HUD Fair Market Rent · FY 2026 · Effective Oct 1, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026
Fair Market Rent in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana (FY 2026)
$1,026 a month. That's HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Ouachita Parish, and it's the baseline every voucher in Ouachita is measured against.
Two-bedroom FMR
$1,026
+3.1% from FY 2025
Payment standard
$923–$1,129
90% to 110% of the FMR, two-bedroom
Income to afford
$41,040
a year, with rent at 30% of income
Rank in Louisiana
25th of 64
by two-bedroom FMR, highest first
HUD has already published FY 2027. On October 1, 2026 the two-bedroom rate in Ouachita moves to $1,017. That's down 1%. 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 | $765 | $689–$842 | $30,600 | $14.71/hr | -0.1% |
| 1 bedroom | $793 | $714–$872 | $31,720 | $15.25/hr | +3.4% |
| 2 bedroom | $1,026 | $923–$1,129 | $41,040 | $19.73/hr | +3.1% |
| 3 bedroom | $1,319 | $1,187–$1,451 | $52,760 | $25.37/hr | +3.4% |
| 4 bedroom | $1,358 | $1,222–$1,494 | $54,320 | $26.12/hr | +3.0% |
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 | $1,562 | $1,406–$1,718 |
| 6 bedroom Estimate | $1,765 | $1,589–$1,942 |
| 7 bedroom Estimate | $1,969 | $1,772–$2,166 |
| 8 bedroom Estimate | $2,173 | $1,956–$2,390 |
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 Ouachita actually rent for?
Search any address in Ouachita for a rent estimate built from nearby comps, with the HUD figure right next to it.
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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 Ouachita somewhere between $923 and $1,129. 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.
$1,026 a month is affordable, by HUD's 30% rule, on an income of roughly $41,040 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%$923 | Voucher pays at 100%$1,026 | Voucher pays at 110%$1,129 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,500 | $750 | $173 | $276 | $379 |
| $4,000 | $1,200 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Rate history
The two-bedroom rate went up 3% from FY 2025 ($995) to FY 2026 ($1,026). Since FY 2020 it's up 33% in total, about 4.8% a year. The Louisiana median moved down 4% over the same year.
| Fiscal year | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR | 2BR change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2020 | $596 | $600 | $774 | $991 | $1,078 | — |
| FY 2021 | $606 | $610 | $804 | $1,012 | $1,111 | +3.9% |
| FY 2022 | $615 | $619 | $815 | $1,011 | $1,115 | +1.4% |
| FY 2023 | $665 | $669 | $881 | $1,093 | $1,184 | +8.1% |
| FY 2024 | $753 | $757 | $995 | $1,245 | $1,325 | +12.9% |
| FY 2025 | $766 | $767 | $995 | $1,276 | $1,319 | 0.0% |
| FY 2026In effect | $765 | $793 | $1,026 | $1,319 | $1,358 | +3.1% |
| FY 2027From Oct 1, 2026 | $782 | $794 | $1,017 | $1,314 | $1,337 | -0.9% |
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 Ouachita, that runs from $765 for a studio up to $1,358 for four bedrooms, all five rates in the table above.
This is a metro rate. The parish doesn't get one of its own. HUD lumps Ouachita in with one other parish in the Monroe metro, Union Parish among them, and every one of them gets $1,026 for a two-bedroom. Where you are inside the metro doesn't change the parish number. It does change the ZIP number, covered below.
Among Louisiana's 64 counties, Ouachita ranks 25th for two-bedroom FMR. That's about 8% above the state median of $946 and within a couple percent of the national median county at $1,018. About 159,585 people live here, 8th in the state.
Rates by ZIP code
Zoom in and the picture changes. HUD's Small Area FMRs put a two-bedroom at $930 in 71202 (Monroe) and $1,330 in 71280 (Sterlington), with the 16 ZIP codes in between. Housing authorities in HUD-designated metros use those ZIP rates instead of the parish rate. Everywhere else the ZIP numbers show where rents actually sit, and the parish rate stays the official standard.
| ZIP | City | 2BR rate | vs county |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71201 | Monroe | $1,040 | +1.4% |
| 71202 | Monroe | $930 | -9.4% |
| 71203 | Monroe | $1,090 | +6.2% |
| 71207 | Monroe | $1,040 | +1.4% |
| 71209 | Monroe | $1,090 | +6.2% |
| 71210 | Monroe | $1,040 | +1.4% |
| 71211 | Monroe | $1,040 | +1.4% |
| 71212 | Monroe | $1,040 | +1.4% |
| 71213 | Monroe | $1,040 | +1.4% |
| 71217 | Monroe | $1,026County rate | — |
| 71225 | Calhoun | $990 | -3.5% |
| 71240 | Fairbanks | $1,040 | +1.4% |
| 71280 | Sterlington | $1,330 | +29.6% |
| 71281 | Swartz | $1,040 | +1.4% |
| 71291 | West Monroe | $1,120 | +9.2% |
| 71292 | West Monroe | $940 | -8.4% |
| 71294 | West Monroe | $1,040 | +1.4% |
Counties sharing the Monroe metro rate
HUD sets one rate for the whole metro, so every county here carries the same $1,026 two-bedroom figure as Ouachita.
Nearby counties
Two-bedroom FMR, with how each compares to Ouachita.
Richland Parish
25 mi · 20,028 people
$944
-8%
Morehouse Parish
28 mi · 25,438 people
$834
-19%
Jackson Parish
30 mi · 15,093 people
$834
-19%
Union Parish
30 mi · 21,049 people
$1,026
same rate
Lincoln Parish
31 mi · 48,323 people
$881
-14%
Caldwell Parish
33 mi · 9,658 people
$834
-19%
Franklin Parish
38 mi · 19,752 people
$834
-19%
West Carroll Parish
46 mi · 9,800 people
$834
-19%
Questions people ask
$1,026 a month for FY 2026, which runs October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The other rates are $765 for a studio, $793 for one bedroom, $1,319 for three and $1,358 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 Ouachita actually go for?
HUD's number is one input. Search any address in Ouachita for a rent estimate built from nearby comps. 3 free searches, no card.
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