HUD Fair Market Rent · FY 2027 · Effective Oct 1, 2026 to Sep 30, 2027
Fair Market Rent in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana (FY 2027)
$1,149 a month. That's HUD's FY 2027 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in St. Helena Parish, and it's the baseline every voucher in St. Helena is measured against.
Two-bedroom FMR
$1,149
-4.6% from FY 2026
Payment standard
$1,034–$1,264
90% to 110% of the FMR, two-bedroom
Income to afford
$45,960
a year, with rent at 30% of income
Rank in Louisiana
16th of 64
by two-bedroom FMR, highest first
FY 2027 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 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $992 | $893–$1,091 | $39,680 | $19.08/hr | -3.9% |
| 1 bedroom | $1,014 | $913–$1,115 | $40,560 | $19.50/hr | -4.7% |
| 2 bedroom | $1,149 | $1,034–$1,264 | $45,960 | $22.10/hr | -4.6% |
| 3 bedroom | $1,456 | $1,310–$1,602 | $58,240 | $28.00/hr | -3.6% |
| 4 bedroom | $1,842 | $1,658–$2,026 | $73,680 | $35.42/hr | -5.2% |
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 | $2,118 | $1,906–$2,330 |
| 6 bedroom Estimate | $2,395 | $2,156–$2,635 |
| 7 bedroom Estimate | $2,671 | $2,404–$2,938 |
| 8 bedroom Estimate | $2,947 | $2,652–$3,242 |
Source: HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, FY 2027 Fair Market Rents. Rents include utilities. huduser.gov
Market check
HUD's number is one input. What does a two-bedroom in St. Helena actually rent for?
Search any address in St. Helena 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 St. Helena somewhere between $1,034 and $1,264. 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.
$1,149 a month is affordable, by HUD's 30% rule, on an income of roughly $45,960 a year. Put another way, $22 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%$1,034 | Voucher pays at 100%$1,149 | Voucher pays at 110%$1,264 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,500 | $750 | $284 | $399 | $514 |
| $4,000 | $1,200 | $0 | $0 | $64 |
Rate history
The two-bedroom rate went down 5% from FY 2026 ($1,204) to FY 2027 ($1,149). Since FY 2020 it's up 29% in total, about 3.6% a year. The Louisiana median moved up 5% over the same year.
| Fiscal year | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR | 2BR change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2020 | $678 | $765 | $894 | $1,145 | $1,429 | — |
| FY 2021 | $794 | $856 | $1,013 | $1,290 | $1,583 | +13.3% |
| FY 2022 | $744 | $781 | $917 | $1,161 | $1,447 | -9.5% |
| FY 2023 | $859 | $876 | $1,005 | $1,266 | $1,644 | +9.6% |
| FY 2024 | $1,107 | $1,124 | $1,277 | $1,598 | $2,125 | +27.1% |
| FY 2025 | $1,063 | $1,081 | $1,222 | $1,528 | $2,023 | -4.3% |
| FY 2026 | $1,032 | $1,064 | $1,204 | $1,511 | $1,943 | -1.5% |
| FY 2027In effect | $992 | $1,014 | $1,149 | $1,456 | $1,842 | -4.6% |
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 2027 that's October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. In St. Helena, that runs from $992 for a studio up to $1,842 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 St. Helena in with 7 other parishes in the Baton Rouge metro, East Baton Rouge Parish, Livingston Parish, Ascension Parish among them, and every one of them gets $1,149 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, St. Helena ranks 16th for two-bedroom FMR. That's about 15% above the state median of $995 and about 8% above the national median county at $1,063. About 10,858 people live here, 56th in the state.
Rates by ZIP code
HUD also publishes Small Area FMRs by ZIP code. For the 2 ZIP codes it covers in St. Helena, the two-bedroom rate is $1,090 across the board, so there's no ZIP-level story here.
Counties sharing the Baton Rouge metro rate
HUD sets one rate for the whole metro, so every county here carries the same $1,149 two-bedroom figure as St. Helena.
Nearby counties
Two-bedroom FMR, with how each compares to St. Helena.
East Feliciana Parish
20 mi · 19,271 people
$1,149
same rate
Tangipahoa Parish
21 mi · 136,738 people
$1,097
-5%
Livingston Parish
23 mi · 148,115 people
$1,149
same rate
East Baton Rouge Parish
29 mi · 452,938 people
$1,149
same rate
West Baton Rouge Parish
40 mi · 27,974 people
$1,149
same rate
Ascension Parish
41 mi · 130,314 people
$1,149
same rate
West Feliciana Parish
44 mi · 15,327 people
$1,149
same rate
Iberville Parish
45 mi · 29,815 people
$892
-22%
Questions people ask
$1,149 a month for FY 2027, which runs October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. The other rates are $992 for a studio, $1,014 for one bedroom, $1,456 for three and $1,842 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 St. Helena actually go for?
HUD's number is one input. Search any address in St. Helena for a rent estimate built from nearby comps. Free to start, no card.
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