How much will Section 8 pay for rent in Suffolk County?

Up to the housing authority's payment standard, which it sets between 90% and 110% of FMR. For a two-bedroom that's $2,647 to $3,235. The voucher covers the gap between that standard and about 30% of the tenant's income, and it never pays more than the unit would rent for without a voucher.

Does Suffolk County have its own Fair Market Rent?

No. It uses the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metro rate, shared with 3 other counties. HUD sets one FMR for the whole metro area, so Suffolk gets the same $2,941 two-bedroom figure as Middlesex County.

Why does my ZIP code show a different Fair Market Rent than Suffolk County?

HUD publishes a second set of numbers, Small Area FMRs, for individual ZIP codes. In Suffolk those run from $2,560 to $4,410 for a two-bedroom. Housing authorities in metros HUD has designated for Small Area FMRs use the ZIP rate. The rest use the county rate. Your PHA can tell you which one applies.

When do the next Fair Market Rents for Suffolk County come out?

HUD usually publishes the new fiscal year's rates in late August or September, and they take effect October 1. This page updates as soon as the new Massachusetts figures are loaded.

What is the FY 2027 Fair Market Rent for Suffolk County?

$3,008 for a two-bedroom, effective October 1, 2026. Studio $2,440, one bedroom $2,518, three $3,584, four $3,953.

HUD Fair Market Rent · FY 2026 · Effective Oct 1, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026

Fair Market Rent in Suffolk County, Massachusetts (FY 2026)

$2,941 a month. That's HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Suffolk County, and it's the baseline every voucher in Suffolk is measured against.

Two-bedroom FMR

$2,941

+3.7% from FY 2025

Payment standard

$2,647–$3,235

90% to 110% of the FMR, two-bedroom

Income to afford

$117,640

a year, with rent at 30% of income

Rank in Massachusetts

2nd of 14

by two-bedroom FMR, highest first

FY 2027

HUD has already published FY 2027. On October 1, 2026 the two-bedroom rate in Suffolk moves to $3,008. That's up 2%. 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	$2,359	$2,123–$2,595	$94,360	$45.37/hr	+4.2%
1 bedroom	$2,476	$2,228–$2,724	$99,040	$47.62/hr	+3.4%
2 bedroom	$2,941	$2,647–$3,235	$117,640	$56.56/hr	+3.7%
3 bedroom	$3,526	$3,173–$3,879	$141,040	$67.81/hr	+3.2%
4 bedroom	$3,894	$3,505–$4,283	$155,760	$74.88/hr	+3.5%

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	$4,478	$4,030–$4,926
6 bedroom Estimate	$5,062	$4,556–$5,568
7 bedroom Estimate	$5,646	$5,081–$6,211
8 bedroom Estimate	$6,230	$5,607–$6,853

Source: HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, FY 2026 Fair Market Rents. Rents include utilities. huduser.gov

Market check

Two-bedrooms in Boston are asking $3,767. HUD says $2,941.

That's 28% above the county FMR. Median asking rent across 20 Boston ZIP codes with active 2BR listings. FMR includes utilities and asking rents usually don't, so the true gap is a little smaller.

Boston rents by ZIP code Section 8 vs market rent, 65 metros

No card needed

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 Suffolk somewhere between $2,647 and $3,235. 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.

$2,941 a month is affordable, by HUD's 30% rule, on an income of roughly $117,640 a year. Put another way, $57 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%$2,647	Voucher pays at 100%$2,941	Voucher pays at 110%$3,235
$2,500	$750	$1,897	$2,191	$2,485
$4,000	$1,200	$1,447	$1,741	$2,035

Run your own numbers in the Section 8 rent calculator

Rate history

The two-bedroom rate went up 4% from FY 2025 ($2,837) to FY 2026 ($2,941). Since FY 2020 it's up 27% in total, about 4.1% a year. The Massachusetts median held flat over the same year.

Fiscal year	Studio	1 BR	2 BR	3 BR	4 BR	2BR change
FY 2020	$1,715	$1,900	$2,311	$2,880	$3,131	—
FY 2021	$1,742	$1,924	$2,336	$2,906	$3,168	+1.1%
FY 2022	$1,803	$1,986	$2,399	$2,966	$3,253	+2.7%
FY 2023	$2,025	$2,198	$2,635	$3,207	$3,540	+9.8%
FY 2024	$2,212	$2,377	$2,827	$3,418	$3,765	+7.3%
FY 2025	$2,263	$2,394	$2,837	$3,418	$3,761	+0.4%
FY 2026In effect	$2,359	$2,476	$2,941	$3,526	$3,894	+3.7%
FY 2027From Oct 1, 2026	$2,440	$2,518	$3,008	$3,584	$3,953	+2.3%

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 Suffolk, that runs from $2,359 for a studio up to $3,894 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 Suffolk in with 3 other counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metro, Middlesex County, Essex County, Norfolk County among them, and every one of them gets $2,941 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 Massachusetts's 14 counties, Suffolk ranks 2nd for two-bedroom FMR. That's about 29% above the state median of $2,283 and about 189% above the national median county at $1,018. About 782,172 people live here, 4th in the state.

Live asking rents in Boston

The county FMR next to what landlords are asking in Boston right now

Rates by ZIP code

Zoom in and the picture changes. HUD's Small Area FMRs put a two-bedroom at $2,560 in 02119 (Roxbury) and $4,410 in 02109 (Boston), with the 43 ZIP codes in between. Housing authorities in HUD-designated metros use those ZIP rates instead of the county rate. Everywhere else the ZIP numbers show where rents actually sit, and the county rate stays the official standard.

ZIP	City	2BR rate	vs county
02108	Boston	$3,670	+24.8%
02109	Boston	$4,410	+49.9%
02110	Boston	$4,410	+49.9%
02111	Boston	$3,700	+25.8%
02112	Boston	$3,040	+3.4%
02113	Boston	$3,600	+22.4%
02114	Boston	$4,410	+49.9%
02115	Boston	$3,330	+13.2%
02116	Boston	$4,170	+41.8%
02117	Boston	$3,040	+3.4%
02118	Boston	$2,630	-10.6%
02119	Roxbury	$2,560	-13.0%
02120	Roxbury Crossing	$2,860	-2.8%
02121	Dorchester	$2,560	-13.0%
02122	Dorchester	$2,800	-4.8%
02123	Boston	$3,040	+3.4%
02124	Dorchester Center	$2,560	-13.0%
02125	Dorchester	$2,560	-13.0%
02126	Mattapan	$2,560	-13.0%
02127	Boston	$3,790	+28.9%
02128	Boston	$2,740	-6.8%
02129	Charlestown	$4,020	+36.7%
02130	Jamaica Plain	$3,410	+15.9%
02131	Roslindale	$2,830	-3.8%
02132	West Roxbury	$2,880	-2.1%
02133	Boston	$3,890	+32.3%
02134	Allston	$3,300	+12.2%
02135	Brighton	$3,250	+10.5%
02136	Hyde Park	$2,580	-12.3%
02137	Readville	$3,040	+3.4%
02150	Chelsea	$2,630	-10.6%
02151	Revere	$2,570	-12.6%
02152	Winthrop	$2,620	-10.9%
02163	Boston	$4,290	+45.9%
02196	Boston	$3,040	+3.4%
02199	Boston	$4,410	+49.9%
02201	Boston	$3,040	+3.4%
02203	Boston	$3,040	+3.4%
02204	Boston	$2,941County rate	—
02205	Boston	$3,040	+3.4%

Rates by town

Massachusetts publishes Fair Market Rents town by town instead of by county. All 4 towns in Suffolk County share the same rate for FY 2026, so the county number is the town number wherever you are.

Town	Population	Studio	1 BR	2 BR	3 BR	4 BR
Boston city	663,972	$2,359	$2,476	$2,941	$3,526	$3,894
Revere city	59,933	$2,359	$2,476	$2,941	$3,526	$3,894
Chelsea city	39,460	$2,359	$2,476	$2,941	$3,526	$3,894
Winthrop Town city	18,807	$2,359	$2,476	$2,941	$3,526	$3,894

Counties sharing the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metro rate

HUD sets one rate for the whole metro, so every county here carries the same $2,941 two-bedroom figure as Suffolk.

Middlesex County

1,622,896 people

$2,825

Essex County

807,258 people

$2,683

Norfolk County

724,540 people

$2,937

Nearby counties

Two-bedroom FMR, with how each compares to Suffolk.

Norfolk County

11 mi · 724,540 people

$2,937

same rate

Middlesex County

15 mi · 1,622,896 people

$2,825

-4%

Essex County

21 mi · 807,258 people

$2,683

-9%

Plymouth County

26 mi · 531,889 people

$2,629

-11%

Bristol County

38 mi · 578,436 people

$1,798

-39%

Worcester County

41 mi · 861,664 people

$1,997

-32%

Barnstable County

59 mi · 230,073 people

$2,422

-18%

Dukes County

67 mi · 20,751 people

$2,143

-27%

Questions people ask

$2,941 a month for FY 2026, which runs October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The other rates are $2,359 for a studio, $2,476 for one bedroom, $3,526 for three and $3,894 for four.

Tools for this county

All Massachusetts counties All states

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