia for FFY
2013 (October 1, 2012, to September 30, 2013). LIHEAP grantees that
choose to base their income eligibility criteria on these State Median
Income (SMI) estimates may adopt these estimates (up to 60 percent) on
their date of publication in the Federal Register or on a later date as
discussed below. This enables grantees to implement this notice during
the period between the heating and cooling seasons. However, by October
1, 2012, or the beginning of the grantees' fiscal year, whichever is
later, such grantees must adjust their income eligibility criteria so
that such criteria are in accord with the FFY 2013 SMI.
The 60 percent of SMI criterion provides one of the maximum income
criteria that LIHEAP grantees may use in determining a household's
income eligibility for LIHEAP.
The LIHEAP appropriations for FFY 2009 through April 15, 2011
raised this criterion from 60 percent of SMI to 75 percent of SMI for
that period. However, no change was made to the LIHEAP authorizing
statute. Furthermore, the LIHEAP appropriation for FFY 2012 did not
alter this criterion; thus it returned to 60 percent of SMI for FFY
2012.
DATES: Effective Date: These estimates become effective at any time
between the date of this publication and the later of (1) October 1,
2012; or (2) the beginning of a grantees' fiscal year.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Edelman, Office of Community
Services, Division of Energy Assistance, 5th Floor West, 370 L'Enfant
Promenade SW., Washington, DC 20447. Telephone: (202) 401-5292, E-Mail:
peter.edelman@acf.hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the provisions of section 2603(11) of
Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law
(Pub. L.) 97-35, as amended, HHS announces the estimated median income
of four-person families for each State, the District of Columbia, and
the United States for FFY 2013 (October 1, 2012, through September 30,
2013).
Section 2605(b)(2)(B)(ii) of this Act provides that 60 percent of
the median income of four-person families for each State and the
District of Columbia (State median income, or SMI), as annually
established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, is one of
the income criteria that LIHEAP grantees may use in determining a
household's eligibility for LIHEAP.
LIHEAP was last authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public
Law 109-58, which was enacted on August 8, 2005. This authorization
expired on September 30, 2007, and reauthorization remains pending.
The SMI estimates that HHS publishes in this notice are 3-year
estimates derived from the American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by
the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce (Census Bureau).
HHS obtained these estimates directly from the Census Bureau. For
additional information about the ACS State median income estimates,
including the definition of income and the derivation of medians see
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Subject
Definitions/2010_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf under ``Income in
the Past 12 Months.'' For additional information about the ACS in
general, see http://www.census.gov/acs/www/ or contact the Census
Bureau's Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division at (301) 763-
3243.
Under the advice of the Census Bureau, HHS switched to 3-year
estimates from single-year estimates to reduce the large year-to-year
fluctuations that the single-year estimates tend to generate for
certain States and the District of Columbia. HHS plans to use the
Census Bureau's ACS-derived SMI three-year estimates for all fiscal
years after 2010. For further information about ACS one-year and 3-year
estimates, see
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/estimates/.
The SMI estimates, like those derived from any survey, are subject
to two types of errors: (1) Nonsampling Error, which consists of random
errors that increase the variability of the data and non-random errors
that consistently shift the data into a specific direction; and (2)
Sampling Error, which consists of the error that arises from the use of
probability sampling to create the sample. For additional information
about the accuracy of the ACS SMI estimates, see
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/
MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2010.pdf.
A State-by-State listing of SMI and 60 percent of SMI for a four-
person family for FFY 2013 follows. In using this listing, LIHEAP
grantees must regard ``family'' to be the equivalent of ``household''
with regards to setting their income eligibility criteria. This listing
describes the method for adjusting SMI for households of different
sizes as specified in regulations applicable to LIHEAP, at 45 CFR
96.85(b), which were published in the Federal Register on March 3,
1988, at 53 FR 6824 and amended on October 15, 1999, at 64 FR 55858.
Dated: March 7, 2012.
Jeannie L. Chaffin,
Director, Office of Community Services.
[[Page 15377]]
Estimated State Median Income for a Four-Person Family, by State, for
Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2013, for Use in the Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
60 percent of
Estimated State estimated State
States median income for median income
four-person for four-person
families \1\ families \2\,\3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama........................... $64,079 $38,447
Alaska............................ 86,658 51,995
Arizona........................... 66,350 39,810
Arkansas.......................... 56,975 34,185
California........................ 77,896 46,738
Colorado.......................... 81,477 48,886
Connecticut....................... 101,973 61,184
Delaware.......................... 85,490 51,294
District of Columbia.............. 76,652 45,991
Florida........................... 65,728 39,437
Georgia........................... 67,276 40,366
Hawaii............................ 87,456 52,474
Idaho............................. 61,631 36,979
Illinois.......................... 80,858 48,515
Indiana........................... 69,929 41,957
Iowa.............................. 73,972 44,383
Kansas............................ 71,899 43,139
Kentucky.......................... 64,119 38,471
Louisiana......................... 66,896 40,138
Maine............................. 71,237 42,742
Maryland.......................... 102,002 61,201
Massachusetts..................... 100,228 60,137
Michigan.......................... 72,937 43,762
Minnesota......................... 85,577 51,346
Mississippi....................... 57,132 34,279
Missouri.......................... 69,727 41,836
Montana........................... 67,097 40,258
Nebraska.......................... 71,864 43,118
Nevada............................ 69,197 41,518
New Hampshire..................... 92,216 55,330
New Jersey........................ 102,552 61,531
New Mexico........................ 55,446 33,268
New York.......................... 82,222 49,333
North Carolina.................... 66,978 40,187
North Dakota...................... 78,295 46,977
Ohio.............................. 72,732 43,639
Oklahoma.......................... 61,941 37,165
Oregon............................ 70,957 42,574
Pennsylvania...................... 78,576 47,146
Rhode Island...................... 88,083 52,850
South Carolina.................... 64,303 38,582
South Dakota...................... 69,221 41,533
Tennessee......................... 62,902 37,741
Texas............................. 66,093 39,656
Utah.............................. 68,068 40,841
Vermont........................... 76,418 45,851
Virginia.......................... 87,209 52,325
Washington........................ 81,797 49,078
West Virginia..................... 60,825 36,495
Wisconsin......................... 77,829 46,697
Wyoming........................... 74,281 44,569
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: FFY 2013 covers the period of October 1, 2012, through
September 30, 2013. The estimated median income for four-person
families living in the United States for this period is $74,964.
Grantees that use SMI for LIHEAP may, at their option, employ such
estimates at any time between the date
[[Page 15378]]
of this publication and the later of October 1, 2012 or the
beginning of their fiscal years.
\1\ Prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of
Commerce (Census Bureau), from three-year estimates from the 2008,
2009 and 2010 American Community Surveys (ACSs). These estimates,
like those derived from any survey, are subject to two types of
errors: (1) Nonsampling Error, which consists of random errors that
increase the variability of the data and non-random errors that
consistently direct the data into a specific direction; and (2)
Sampling Error, which consists of the error that arises from the use
of probability sampling to create the sample.
\2\ These figures were calculated by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Office of Community Services, Division of Energy Assistance by
multiplying the estimated State median income for a four-person
family for each State by 60 percent.
\3\ To adjust for different sizes of household for LIHEAP
purposes, 45 CFR 96.85 calls for multiplying 60 percent of a State's
estimated median income for a four-person family by the following
percentages: 52 percent for one person, 68 percent for two persons,
84 percent for three persons, 100 percent for four persons, 116
percent for five persons, and 132 percent for six persons. For each
additional family member above six persons, 45 CFR 96.85 calls for
adding 3 percentage points to the percentage for a six-person family
(132 percent) and multiply the new percentage by 60 percent of a
State's estimated median income for a four-person family.
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[FR Doc. 2012-6220 Filed 3-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-24-P
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