HUD FMR Data · Updated April 2026
Average Rent in Urban Honolulu, HI
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in Urban Honolulu, HI is $2,642 per month. Urban Honolulu's 2-bedroom FMR of $2,642 runs about 111% above the U.S. national median of $1,250 — a meaningfully higher rent than the typical American county. A typical local household earning $104,264 would spend 30.4% of pre-tax income on this rent.
Urban Honolulu, Hawaii runs on the top tier of the U.S. rental market. HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom is $2,642 ($2,016 for a 1-bedroom, $3,674 for a 3-bedroom). Counties at this rent level concentrate in coastal-metro corridors and resort towns where housing supply lags demand structurally.
Rent burden is at the federal "cost-burdened" threshold: 30 percent of median income going to rent. Manageable for most households but leaves limited room for savings or unplanned expenses. For renters and prospective movers, the HUD FMR is the asking-rent baseline for a modest unit; actual market rents on freshly-listed units typically run 5-15 percent above the FMR in faster-growing markets. The county vacancy rate (9.5 percent) is the structural indicator of how much availability exists in the local market.
RentIndex draws on HUD Fair Market Rents (annual, by bedroom size, every U.S. county) plus Census ACS housing data (median rent, median household income, rent burden, vacancy rate). Each value on the site refreshes on its source’s publication cadence and stamps the as-of date. The methodology page lists every input with the federal source URL.
A practical caveat for rent-research: HUD FMR is the 40th-percentile baseline for modest units, not a current asking-rent average. In rapidly-growing markets, freshly-listed asking rents typically run 5-20 percent above HUD FMR. Cross-reference the FMR against current Zillow, Apartments.com, or local Craigslist listings before treating the FMR as the rent you will actually pay.
Fair Market Rent by Bedroom in Urban Honolulu, HI
Urban Honolulu's rent ladder runs from $1,877 for a studio up to $4,432 for a 4-bedroom — a 2.4x spread typical of HUD's FMR formula, which scales each bedroom size against the area 2-bedroom standard. The 2-bedroom unit is HUD's reference category and the figure most often cited in housing policy.
| Size | Monthly FMR |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,877 |
| 1 Bedroom | $2,016 |
| 2 Bedroom | $2,642 |
| 3 Bedroom | $3,674 |
| 4 Bedroom | $4,432 |
How Urban Honolulu, HI Compares to the U.S.
Urban Honolulu's 2-bedroom FMR of $2,642 runs about 111% above the U.S. national median of $1,250 — a meaningfully higher rent than the typical American county. HUD\'s national median 2-bedroom FMR currently sits at $1,250 per month, against a Census-reported national median household income of $71,049.
Fair Market Rent in Urban Honolulu jumped 17.3% year over year — a sharp rise that outpaces broad BLS rent CPI. Big annual moves often reflect a tight rental market, but they can also reflect HUD recalibration; cross-check with the BLS rent index before treating it as a pure market signal.
Affordability and Rent Burden
With a median household income of $104,264, a typical Urban Honolulu household would spend 30.4% of pre-tax income on a 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent. That's above HUD's 30% cost-burden threshold — meaning the median household here is officially "cost burdened" at FMR.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Median Household Income (Census ACS) | $104,264 |
| Rent Burden (annualized 2BR FMR / income) | 30.4% |
| Income Needed for 2BR (HUD 30% rule) | $105,680/yr |
Where the Numbers Come From
Every rent figure on this page is HUD\'s published Fair Market Rent for the Urban Honolulu, HI FMR area in HUD\'s current fiscal-year release. HUD calculates FMR as the 40th percentile of gross rents for standard-quality units, using Census American Community Survey base rents updated with the BLS CPI rent of primary residence. We do not adjust HUD\'s figures. The full step-by-step calculation is on the RentIndex methodology page, and the underlying data is publicly available at HUD User.
Other Hawaii Counties
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average rent in Urban Honolulu, HI?
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom unit in Urban Honolulu, HI is $2,642 per month — the 40th-percentile gross rent for standard-quality, non-substandard rentals in this area. Urban Honolulu's 2-bedroom FMR of $2,642 runs about 111% above the U.S. national median of $1,250 — a meaningfully higher rent than the typical American county.
How does Urban Honolulu, HI rent compare to the rest of the U.S.?
Urban Honolulu's 2-bedroom FMR of $2,642 runs about 111% above the U.S. national median of $1,250 — a meaningfully higher rent than the typical American county. Rent in Urban Honolulu, HI is set against a national median 2BR FMR of $1,250 and a national median household income of $71,049.
Is rent affordable in Urban Honolulu, HI?
With a median household income of $104,264, a typical Urban Honolulu household would spend 30.4% of pre-tax income on a 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent. That's above HUD's 30% cost-burden threshold — meaning the median household here is officially "cost burdened" at FMR.
Has rent gone up or down in Urban Honolulu, HI?
Fair Market Rent in Urban Honolulu jumped 17.3% year over year — a sharp rise that outpaces broad BLS rent CPI. Big annual moves often reflect a tight rental market, but they can also reflect HUD recalibration; cross-check with the BLS rent index before treating it as a pure market signal.
What does Fair Market Rent mean and where does the figure come from?
Fair Market Rent is the 40th percentile of gross rents for standard-quality rental units, published annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD calculates FMR using American Community Survey base rents trimmed and updated with BLS Consumer Price Index rent indexes, then uses it to set Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher payment standards. All rent figures on this page come directly from HUD's public FMR dataset.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents (public domain) · huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Income: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year. Rent inflation reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI rent of primary residence. Last refreshed April 2026.