HUD Fair Market Rent · FY 2026 · Effective Oct 1, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026
Fair Market Rent in Lowndes County, Alabama (FY 2026)
$1,016 a month. That's HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Lowndes County, and it's the baseline every voucher in Lowndes is measured against.
Two-bedroom FMR
$1,016
-3.7% from FY 2025
Payment standard
$914–$1,118
90% to 110% of the FMR, two-bedroom
Income to afford
$40,640
a year, with rent at 30% of income
Rank in Alabama
17th of 67
by two-bedroom FMR, highest first
HUD has already published FY 2027. On October 1, 2026 the two-bedroom rate in Lowndes moves to $1,150. That's up 13%. The full FY 2027 table is in the history section below.
FY 2026 Fair Market Rents
Payment standard is the 90% to 110% band a housing authority can set. Income needed puts rent at 30% of gross income, and the hourly wage assumes a 40-hour week.
| Bedrooms | FMR | Payment standard | Income needed | Hourly wage | vs FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $860 | $774–$946 | $34,400 | $16.54/hr | +1.4% |
| 1 bedroom | $870 | $783–$957 | $34,800 | $16.73/hr | -2.0% |
| 2 bedroom | $1,016 | $914–$1,118 | $40,640 | $19.54/hr | -3.7% |
| 3 bedroom | $1,304 | $1,174–$1,434 | $52,160 | $25.08/hr | -3.0% |
| 4 bedroom | $1,537 | $1,383–$1,691 | $61,480 | $29.56/hr | -7.7% |
Five to eight bedrooms (PropMetrics estimates)
HUD stops at four bedrooms. These add 15% of the four-bedroom rent per extra bedroom. It's our estimate, not a HUD number.
| Bedrooms | Estimated FMR | Payment standard |
|---|---|---|
| 5 bedroom Estimate | $1,768 | $1,591–$1,945 |
| 6 bedroom Estimate | $1,998 | $1,798–$2,198 |
| 7 bedroom Estimate | $2,229 | $2,006–$2,452 |
| 8 bedroom Estimate | $2,459 | $2,213–$2,705 |
Source: HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, FY 2026 Fair Market Rents. Rents include utilities. huduser.gov
Market check
HUD's number is one input. What does a two-bedroom in Lowndes actually rent for?
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What a voucher pays here
The voucher doesn't pay the FMR itself. It pays the payment standard. Housing authorities set it anywhere from 90% to 110% of FMR, which puts a two-bedroom standard in Lowndes somewhere between $914 and $1,118. The tenant pays roughly 30% of their income, the voucher covers the rest up to the standard, and the PHA won't approve a rent above what comparable unassisted units get.
$1,016 a month is affordable, by HUD's 30% rule, on an income of roughly $40,640 a year. Put another way, $20 an hour full time.
Worked example for a two-bedroom renting at the payment standard. The tenant pays 30% of monthly income and the voucher covers the rest.
| Monthly household income | Tenant pays (30%) | Voucher pays at 90%$914 | Voucher pays at 100%$1,016 | Voucher pays at 110%$1,118 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,500 | $750 | $164 | $266 | $368 |
| $4,000 | $1,200 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Rate history
The two-bedroom rate went down 4% from FY 2025 ($1,055) to FY 2026 ($1,016). Since FY 2020 it's up 22% in total, about 3.4% a year. The Alabama median moved up 3% over the same year.
| Fiscal year | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR | 2BR change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2020 | $583 | $702 | $830 | $1,047 | $1,425 | — |
| FY 2021 | $640 | $766 | $908 | $1,148 | $1,520 | +9.4% |
| FY 2022 | $643 | $764 | $914 | $1,156 | $1,494 | +0.7% |
| FY 2023 | $716 | $817 | $977 | $1,241 | $1,595 | +6.9% |
| FY 2024 | $836 | $913 | $1,092 | $1,383 | $1,753 | +11.8% |
| FY 2025 | $848 | $888 | $1,055 | $1,345 | $1,665 | -3.4% |
| FY 2026In effect | $860 | $870 | $1,016 | $1,304 | $1,537 | -3.7% |
| FY 2027From Oct 1, 2026 | $986 | $1,003 | $1,150 | $1,476 | $1,708 | +13.2% |
About this rate
Fair Market Rent is HUD's estimate of what a modest, decent unit rents for in an area, utilities included. It's set once a year and runs October to September. For FY 2026 that's October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. In Lowndes, that runs from $860 for a studio up to $1,537 for four bedrooms, all five rates in the table above.
This is a metro rate. The county doesn't get one of its own. HUD lumps Lowndes in with 3 other counties in the Montgomery metro, Montgomery County, Elmore County, Autauga County among them, and every one of them gets $1,016 for a two-bedroom. Where you are inside the metro doesn't change the county number. It does change the ZIP number, covered below.
Among Alabama's 67 counties, Lowndes ranks 17th for two-bedroom FMR. That's about 16% above the state median of $879 and within a couple percent of the national median county at $1,018. About 10,153 people live here, 65th in the state.
Rates by ZIP code
HUD also publishes Small Area FMRs by ZIP code. For the 4 ZIP codes it covers in Lowndes, the two-bedroom rate is $900 across the board, so there's no ZIP-level story here.
Counties sharing the Montgomery metro rate
HUD sets one rate for the whole metro, so every county here carries the same $1,016 two-bedroom figure as Lowndes.
Nearby counties
Two-bedroom FMR, with how each compares to Lowndes.
Montgomery County
23 mi · 228,132 people
$1,016
same rate
Autauga County
27 mi · 58,761 people
$1,016
same rate
Butler County
32 mi · 18,981 people
$837
-18%
Dallas County
32 mi · 38,326 people
$836
-18%
Crenshaw County
34 mi · 13,205 people
$776
-24%
Elmore County
39 mi · 87,694 people
$1,016
same rate
Wilcox County
44 mi · 10,441 people
$843
-17%
Pike County
45 mi · 32,997 people
$912
-10%
Questions people ask
$1,016 a month for FY 2026, which runs October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The other rates are $860 for a studio, $870 for one bedroom, $1,304 for three and $1,537 for four.
Tools for this county
Fair Market Rent lookup
Any ZIP code's Small Area FMR by bedroom count
Section 8 rent calculator
Payment standard and tenant share for a specific rent
What is Fair Market Rent?
How HUD calculates FMR and what it means for landlords
Rent affordability calculator
The income a household needs for a given rent
What does a rental in Lowndes actually go for?
HUD's number is one input. Search any address in Lowndes for a rent estimate built from nearby comps. 3 free searches, no card.
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