Free Section 8 research tool
What is HUD’s rent benchmark for your market?
Find the published Fair Market Rent for a studio through four-bedroom home. Then separate that benchmark from the rent you can actually underwrite.
FY2026 data, reviewed September 6, 2026. Includes seven revised areas effective May 21, 2026. No account, credit card or property search required.
Find the benchmark for your area
Choose the property’s state and exact county or HUD subdivision. This tool uses area-level FMRs, not ZIP-level Small Area FMRs. All amounts are monthly gross rent for FY2026.
A benchmark is the start of the analysis
HUD publishes area-level gross-rent estimates. A local housing agency’s payment standard and its approval of rent for a particular unit are separate decisions. Utility allowances also affect how you interpret the figure.
Work through the Section 8 rent guideNeed a ZIP-code figure?
Small Area Fair Market Rents use ZIP codes. This tool shows county and metropolitan-area FMRs, including HUD’s town subdivisions where applicable. Confirm which schedule your agency uses.
Open official ZIP-level Small Area FMRsDataset and effective dates
This is a dated FY2026 reference, not a live connection to a housing agency. It preserves HUD’s county and town geography records and overlays the seven revised areas in the May 21, 2026 notice. San Jose and Seattle have the separately published January 12, 2026 effective date. Check HUD and your local agency for later changes and the schedule applicable to your tenancy.
HUD also publishes FY2027 materials. Those are a separate fiscal-year schedule and are not included in this lookup. Publication of a new dataset does not by itself establish the local schedule applicable to a unit.