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HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents: what changed

FY2027 Fair Market Rents took effect October 1, 2026. The 2-bedroom schedule rose in most HUD areas and fell in several large metros. FMR is still the 40th percentile voucher rent, not market rent.

By RentalAnalytics Editorial Team · Published November 4, 2026

What changed in HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rents is the data year, the utility piece of the inflation factor, and the dollar schedule. The definition did not change. HUD still estimates the 40th percentile gross rent paid by recent movers into standard quality units, and voucher programs use that figure as the payment-standard anchor.[2]

Key takeaways

  • FY2027 Fair Market Rents took effect October 1, 2026, under notice 91 FR 56156, published September 1, 2026.[1][2]
  • From the county files, not a HUD national rate: across 2,606 matched area codes, the 2-bedroom FMR rose in 2,136 areas, fell in 466, and was unchanged in 4. Median change 4.2 percent. Population-weighted average 2.0 percent.[3][4]
  • New York's 2-bedroom FMR went from $2,910 to $2,971. Chicago went from $1,781 to $2,011. Dallas went from $1,931 to $1,807.[3][4]
  • HUD now builds utility inflation from electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and water, sewer, and trash. Base rents use 2020-2024 ACS 5-year data. The national non-metropolitan 2-bedroom floor is $1,014.[2]
  • Thirteen areas still use FY2026 FMRs. Small Area FMR math is unchanged. The rent estimator already reads the FY2027 files and labels FMR as the 40th percentile voucher number.[5]

When do the FY2027 Fair Market Rents apply?

They took effect October 1, 2026, except where a valid reevaluation request kept the FY2026 schedule in place. HUD published 91 FR 56156 on September 1, 2026, with comments due October 1, 2026.[2] The comparison below uses the FY2027 county file and the revised FY2026 workbook HUD labels effective May 21, 2026.[4] The seven-area revision from that earlier file is in HUD FY2026 FMR: what changed.

Which large metros moved versus FY2026?

HUD did not publish one national percent. The median and the population-weighted average in the takeaways are calculated from these two county files. The weight is each area's 2024 population in the FY2027 workbook.[3][4]

The dollars below are 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents: 40th percentile gross rent, shelter plus utilities. They are voucher anchors, not asking rent. Each percent is the dollar ratio, rounded to one decimal. The row names are HUD Metro FMR Areas.

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, revised FY2026 file versus FY2027
HUD area FY2026 FY2027 Change
New York, NY $2,910 $2,971 +$61 (2.1%)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA $2,903 $2,964 +$61 (2.1%)
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL $1,781 $2,011 +$230 (12.9%)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD $2,246 $2,438 +$192 (8.5%)
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL $2,436 $2,564 +$128 (5.3%)
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA $1,820 $1,762 -$58 (-3.2%)
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX $1,573 $1,497 -$76 (-4.8%)
Dallas, TX $1,931 $1,807 -$124 (-6.4%)

A higher voucher schedule is not a higher private lease. Dallas and Houston moved the other way, so a payment standard tied to the new FMR can fall even if asking rents did not. Check the bedroom count you lease. Reading HUD FMR data explains the columns.

What methodology change did HUD announce?

The new piece is the utility part of gross-rent inflation. HUD's notice states: "Newly for FY 2027, HUD uses a weighted average composite of four household fuel and utility components (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and water/sewer/trash) to produce a utility inflation factor."[2] HUD adopted that method after the Bureau of Labor Statistics stopped the local housing fuels and utilities index, a change proposed in the FY2026 notice.[6]

Base rents now start from American Community Survey 5-year data collected from 2020 through 2024, plus a 2024 recent-mover factor when that estimate passes HUD's checks.[2] HUD inflates the result from 2024 to 2025, then trends it to FY2027. Those trend factors now include the same utility composite. HUD also set a floor: "For FY 2027, the national non-metropolitan rent is $1,014." A 2-bedroom FMR must be at least the lower of that figure and the state non-metropolitan median, and it still may not fall below 90 percent of the prior year for the same bedroom count.[2]

Which areas are still on the FY2026 schedule?

Thirteen areas kept FY2026 Fair Market Rents or Small Area FMRs in effect as of October 1, 2026. HUD's list, posted after the comment deadline, gives agencies in those areas until January 8, 2027 to submit rental market survey data.[5]

  • Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA, IL MSA
  • Erie, PA MSA
  • Madison, WI HUD Metro FMR Area
  • Merrimack County, NH
  • Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI MSA
  • Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
  • Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC MSA
  • Portsmouth-Rochester, NH HUD Metro FMR Area
  • San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA MSA
  • San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
  • Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
  • Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA MSA
  • ZIP Codes 03766 and 03784 in Grafton County, NH

Six more areas filed valid requests and already use FY2027 rents, including Seattle-Bellevue and San Francisco. HUD rejected a Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI request, so FY2027 is in effect there too. The PDF lists every name. None of the eight table metros is on either list.[5]

Did HUD change Small Area FMR rules?

No. HUD says "The methodology for calculating SAFMRs is unchanged from FY 2026."[2] This notice does not add mandatory Small Area FMR metros. It points to the October 25, 2023 notice (88 FR 73352), which required 41 additional metros to use them, and it restates two FY2026 boundary edits: Calvert County, MD left the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, and specified Connecticut towns moved into or out of Hartford.[2]

A Small Area FMR is still a 40th percentile voucher rent, published by ZIP. In a mandatory metro, the ZIP file is the payment-standard anchor. Elsewhere, use the metro or county FMR.[7] Section 8 and SAFMR voucher rent walks through a Columbus ZIP. RentCast versus HUD FMR separates a commercial address estimate from this schedule.

How should landlords use the FY2027 voucher schedule?

Use FY2027 FMR for a voucher payment standard or another program ceiling HUD ties to FMR. Do not use it as the rent a vacant unit should ask. HUD's test is this sentence: "HUD's FMR calculations represent HUD's best effort to estimate the 40th percentile gross rent paid by recent movers into standard quality units in each FMR area."[2] The separate 50th percentile file is the median concept, and HUD says those rents are not Fair Market Rents.[8]

The rent estimator already reads the FY2027 files, effective October 1, 2026, and labels FMR as the 40th percentile voucher number. This article does not change those files. Put a market estimate, or the in-place rent, into the cap rate calculator, then check local listings. The full path is on the methodology page.

Frequently asked questions

When did FY2027 HUD Fair Market Rents take effect?

HUD set the FY2027 Fair Market Rent effective date at October 1, 2026 in the September 1, 2026 notice, 91 FR 56156. That date is the start of federal fiscal year 2027. A valid reevaluation request can keep the FY2026 schedule in place for a named area. HUD posted that list after the October 1, 2026 comment deadline.

Is the FY2027 Fair Market Rent the same as market rent?

No. HUD describes the FY2027 Fair Market Rent as its estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent paid by recent movers into a standard quality unit. Housing Choice Voucher payment standards use that figure. It is not the median and not the rent a vacant unit should ask. HUD's separate 50th percentile series says these are not Fair Market Rents.

Did every area switch to FY2027 FMRs on October 1, 2026?

No. HUD lists 13 areas where FY2026 Fair Market Rents or Small Area FMRs stay in effect while agencies may submit survey data by January 8, 2027. The list includes Milwaukee, San Jose, and Madison. Six other areas have valid requests, including Seattle and San Francisco, but FY2027 rents are already in effect there.

What methodology change did HUD make for FY2027?

HUD replaced the old local utility CPI with a weighted composite of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and water, sewer, and trash costs. It adopted that change after BLS stopped publishing the local housing fuels and utilities index. Base rents now start from 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year data. The Small Area FMR calculation method is unchanged.

Where can I download official FY2027 Fair Market Rent files?

HUD posts the files on its Fair Market Rents dataset page. The county workbook is FY27_FMRs.xlsx. The Small Area file is FY27_safmrs.xlsx. The metro and non-metropolitan schedule is FY2027_FMR_Schedule.pdf. The notice is 91 FR 56156. For last year's dollars, use the revised FY2026 county file, FY26_FMRs_revised.xlsx.

How should landlords use FY2027 FMR on this site?

Use the FY2027 figure for voucher payment standards, not as private market rent. The rent estimator already reads the FY2027 files and labels Fair Market Rent as the 40th percentile voucher number. Put a market estimate or the in-place rent into the cap rate calculator. Confirm both figures with local listings before you set a lease.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents dataset page - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html
  2. HUD, Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy Program, and Other Programs, Fiscal Year 2027, 91 FR 56156 (September 1, 2026; effective October 1, 2026) - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/01/2026-17891/fair-market-rents-for-the-housing-choice-voucher-program-moderate-rehabilitation-single-room · PDF: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-09-01/pdf/2026-17891.pdf
  3. HUD, FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, county-level workbook - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2027/FY27_FMRs.xlsx
  4. HUD, FY 2026 Fair Market Rents, revised county-level workbook (effective May 21, 2026) - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2026/FY26_FMRs_revised.xlsx
  5. HUD, Reevaluation Requests for FY 2027 Fair Market Rents - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2027/Reevaluation-Requests-FY27-FMRs.pdf
  6. HUD, Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program and Other Programs, Fiscal Year 2026, including proposed material changes for FY 2027, 90 FR 41096 (August 22, 2025) - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/22/2025-16060/fair-market-rents-for-the-housing-choice-voucher-program-moderate-rehabilitation-single-room
  7. HUD, Small Area Fair Market Rents dataset, and the FY 2027 Small Area workbook - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/smallarea/index.html · https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2027/FY27_safmrs.xlsx · schedule PDF: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2027/FY2027_FMR_Schedule.pdf
  8. HUD, 50th Percentile Rent Estimates (these are not Fair Market Rents) - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/50per.html

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