2013 CRA Eligibility Status Data Update

PolicyMap users looking for an easy way to see which tracts are Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) eligible are in luck: tract eligibility status, as of 2013 has been updated! As part of CRA evaluations, financial institutions are evaluated by the extent to which they serve low and moderate income areas, as well as areas experiencing economic duress. The CRA eligibility data on PolicyMap, located in Federal Guidelines, makes it easy to quickly determine whether a particular census tract is CRA eligible.

Low and moderate income Census Tracts are based on a comparison of tract median family income to area median family income:

• Low: tract median family income less that 50% of area median family income,
• Moderate: tract median family income greater than or equal to 50% and less than 80%,
• Middle: tract median family income greater than or equal to 80% and less than 120%,
• Any tract with a median family income greater than 120% is considered upper income and is not CRA eligible.

Starting in 2012, the CRA began calculating area median family income using Census’ 2006-2010 American Community Survey (CRA) estimates. Read our previous blog post to learn more about last year’s change in methodology.

As you can see in the map below, the Midwest has some low- and moderate-income eligible tracts, but an even larger number of middle-income neighborhoods that meet the distressed and underserved eligibility criteria.