Fair Market Rent (FMR) is the figure HUD publishes each year for a rental market area. Housing authorities use it to set the payment standard — the most a Housing Choice Voucher will normally cover for a unit of a given size. It is a statistical figure for an area, not a rent any particular landlord charges, and not a guarantee that a unit at that price exists or is available.
How Fair Market Rent is used
An authority usually sets its payment standard between 90% and 110% of the FMR for its area. Your own share of the rent depends on your income, the unit you choose and your authority’s rules — not on the FMR alone. If you rent above the payment standard you pay the difference yourself.
Finding the figure for your area
FMR areas do not always follow county lines: a metropolitan area can cover several counties, and some counties are split into separate exception areas. Each county guide on this site shows the FY2026 FMR for the area that county belongs to, alongside that county’s income limits and the authority that administers Section 8 there.
Important
No federal dataset publishes vacancies or waiting-list status. A Fair Market Rent tells you what HUD considers a reasonable rent in an area; it does not tell you that anything is available. Confirm availability, rent and whether vouchers are accepted directly with the property or the housing authority.