Fair Market Rent (FMR) is HUD’s estimate of the 40th-percentile gross rent — shelter rent plus tenant-paid utilities — paid by recent movers for standard-quality rental units in an area. Forty percent of such units rent for less. HUD publishes FMRs every year for studios through four-bedroom units; the Fiscal Year 2027 FMRs took effect October 1, 2026 (91 FR 56156, published September 1, 2026). In Austin, the one-bedroom FMR is $1,530 a month.
What “40th percentile” and “standard quality” mean
Line up the gross rents that recent movers pay for standard-quality units in an area, from lowest to highest. The FMR is the figure 40% of the way up. It is not the median (50th percentile) and not an average of asking rents.
HUD defines a standard-quality unit as one with complete plumbing and kitchen facilities, rent that does not include meals, and no more than 10 acres of land. HUD no longer excludes newly built units. The FMR is meant to cover modest, non-luxury housing.
How HUD calculates FY2027 FMRs
According to the FY2027 notice:
- Base rent. The two-bedroom, standard-quality gross rent from the Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey (5-year), if it passes reliability tests.
- Recent-mover adjustment. HUD compares the base rent with the 2024 1-year ACS rent of households that moved in during the past year, and raises the base rent if recent movers pay more.
- Local surveys. Where HUD has more recent local survey data, it uses them. FY2027 examples include 2024 surveys for the New York, NY HUD Metro FMR Area and 2025 surveys for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale.
- Inflation and trend. HUD brings the rent forward to 2025 with private-sector and CPI rent measures and utility prices, then trends it to FY2027.
- Other bedroom sizes. HUD sets studio, one-, three- and four-bedroom rents with local bedroom ratios, then adds 8.7% to three-bedroom and 7.7% to four-bedroom rents to help larger families find units.
FY2027 Fair Market Rents for selected metros
| Metro | Studio | 1-BR | 2-BR | 3-BR | Census median gross rent (all units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY-NJ | $2,593 | $2,729 | $2,971 | $3,760 | $1,830 |
| San Francisco, CA | $2,574 | $3,003 | $3,697 | $4,832 | $2,474 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $2,151 | $2,402 | $2,964 | $3,760 | $2,063 |
| Seattle, WA | $2,091 | $2,180 | $2,549 | $3,324 | $2,000 |
| Chicago, IL-IN | $1,678 | $1,780 | $2,011 | $2,586 | $1,430 |
| Austin, TX | $1,447 | $1,530 | $1,817 | $2,292 | $1,726 |
| Nashville, TN | $1,585 | $1,650 | $1,798 | $2,309 | $1,528 |
| Dallas, TX | $1,491 | $1,536 | $1,807 | $2,275 | $1,614 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $1,390 | $1,493 | $1,734 | $2,287 | $1,702 |
| Wichita, KS | $778 | $823 | $1,043 | $1,382 | $987 |
Sources: HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents; Census ACS 2020–2024 median gross rent (table B25064). MoveMath uses the FMR for each metro’s principal county: for example Kings County for New York (all five boroughs share one HUD rent area) and San Francisco County for San Francisco.
Why Fair Market Rent and the Census median differ
- Who is counted. The Census median covers every renter, including tenants who moved in years ago at lower rents. The FMR targets recent movers.
- Unit size. The Census median mixes studios through large houses. In 244 of the 387 metros MoveMath covers, the one-bedroom FMR is below the all-unit median; the two-bedroom FMR is below it in only 5.
- Timing. The FMR is trended forward to FY2027; the Census figure is an average of 2020–2024 survey responses.
- Geography. HUD often splits a metro into smaller HUD Metro FMR Areas, so a county’s FMR can differ from neighboring counties in the same metro. New York’s FMR also rests on a 2024 local survey.
How HUD uses Fair Market Rent
- Housing Choice Vouchers. Housing agencies set payment standards between 90% and 110% of the FMR (24 CFR 982.503). In metros HUD designates, they must use Small Area FMRs set by ZIP code.
- Other programs. Rent ceilings in the HOME Investment Partnerships and Emergency Solutions Grants programs, initial rents for some expiring project-based Section 8 contracts, Continuum of Care award limits, and public housing flat rents.
How MoveMath uses it
The rent affordability calculator compares 30% of your gross income with the FMR for every bedroom size; at $60,000, the 30% line is $1,500 a month, just under Austin’s $1,530 one-bedroom. The relocation budget planner uses the FMR for the bedrooms your household needs — one for the adults plus one for every two children, up to four. Metro pages such as Austin, New York and Wichita list all five sizes, and the methodology page gives sources and vintages.