NexusEngine automates the production of housing nexus studies — the empirical analysis that connects new development to affordable housing demand. Our methodology follows the standard nexus framework used by leading consulting firms (BAE Urban Economics, Keyser Marston Associates, Strategic Economics) and has been upheld in California, Colorado, and other state courts. Every data point is sourced from federal agencies and stamped with full provenance.
Annual (typically April)
Area Median Income (AMI) thresholds by household size. The foundation of every affordability calculation — defines "low", "very low", and "extremely low" income categories.
Annual (typically October)
Fair Market Rents (FMR) by bedroom count for metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Used as the baseline for affordable rent thresholds.
Annual (5-year rolling)
American Community Survey 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample. Provides industry × income cross-tabulations and workers-per-household ratios — the methodological core of the nexus calculation.
Quarterly
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. County-level employment counts and average wages by NAICS industry sector.
Weekly
Current 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgage rates from the Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Used to calculate affordable purchase prices.
Periodic (ACS-based)
Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy data. Income × cost burden cross-tabulations showing the housing affordability gap by tenure and income level.
Annual
Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics. Workplace-level job counts by wage category and commute flows, derived from administrative records.
Annual
American Community Survey summary-level tables. Median gross rent, vacancy rates, cost burden rates, and income distributions at the county level.
Select the target county, study year, and configure assumptions (mortgage rate, housing cost ratio, down payment percentage, HOA costs, AMI ceiling). Every assumption is transparent and adjustable.
Pull live data from 8 federal sources simultaneously. Each data point is stamped with its source URL, vintage date, and retrieval timestamp for full provenance.
Derive maximum affordable rents and purchase prices at each AMI tier (30%, 50%, 60%, 80%, 100%, 120% AMI) using HUD income limits, FMR baselines, and the configured cost-ratio assumptions.
Cross-tabulate PUMS microdata to determine workers-per-household ratios and income distributions by industry sector. This is the empirical core of the nexus methodology — it connects new development to housing demand by occupation.
For each industry sector, calculate how many worker households would be induced by new development and what share of those households earn below each AMI threshold. This yields the total affordable housing demand that justifies an inclusionary requirement.
Produce a publication-ready Word report following the Bloomington template format, a methodology appendix with full source citations, and a sealed audit pack (ZIP) with SHA-256 integrity verification for litigation readiness.
Housing nexus studies provide the "reasonable relationship" or "rational nexus" between new development and the need for affordable housing, as required by the U.S. Supreme Court's Nollan/Dolan tests and state-specific enabling legislation. NexusEngine produces the same empirical analysis that consulting firms deliver in 40–80 hours, but in minutes — with transparent assumptions, per-cell provenance, and litigation-ready documentation.
See what a complete NexusEngine report looks like — 40+ pages with full provenance and methodology appendix.
Walk through a complete nexus study using real federal data in our interactive demo — no sign-up required.