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HUD Fair Market Rent · FY 2026

Fair Market Rent in California by county (FY 2026)

California has 58 counties, and HUD sets a Fair Market Rent for every one of them. For FY 2026 the median two-bedroom is $1,687. The highest is Santa Cruz County at $4,214, the lowest Modoc County at $1,108.

Median 2BR

$1,687

Highest 2BR

$4,214

Santa Cruz County

Lowest 2BR

$1,108

Modoc County

Counties

58

37 in metro areas

California's median two-bedroom fair market rent is $1,687, well above the national median of $1,018. Santa Cruz County is the most expensive place in the state at $4,214, and Modoc County up near the Oregon border is the cheapest by far at $1,108. That's a nearly $3,100 difference inside one state. With 58 counties spread across 37 metro areas, some counties share rates. Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo all use the San Francisco HUD Metro FMR Area number, and Sacramento shares its rate with El Dorado and Placer counties. But the county figure can hide a lot, especially if you're pricing a unit in San Diego County. Its ZIP-level Small Area FMRs run from $1,460 to $4,500, a $3,040 spread you won't see until you look past the county line.

37 of the 58 counties sit inside a HUD metro area and share that metro's rate. The other 21 get a county rate built from their own rents. The California median of $1,687 is about 66% above the national median county ($1,018). HUD also publishes ZIP-level Small Area FMRs covering 58 of the 58 counties, which is where the real variation shows up. Pick a county below for the full studio-to-four-bedroom table, payment standard ranges and ZIP rates.

The median two-bedroom moved up 9% from FY 2025. 46 counties went up, 12 went down, and the rest held.

HUD has already published FY 2027, effective October 1, 2026. Two-bedroom rates go up in 30 counties, down in 28, and hold in the rest. The table shows both years.

Fair Market Rent by county

County
Area
Studio
1 BR
2 BR
3 BR
4 BR
YoYFY 2027 2BR
Population
Santa Cruz CountyMetro$3,179$3,298$4,214$5,377$5,659-0.2%$4,254268,571
Marin CountyMetro$2,485$2,977$3,604$4,604$4,772+8.6%$3,697260,485
San Francisco CountyMetro$2,485$2,977$3,604$4,604$4,772+8.6%$3,697851,036
San Mateo CountyMetro$2,485$2,977$3,604$4,604$4,772+8.6%$3,697754,250
Santa Clara CountyMetro$2,621$2,982$3,483$4,602$5,010+1.1%$3,2721,916,831
Orange CountyMetro$2,682$2,746$3,236$4,393$5,246+11.5%$3,0573,175,227
Santa Barbara CountyMetro$2,459$2,746$3,124$4,075$4,647+3.2%$3,106445,213
San Diego CountyMetro$2,288$2,459$3,001$3,998$4,845+4.2%$2,8233,289,701
Alameda CountyMetro$2,142$2,385$2,912$3,724$4,413+8.6%$2,8051,663,823
Contra Costa CountyMetro$2,142$2,385$2,912$3,724$4,413+8.6%$2,8051,162,648
San Benito CountyMetro$2,205$2,212$2,902$3,944$4,190+10.6%$3,00464,753
Sonoma CountyMetro$1,949$2,155$2,827$3,887$4,147+3.2%$2,819488,436
Napa CountyMetro$1,912$2,113$2,773$3,532$4,134-0.7%$3,375137,384
Ventura CountyMetro$1,998$2,250$2,693$3,652$4,240+4.8%$2,424842,009
Monterey CountyMetro$2,173$2,232$2,684$3,623$3,945-10.0%$2,416437,609
Los Angeles CountyMetro$1,863$2,085$2,601$3,298$3,672-0.9%$2,9649,936,690
San Luis Obispo CountyMetro$1,732$1,914$2,512$3,370$3,861+3.2%$2,720281,712
El Dorado CountyMetro$1,748$1,832$2,255$3,002$3,460+2.2%$2,201191,713
Placer CountyMetro$1,748$1,832$2,255$3,002$3,460+2.2%$2,201406,608
Sacramento CountyMetro$1,748$1,832$2,255$3,002$3,460+2.2%$2,2011,579,211
Riverside CountyMetro$1,692$1,777$2,201$2,912$3,514-4.6%$2,1032,429,487
San Bernardino CountyMetro$1,692$1,777$2,201$2,912$3,514-4.6%$2,1032,180,563
Solano CountyMetro$1,567$1,705$2,178$2,911$3,297-10.0%$2,342450,995
Yolo CountyMetro$1,604$1,615$2,104$2,917$3,178-0.6%$2,135217,141
Nevada CountyRural$1,373$1,382$1,813$2,521$3,041+1.6%$1,885102,322
Stanislaus CountyMetro$1,255$1,356$1,758$2,442$2,823+12.3%$1,803552,063
San Joaquin CountyMetro$1,288$1,395$1,742$2,423$2,922+0.3%$2,015779,445
Mendocino CountyRural$1,269$1,306$1,713$2,382$2,789+7.0%$1,68391,145
Amador CountyRural$1,387$1,396$1,698$2,220$2,714+13.7%$1,76540,577
Mono CountyRural$1,171$1,528$1,675$2,330$2,769+12.2%$1,92713,219
Fresno CountyMetro$1,347$1,355$1,664$2,314$2,660+10.6%$1,6851,008,280
Butte CountyMetro$1,155$1,270$1,625$2,260$2,726+10.8%$1,509213,605
Shasta CountyMetro$1,172$1,212$1,590$2,211$2,667-1.4%$1,581181,852
Tuolumne CountyRural$1,096$1,257$1,589$2,078$2,666+10.4%$1,60354,993
Humboldt CountyRural$1,112$1,186$1,550$2,156$2,600+4.9%$1,554136,132
Sutter CountyMetro$1,166$1,272$1,550$2,156$2,600+1.8%$1,60099,101
Yuba CountyMetro$1,166$1,272$1,550$2,156$2,600+1.8%$1,60081,705
Lake CountyRural$1,173$1,181$1,549$2,154$2,599+11.4%$1,61668,024
Calaveras CountyRural$1,078$1,175$1,542$2,145$2,316+8.2%$1,53345,674
Alpine CountyRural$1,068$1,165$1,529$2,126$2,527+5.8%$1,5261,515
Sierra CountyRural$1,068$1,165$1,529$2,126$2,527+5.8%$1,5262,916
Inyo CountyRural$1,058$1,381$1,514$1,940$2,540+6.2%$1,46518,829
Merced CountyMetro$1,116$1,213$1,503$2,067$2,503-0.4%$1,517282,290
Kern CountyMetro$1,132$1,140$1,483$2,062$2,488+7.5%$1,656906,883
Tulare CountyMetro$1,116$1,123$1,474$2,028$2,393+3.1%$1,450473,446
Kings CountyMetro$1,150$1,157$1,469$2,043$2,451+1.7%$1,512152,515
Mariposa CountyRural$1,016$1,148$1,454$2,022$2,439+8.7%$1,48617,130
Plumas CountyRural$973$1,075$1,411$1,962$1,995+7.1%$1,42219,650
Madera CountyMetro$1,055$1,062$1,376$1,914$2,275-4.0%$1,460157,243
Del Norte CountyRural$957$1,222$1,370$1,905$2,277+9.3%$1,40627,462
Glenn CountyRural$939$1,038$1,362$1,807$2,179+11.0%$1,36128,657
Imperial CountyMetro$939$1,038$1,362$1,845$2,285-0.7%$1,347179,578
Tehama CountyRural$952$1,038$1,362$1,865$2,285+0.8%$1,36165,484
Colusa CountyRural$989$995$1,306$1,723$1,729+8.1%$1,34421,811
Lassen CountyRural$882$1,016$1,279$1,779$2,146+7.1%$1,24831,873
Siskiyou CountyRural$962$969$1,249$1,737$1,915+4.0%$1,25444,049
Trinity CountyRural$829$916$1,202$1,636$1,655+7.3%$1,15315,889
Modoc CountyRural$774$883$1,108$1,434$1,831+5.1%$1,0848,651

58 counties. HUD publishes studio through 4 bedroom rates. Tap a county for payment standards, ZIP-level rates and income needed.

Questions people ask

It depends on the county. For FY 2026 the median two-bedroom FMR across California's 58 counties is $1,687, ranging from $1,108 in Modoc County to $4,214 in Santa Cruz County. Every county's full table is linked on this page.

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