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HUD data

Difficult Development Areas in Connecticut (2026)

HUD's Connecticut DDA designations — metro SDDA ZIP codes and non-metro counties where costs run high against local incomes. Each qualifies for LIHTC's 30% basis boost.
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Total DDAs
45
Metro SDDA ZIPs
44
Non-Metro county DDAs
1

Non-metro county DDAs

CountyDDA code
Northwest Hills Planning Region, ConnecticutNCNTY09160N09160

Metro SDDA ZIP codes

ZIPMetro area
06002Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06032Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06070Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06089Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06092Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06103Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06107Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06117Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06269Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06280Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT MSA
06333Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT MSA
06335Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT MSA
06371Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06422Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06439Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06443New Haven, CT MSA
06460New Haven, CT MSA
06461New Haven, CT MSA
06475Old Saybrook town, CT Exception Area
06477New Haven, CT MSA
06479Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA
06488Waterbury-Shelton, CT MSA
06510New Haven, CT MSA
06518New Haven, CT MSA
06525New Haven, CT MSA
06611Trumbull town, CT Exception Area
06612Easton town, CT Exception Area
06614Stratford town, CT Exception Area
06712Waterbury-Shelton, CT MSA
06716Waterbury-Shelton, CT MSA
06752Bridgewater town, CT Exception Area
06755New Milford town, CT Exception Area
06776New Milford town, CT Exception Area
06807Greenwich town, CT Exception Area
06824Fairfield town, CT Exception Area
06825Fairfield town, CT Exception Area
06831Greenwich town, CT Exception Area
06831Stamford town, CT Exception Area
06840New Canaan town, CT Exception Area
06877Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT MSA
06883Weston town, CT Exception Area
06890Fairfield town, CT Exception Area
06896Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT MSA
06903Stamford town, CT Exception Area

What is a Difficult Development Area?

HUD designates a metro ZIP code (SDDA) or non-metro county as a DDA when its Fair Market Rent or construction costs are high relative to area median income. New LIHTC construction in a DDA qualifies for a 130% qualified basis — the same 30% boost QCTs receive. For Connecticut investors, DDA and QCT overlays together map where affordable-housing capital is flowing hardest.

All states →QCTs in ConnecticutFair Market Rents in ConnecticutSection 8 DSCR loans in Connecticut

Connecticut Difficult Development Areas — FAQs

What is a Difficult Development Area in Connecticut?

A Difficult Development Area (DDA) is a HUD-designated metro ZIP code or non-metro county where land, construction, and utility costs are high relative to Area Median Income. HUD republishes the Connecticut list annually.

What is the LIHTC basis boost for a DDA?

A LIHTC project in a designated DDA may qualify for a 30% increase in eligible basis — the same boost available in a Qualified Census Tract — which raises the credit amount the project can claim.

What is the difference between an SDDA and a non-metro DDA?

Small Area DDAs (SDDAs) are designated at the ZIP-code level inside metro areas, so one Connecticut metro can contain both designated and undesignated ZIPs. Non-metro DDAs are designated at the county level.

How do DDAs affect an investor buying a rental?

DDA status signals a high-cost submarket relative to local incomes, which usually means higher purchase prices and construction budgets. It does not change loan eligibility on its own; business-purpose financing is underwritten on the property's economics and lender guidelines.

Local market news & updates

What the latest published data says about Connecticut

Every update below is a published figure from a named federal source, shown with the exact period that source covers. Where a dataset is only produced at county or state level, it is labelled that way rather than presented as city data. These are market statistics for informational purposes only — they are not rates, loan terms, or an offer of credit.

  • State dataData through ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Connecticut housing costs — ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    The most recent published Census reading for Connecticut shows a median owner-occupied home value of $343,200, a median gross rent of $1,431 per month, a two-bedroom median rent of $1,500, a three-bedroom median rent of $1,702. These are survey estimates for the period shown, not live listing prices, and they are the starting point investors use to sanity-check a rent assumption before underwriting a DSCR file.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

  • State dataData through ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Connecticut renter demand indicators — ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Census reports a population of 3,598,348, a median household income of $93,760, a rental vacancy estimate of 7.5% for Connecticut. Income and vacancy set the practical ceiling on achievable rent, which is what a DSCR calculation is ultimately built on.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Source periods represented above: ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023. Each figure updates only when its publisher releases a new period — we never restamp an older reading with a newer date.

Informational market data only. Nothing in this section is a rate, an annual percentage rate, a payment, a loan term, an approval, or an offer or commitment to lend. Citing a federal dataset does not imply the agency endorses, sponsors or is affiliated with Simply Approved Mortgages LLC (NMLS #2620881). Financing referenced on this page is business-purpose investment property financing.

DDA project in Connecticut?

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Simply Approved Mortgages Expert Insight

How We Evaluate This Scenario

A DSCR file is judged on the property, not your tax returns: qualifying rent divided by PITIA — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, plus HOA and flood where they apply. Most programs use the lesser of the in-place lease rent and the appraiser's market rent, so a lease signed below market usually caps the ratio no matter how strong the comps look.

Three inputs move the outcome more than anything else: rent support on the appraiser's rent schedule (Form 1007 or 1025), the LTV tier, and the credit tier. Dropping leverage by five points or moving up a FICO band frequently changes pricing more than shopping a different lender does.

Before you write an offer, price taxes and insurance at post-sale levels rather than the seller's current bill. In reassess-on-transfer states and in coastal insurance markets, that single adjustment is the most common reason a deal that penciled at contract fails the ratio at underwriting.

Reviewed by Simply Approved Mortgages · NMLS #2620881. Business-purpose investor lending only.

Investor pre-approval

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Pick the loan type that fits your deal and complete a short, tailored pre-qualification. A licensed loan officer follows up with an initial scenario review once we have your credit authorization and supporting documents — usually the same business day. Formal pricing and terms follow underwriting.

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The form below is tailored to DSCR rental loan — only the questions your program needs.

1
Scenario
2
Contact
3
Results

Step 1 of 3 — your deal and numbers. No contact details yet.

Your deal — the basics

Purchase or refinance a rental. The property's rent qualifies the loan.

What's your goal?
Purchase price ($)$450,000
$
Down payment (%)20%
%
Monthly rent ($)$2,800
$
HUD Fair Market Rent for your ZIP — ballpark only. Get a precise market rent after you submit.
Estimated credit rating

Your best estimate — final eligibility is confirmed during underwriting.

Optional — but worth 60 seconds

Fine-tune your numbers and unlock your instant pre-assessment.

Everything below is optional. The more you share, the more accurate your DSCR, LTV and pre-qualification result on the next step — and the faster your loan officer can quote you.

Purchase or refinance a rental. The property's rent qualifies the loan.

Listing URL — optional

If you paste a Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, or MLS URL we'll auto-fill price, address, city, state, and ZIP. You can leave this blank and enter the property details manually.

Type the address — or paste a listing URL above and we'll fill it in for you. We use it for a precise property value and rent estimate after you submit.

Loan amount
$360,000
Down payment
$90,000

We're using typical local estimates for now — open this only if you want the pre-check to use your exact numbers.

This scenario has real hurdles — talk to us about options.
Estimated DSCR: 0.89
Estimated LTV: 80%

Estimated DSCR 0.89 is below the DSCR rental loan floor of 1.00.

Credit & pre-approval

Why we pull credit for your investor loan pre-approval

Every DSCR / business-purpose loan file needs a tri-merge credit report so we can verify identity, price your rate tier accurately, and confirm reserves and payment history for the underwriter. Cleaner credit typically unlocks a better rate and higher leverage.

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