HUD FMR Data · Updated April 2026
Biggest Rent Increases by County
These 50 counties posted the largest year-over-year rises in 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent in HUD's most recent fiscal-year release. Martin County, TX leads at 95.8%. Sharp annual moves can reflect genuine market tightening, but they can also reflect HUD redrawing an FMR area boundary or trimming an outlier sample — read the methodology page before treating any one figure as a market signal.
How to Read This Ranking
These year-over-year figures compare HUD's current fiscal-year FMR to the prior fiscal-year FMR for the same county. They should generally track the BLS Consumer Price Index for rent of primary residence; large divergences usually reflect a HUD area-boundary change rather than an actual market move. The national median 2BR FMR is currently $1,250 per month.
Each row links to a full county page with bedroom-by-bedroom Fair Market Rent, rent burden against the local median household income, and the underlying HUD area code. The ranking covers up to 50 counties and refreshes against HUD\'s annual fiscal-year FMR release. For the underlying HUD data, see the official HUD Fair Market Rents dataset or query the HUD FMR API.
| Rank | County | State | 2BR FMR | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin County | Texas | $1,772 | 95.8% |
| 2 | Gates County | North Carolina | $1,709 | 62.8% |
| 3 | Lewiston-Auburn | Maine | $1,586 | 42.8% |
| 4 | Camden County | North Carolina | $1,287 | 41.0% |
| 5 | Missoula | Montana | $1,655 | 37.6% |
| 6 | Bangor | Maine | $1,659 | 33.9% |
| 7 | Penobscot County | Maine | $1,392 | 33.5% |
| 8 | Great Falls | Montana | $1,284 | 31.2% |
| 9 | Butte County | Idaho | $1,304 | 30.9% |
| 10 | Jasper County | South Carolina | $1,542 | 30.0% |
| 11 | York-Kittery-South Berwick | Maine | $2,202 | 29.8% |
| 12 | South Bend-Mishawaka | Indiana | $1,292 | 27.0% |
| 13 | Springfield | Massachusetts | $1,734 | 26.1% |
| 14 | Sagadahoc County | Maine | $1,577 | 26.1% |
| 15 | Brunswick County | North Carolina | $1,426 | 26.0% |
| 16 | Appleton | Wisconsin | $1,236 | 25.7% |
| 17 | Long County | Georgia | $1,133 | 24.6% |
| 18 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy | New York | $1,702 | 23.9% |
| 19 | Worcester | Massachusetts | $2,056 | 23.8% |
| 20 | Syracuse | New York | $1,392 | 23.6% |
| 21 | Madison | Wisconsin | $1,694 | 23.5% |
| 22 | Billings | Montana | $1,417 | 23.4% |
| 23 | Palm Coast | Florida | $1,806 | 23.3% |
| 24 | Erie | Pennsylvania | $1,212 | 23.3% |
| 25 | Hall County | Nebraska | $1,215 | 23.2% |
| 26 | Warren County | New Jersey | $1,895 | 23.1% |
| 27 | Coeur d'Alene | Idaho | $1,547 | 23.0% |
| 28 | Bismarck | North Dakota | $1,175 | 23.0% |
| 29 | Stillwater County | Montana | $1,257 | 22.9% |
| 30 | Bergen-Passaic | New Jersey | $2,324 | 22.8% |
| 31 | Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina | Hawaii | $2,624 | 22.7% |
| 32 | Rochester | Minnesota | $1,407 | 22.6% |
| 33 | Des Moines-West Des Moines | Iowa | $1,318 | 22.0% |
| 34 | Akron | Ohio | $1,268 | 22.0% |
| 35 | Western Rockingham County | New Hampshire | $2,220 | 21.8% |
| 36 | Monmouth-Ocean | New Jersey | $2,328 | 21.5% |
| 37 | York County | Maine | $1,716 | 21.2% |
| 38 | Twin Falls County | Idaho | $1,284 | 21.2% |
| 39 | Howard County | Missouri | $1,044 | 21.1% |
| 40 | Eugene-Springfield | Oregon | $1,688 | 20.8% |
| 41 | Montcalm County | Michigan | $1,203 | 20.8% |
| 42 | Holland-Grand Haven | Michigan | $1,519 | 20.6% |
| 43 | Knoxville | Tennessee | $1,471 | 20.5% |
| 44 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | Pennsylvania | $1,252 | 20.5% |
| 45 | Rochester | New York | $1,573 | 20.4% |
| 46 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach | Florida | $1,700 | 20.3% |
| 47 | Howard County | Nebraska | $1,049 | 20.3% |
| 48 | Jersey City | New Jersey | $2,763 | 20.2% |
| 49 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | Arkansas | $1,347 | 20.2% |
| 50 | Cumberland County | Maine | $1,833 | 20.0% |
Methodology Notes
Year-over-year change is the percentage difference between HUD's current fiscal-year 2BR FMR and the prior fiscal-year 2BR FMR for the same county. Counties where HUD redrew an FMR area boundary are excluded from the YoY ranking until two consecutive years of comparable geography are available.
For the full step-by-step calculation, including how HUD ages ACS base rents using BLS CPI rent indexes and how rent burden is paired with Census income data, see the RentIndex methodology page. We do not adjust HUD\'s figures; the rents and rent-burden calculations on this page reflect federal published data exactly as released.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did rent rise the most year over year?
Martin County, TX posted the largest 2BR FMR increase on this list at 95.8% — measured as the percentage change from HUD's prior fiscal-year FMR for that area.
Why did these counties see big rent increases?
Sharp annual FMR moves can reflect genuine market tightening — population growth, supply constraints, or a wage shock — but they can also reflect a HUD methodological change. When HUD redraws an FMR area boundary, trims an outlier ACS sample, or refreshes the CPI base, the YoY figure can jump even if street rent did not.
Should I expect this rent increase if I sign a new lease?
No. FMR change measures the federal benchmark, not landlord pricing. New-lease asking rents on listing platforms can rise faster (or slower) than FMR depending on how much of the rental stock is currently on the market and how new the units are. Use FMR as a directional signal, not a quote.
How does HUD compute year-over-year FMR change?
HUD recalibrates FMRs each fiscal year using ACS base rents trimmed for outliers and updated with BLS CPI rent indexes. The YoY figures on this site compare current fiscal-year FMR to prior fiscal-year FMR for the same county. Counties where HUD redrew the area boundary are suppressed.
Where can I see HUD's historical FMR archive?
HUD User publishes every fiscal year's FMR dataset back to 1983 at huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Each county detail page on RentIndex links to the relevant HUD record so you can verify the current and prior-year figures.
Other Rankings
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Fair Market Rents — public domain; huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Income figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Last refreshed April 2026.