| # | HUD metro area | 2-bed FMR FY2027 | 1-bed FMR | 3-bed FMR | 2-bed FMR FY2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $4,254 | $3,390 | $5,531 | $4,214 | +0.9% |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $3,697 | $3,003 | $4,832 | $3,604 | +2.6% |
| 3 | Napa, CA | $3,375 | $2,580 | $4,201 | $3,315 | +1.8% |
| 4 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $3,272 | $2,778 | $4,396 | $3,483 | -6.1% |
| 5 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $3,106 | $2,711 | $3,990 | $3,124 | -0.6% |
| 6 | Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA | $3,057 | $2,610 | $4,153 | $3,236 | -5.5% |
| 7 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | $3,008 | $2,518 | $3,584 | $2,941 | +2.3% |
| 8 | San Benito County, CA | $3,004 | $2,296 | $4,160 | $2,902 | +3.5% |
| 9 | New York, NY | $2,971 | $2,729 | $3,760 | $2,910 | +2.1% |
| 10 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA | $2,964 | $2,402 | $3,760 | $2,903 | +2.1% |
| 11 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $2,823 | $2,335 | $3,743 | $3,001 | -5.9% |
| 12 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $2,819 | $2,155 | $3,903 | $2,827 | -0.3% |
| 13 | Oakland-Fremont, CA | $2,805 | $2,290 | $3,592 | $2,912 | -3.7% |
| 14 | Jersey City, NJ | $2,792 | $2,514 | $3,392 | $2,763 | +1.0% |
| 15 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $2,720 | $2,079 | $3,634 | $2,671 | +1.8% |
| 16 | Nassau-Suffolk, NY | $2,689 | $2,285 | $3,458 | $2,747 | -2.1% |
| 17 | Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI | $2,656 | $2,030 | $3,351 | $2,624 | +1.2% |
| 18 | Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ | $2,623 | $2,103 | $3,125 | $2,486 | +5.5% |
| 19 | Easton-Raynham, MA | $2,589 | $2,209 | $3,085 | $2,550 | +1.5% |
| 20 | Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL | $2,564 | $2,121 | $3,277 | $2,436 | +5.3% |
| 21 | Seattle-Bellevue, WA | $2,549 | $2,180 | $3,324 | $2,501 | +1.9% |
| 22 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $2,542 | $1,951 | $3,520 | $2,642 | -3.8% |
| 23 | Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI | $2,507 | $1,916 | $3,327 | $2,314 | +8.3% |
| 24 | Eastern Worcester County, MA | $2,499 | $1,910 | $3,424 | $2,166 | +15.4% |
| 25 | Barnstable Town, MA | $2,488 | $1,902 | $3,121 | $2,422 | +2.7% |
Rent ranking · HUD fiscal 2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
What are the most expensive places to rent in the U.S.?
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA is the most expensive place to rent in the U.S., with a $4,254 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent for fiscal 2027, per HUD. San Francisco, CA ($3,697) and Napa, CA ($3,375) follow. 8 of 649 HUD metro rent areas sit at $3,000 or more, while the typical area is $1,256 a month.
How is rent measured on this list?
This list ranks HUD Metro Fair Market Rent areas by the two-bedroom Fair Market Rent for fiscal 2027, which took effect October 1, 2026. HUD sets each figure at its estimate of the 40th percentile of gross rent, rent plus utilities, paid by recent movers into standard-quality units. It is a benchmark, not an average asking rent.
HUD starts from five-year American Community Survey two-bedroom gross rents, adjusts them with private rental-market data and the Consumer Price Index, and trends them forward to fiscal 2027. Because utilities are included, FMRs run above the rent alone where utility bills are high. Nonmetropolitan counties are not ranked; the highest of them, Nantucket County, MA, is $3,583, still below Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA. For listing prices rather than rents, see the most expensive places to buy a house.
Which metros have the highest rents?
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA leads at $4,254 a month for a two-bedroom, about 3.4 times the typical metro area. San Francisco, CA is second at $3,697 and Napa, CA third at $3,375. California areas hold 12 of the top 25 spots.
Linked names open the WealthyBud market page for the parent metro, with listing prices, inventory and rent yield. Where a HUD area is a sub-area of a larger metro, the link goes to the whole metro.
Which big cities are the most expensive to rent?
Among HUD rent areas with at least one million residents, San Francisco, CA is the most expensive at $3,697 for a two-bedroom, followed by San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $3,272. 64 large areas qualify. Population is the 2024 county estimate HUD lists in its FMR file.
| # | HUD metro area | 2-bed FMR FY2027 | Population (2024) | Change vs FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $3,697 | 1,830,544 | +2.6% |
| 2 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $3,272 | 1,902,047 | -6.1% |
| 3 | Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA | $3,057 | 3,165,820 | -5.5% |
| 4 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | $3,008 | 3,605,178 | +2.3% |
| 5 | New York, NY | $2,971 | 9,923,511 | +2.1% |
| 6 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA | $2,964 | 9,808,667 | +2.1% |
| 7 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $2,823 | 3,288,774 | -5.9% |
| 8 | Oakland-Fremont, CA | $2,805 | 2,814,485 | -3.7% |
| 9 | Nassau-Suffolk, NY | $2,689 | 2,919,737 | -2.1% |
| 10 | Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ | $2,623 | 1,351,296 | +5.5% |
Where did rents rise the most for 2027?
Across all 649 metro rent areas, the median two-bedroom FMR rose 2.3% from fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2027, and 205 areas went down. Among areas with at least 250,000 residents, Fayetteville, NC rose the most, +18.0%, to $1,476 a month for a two-bedroom unit.
| # | HUD metro area | FY2026 | FY2027 | Change | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville, NC | $1,251 | $1,476 | +18.0% | 338,545 |
| 2 | Port St. Lucie, FL | $1,757 | $2,069 | +17.8% | 522,676 |
| 3 | Roanoke, VA | $1,254 | $1,464 | +16.7% | 259,856 |
| 4 | Peoria, IL | $1,039 | $1,212 | +16.7% | 365,202 |
| 5 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $1,742 | $2,015 | +15.7% | 797,334 |
| 6 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $1,950 | $2,242 | +15.0% | 385,864 |
| 7 | Kansas City, MO-KS | $1,358 | $1,546 | +13.8% | 2,201,956 |
| 8 | Montgomery, AL | $1,016 | $1,150 | +13.2% | 386,024 |
| 9 | Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL | $1,781 | $2,011 | +12.9% | 8,357,645 |
| 10 | Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC | $1,339 | $1,507 | +12.5% | 682,795 |
On the other side, Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA had the largest decrease among areas of that size, -10.0% to $2,424. HUD’s method limits year-to-year declines to 10%. The fiscal 2026 values here are HUD’s revised figures, which raised seven areas mid-year, including Los Angeles, Napa and Asheville. For rent-to-price returns, see cash-flow markets and the best places to buy rental property.
What are the cheapest places to rent?
Among areas with at least 250,000 residents outside Puerto Rico, Youngstown-Warren, OH has the lowest two-bedroom Fair Market Rent at $1,003 a month, followed by Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH at $1,006. Smaller county-level HUD areas go as low as $892, and Puerto Rico's 11 areas are all $706 or less.
| # | HUD metro area | 2-bed FMR FY2027 | 1-bed FMR | Change vs FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Youngstown-Warren, OH | $1,003 | $801 | +3.1% |
| 2 | Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | $1,006 | $864 | +3.4% |
| 3 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | $1,017 | $806 | -4.1% |
| 4 | Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | $1,042 | $884 | -0.5% |
| 5 | Wichita, KS | $1,043 | $823 | -5.1% |
| 6 | Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | $1,045 | $926 | -5.9% |
| 7 | Canton-Massillon, OH | $1,049 | $827 | -3.4% |
| 8 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | $1,056 | $852 | -7.6% |
| 9 | Erie, PA | $1,091 | $851 | -10.0% |
| 10 | Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | $1,091 | $845 | +4.5% |
Low rents often come with low home prices. Compare these areas with the cheapest places to buy a house and read the national picture in rent statistics.
How is this list calculated?
Universe: all 649 HUD Metro FMR Areas in the fiscal 2027 file. Some are whole metro areas and some are HUD sub-areas of a larger metro, such as San Francisco and Oakland. Each is ranked by its two-bedroom FMR, descending, with HUD's revised fiscal 2026 value for the change.
- Load HUD’s fiscal 2027 Fair Market Rent file and keep the rows HUD flags as metropolitan.
- Group county and New England town rows by HUD area code. HUD sets one FMR per area, so every row in an area carries the same rents.
- Sum the 2024 population column across each area’s rows for the large-area and change filters.
- Match each area to HUD’s revised fiscal 2026 file (effective May 21, 2026) by the same HUD area code to compute the one-year change.
- Sort by two-bedroom FMR, descending. No values are estimated or filled in.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most expensive city to rent in the U.S.?
By HUD's fiscal 2027 Fair Market Rents, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA is the most expensive metro rent area, at $4,254 a month for a two-bedroom unit, including utilities. San Francisco, CA and Napa, CA rank second and third. All three are in California.
Which big city has the highest rent?
Among HUD rent areas with at least one million residents, San Francisco, CA has the highest two-bedroom Fair Market Rent at $3,697 a month for fiscal 2027. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is next at $3,272. New York's HUD area is $2,971.
What is a Fair Market Rent?
A Fair Market Rent is HUD's estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent, rent plus utilities, for a standard-quality unit in an area. HUD uses it to set Housing Choice Voucher payment standards. It is not the average asking rent, which is often higher in tight markets.
What are the cheapest places to rent in the U.S.?
Among HUD metro areas with at least 250,000 residents outside Puerto Rico, Youngstown-Warren, OH has the lowest fiscal 2027 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent at $1,003 a month, then Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH at $1,006. Some small county-level areas are lower, and Puerto Rico's areas are $706 or less.
Are rents going up in 2027?
HUD's benchmarks mostly rose. The median two-bedroom Fair Market Rent across 649 metro areas increased 2.3% from fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2027, but 205 areas saw a decrease. Fair Market Rents lag the market because they are built from survey data and then trended forward.
How much income do you need to rent in the most expensive areas?
A common budgeting rule caps rent at 30% of gross income. At Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA's $4,254 two-bedroom FMR, that means about $170,000 a year, by WealthyBud arithmetic. At the $1,256 typical metro FMR, it is about $50,000. Many landlords apply their own screen, such as income of three times the monthly rent.
Key takeaways
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA has the highest fiscal 2027 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent, $4,254 a month.
- 8 of 649 HUD metro rent areas are at $3,000 or more; the median area is $1,256.
- San Francisco, CA is the most expensive rent area with over a million residents, at $3,697.
- The median area’s two-bedroom FMR rose 2.3% for fiscal 2027, and 205 areas fell.
- California areas hold 12 of the top 25 spots.
For education only, not real-estate or investment advice. Fair Market Rents are HUD program benchmarks, not asking rents for any listing.