HUD Fair Market Rent · FY 2026
Fair Market Rent in Maryland by county (FY 2026)
Maryland has 24 counties, and HUD sets a Fair Market Rent for every one of them. For FY 2026 the median two-bedroom is $1,845. The highest is Charles County at $2,246, the lowest Garrett County at $973.
Median 2BR
$1,845
Highest 2BR
$2,246
Charles County
Lowest 2BR
$973
Garrett County
Counties
24
17 in metro areas
Maryland's two-bedroom fair market rent for FY 2026 is $1,845, more than $800 above the national median. Charles County posts the highest county rate in the state at $2,246, and it isn't alone: Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties all share that same number as part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro. Garrett County, out in the western panhandle, is the lowest at $973, less than half of that. 17 of Maryland's 24 counties carry a metro rate, and the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro alone accounts for 7 of them. If you're renting in Montgomery County, don't stop at the county number. Its ZIP-level Small Area FMRs stretch from $1,130 to $3,370, a spread of $2,240, the widest gap in the state by far. Maryland doesn't do average rents well. The distance between a $973 county and a $3,370 ZIP code is the whole story here.
17 of the 24 counties sit inside a HUD metro area and share that metro's rate. The other 7 get a county rate built from their own rents. The Maryland median of $1,845 is about 81% above the national median county ($1,018). HUD also publishes ZIP-level Small Area FMRs covering 24 of the 24 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 down 3% from FY 2025. 7 counties went up, 17 went down, and the rest held.
HUD has already published FY 2027, effective October 1, 2026. Two-bedroom rates go up in 19 counties, down in 5, 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 | YoY | FY 2027 2BR | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles County | Metro | $1,953 | $2,015 | $2,246 | $2,835 | $3,332 | -2.9% | $2,438 | 167,035 |
| Frederick County | Metro | $1,953 | $2,015 | $2,246 | $2,835 | $3,332 | -2.9% | $2,438 | 273,829 |
| Montgomery County | Metro | $1,953 | $2,015 | $2,246 | $2,835 | $3,332 | -2.9% | $2,438 | 1,056,910 |
| Prince George's County | Metro | $1,953 | $2,015 | $2,246 | $2,835 | $3,332 | -2.9% | $2,438 | 957,189 |
| Calvert County | Metro | $1,811 | $1,851 | $2,083 | $2,639 | $3,106 | -10.0% | $1,890 | 93,244 |
| Anne Arundel County | Metro | $1,362 | $1,511 | $1,857 | $2,358 | $2,611 | -5.5% | $2,006 | 588,109 |
| Baltimore County | Metro | $1,362 | $1,511 | $1,857 | $2,358 | $2,611 | -5.5% | $2,006 | 850,737 |
| Carroll County | Metro | $1,362 | $1,511 | $1,857 | $2,358 | $2,611 | -5.5% | $2,006 | 173,225 |
| Harford County | Metro | $1,362 | $1,511 | $1,857 | $2,358 | $2,611 | -5.5% | $2,006 | 261,059 |
| Howard County | Metro | $1,362 | $1,511 | $1,857 | $2,358 | $2,611 | -5.5% | $2,006 | 332,011 |
| Queen Anne's County | Metro | $1,362 | $1,511 | $1,857 | $2,358 | $2,611 | -5.5% | $2,006 | 50,316 |
| Baltimore city | Metro | $1,362 | $1,511 | $1,857 | $2,358 | $2,611 | -5.5% | $2,006 | 584,548 |
| St. Mary's County | Metro | $1,394 | $1,672 | $1,833 | $2,264 | $2,889 | +0.1% | $1,787 | 113,814 |
| Cecil County | Metro | $1,397 | $1,520 | $1,810 | $2,170 | $2,423 | +0.4% | $1,860 | 103,876 |
| Talbot County | Rural | $1,201 | $1,282 | $1,409 | $1,960 | $2,364 | +1.2% | $1,421 | 37,663 |
| Wicomico County | Metro | $1,054 | $1,061 | $1,378 | $1,818 | $1,825 | -7.6% | $1,428 | 103,815 |
| Caroline County | Rural | $995 | $1,001 | $1,314 | $1,642 | $2,184 | +1.5% | $1,320 | 33,320 |
| Washington County | Metro | $869 | $961 | $1,261 | $1,700 | $1,901 | +1.5% | $1,284 | 154,645 |
| Kent County | Rural | $1,062 | $1,137 | $1,246 | $1,635 | $2,090 | -2.0% | $1,241 | 19,289 |
| Worcester County | Rural | $1,027 | $1,035 | $1,194 | $1,661 | $1,919 | -6.4% | $1,184 | 52,827 |
| Somerset County | Metro | $901 | $907 | $1,167 | $1,586 | $1,667 | -6.6% | $1,144 | 24,672 |
| Dorchester County | Rural | $947 | $952 | $1,144 | $1,591 | $1,919 | -0.9% | $1,159 | 32,557 |
| Allegany County | Rural | $694 | $823 | $973 | $1,333 | $1,452 | +4.3% | $1,014 | 68,161 |
| Garrett County | Rural | $848 | $864 | $973 | $1,353 | $1,441 | +4.3% | $1,014 | 28,856 |
24 counties. HUD publishes studio through 4 bedroom rates. Tap a county for payment standards, ZIP-level rates and income needed.
Highest 2BR rates
Questions people ask
It depends on the county. For FY 2026 the median two-bedroom FMR across Maryland's 24 counties is $1,845, ranging from $973 in Garrett County to $2,246 in Charles County. Every county's full table is linked on this page.
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