The Department of Housing and Urban Development released stunning new statistics this week; designating households that earn over six-figure salaries “low income” in three Bay Area counties.

The HUD report now considers families making $117,000 in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin county “low income,” claiming a family of four is “possibly in poverty” despite earning an income drastically larger than the national average.

“That kind of shocks you. How is that possibly poverty by anybody’s measure? But it actually is for a family of four in our area,” said Ken Cole, Director of the San Mateo County Department of Housing.

“According to the latest survey by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the median income in those three counties tops the entire country, and is so high that households making $117,000 would actually qualify to live in low-income housing projects,” writes CBS San Francisco.

“You’re going to have to trade off higher-cost housing for it in this area. And you’re gonna have to put up with people sleeping on the sidewalk,” Cole added.

Read the full story at CBS San Francisco.