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

Up to the housing authority's payment standard, which it sets between 90% and 110% of FMR. For a two-bedroom that's $1,378 to $1,684. 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.

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

HUD publishes a second set of numbers, Small Area FMRs, for individual ZIP codes. In Kent those run from $1,300 to $2,300 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 Kent 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 Michigan figures are loaded.

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

$1,630 for a two-bedroom, effective October 1, 2026. Studio $1,306, one bedroom $1,365, three $2,113, four $2,417.

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

Fair Market Rent in Kent County, Michigan (FY 2026)

$1,531 a month. That's HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Kent County, and it's the baseline every voucher in Kent is measured against.

Two-bedroom FMR

$1,531

+6.1% from FY 2025

Payment standard

$1,378–$1,684

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

Income to afford

$61,240

a year, with rent at 30% of income

Rank in Michigan

2nd of 83

by two-bedroom FMR, highest first

FY 2027

HUD has already published FY 2027. On October 1, 2026 the two-bedroom rate in Kent moves to $1,630. That's up 6%. 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	$1,232	$1,109–$1,355	$49,280	$23.69/hr	+5.9%
1 bedroom	$1,278	$1,150–$1,406	$51,120	$24.58/hr	+5.7%
2 bedroom	$1,531	$1,378–$1,684	$61,240	$29.44/hr	+6.1%
3 bedroom	$1,980	$1,782–$2,178	$79,200	$38.08/hr	+5.3%
4 bedroom	$2,189	$1,970–$2,408	$87,560	$42.10/hr	+6.4%

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	$2,517	$2,265–$2,769
6 bedroom Estimate	$2,846	$2,561–$3,131
7 bedroom Estimate	$3,174	$2,857–$3,491
8 bedroom Estimate	$3,502	$3,152–$3,852

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

Market check

Two-bedrooms in Grand Rapids are asking $1,460. HUD says $1,531.

That's 5% below the county FMR. Median asking rent across 12 Grand Rapids ZIP codes with active 2BR listings. FMR includes utilities and asking rents usually don't, so the true gap is a little smaller.

Grand Rapids 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 Kent somewhere between $1,378 and $1,684. 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.

$1,531 a month is affordable, by HUD's 30% rule, on an income of roughly $61,240 a year. Put another way, $29 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%$1,378	Voucher pays at 100%$1,531	Voucher pays at 110%$1,684
$2,500	$750	$628	$781	$934
$4,000	$1,200	$178	$331	$484

Run your own numbers in the Section 8 rent calculator

Rate history

The two-bedroom rate went up 6% from FY 2025 ($1,443) to FY 2026 ($1,531). Since FY 2020 it's up 59% in total, about 8.1% a year. The Michigan median moved up 7% over the same year.

Fiscal year	Studio	1 BR	2 BR	3 BR	4 BR	2BR change
FY 2020	$686	$789	$962	$1,296	$1,481	—
FY 2021	$739	$817	$994	$1,309	$1,501	+3.3%
FY 2022	$798	$859	$1,041	$1,356	$1,538	+4.7%
FY 2023	$1,044	$1,101	$1,326	$1,726	$1,928	+27.4%
FY 2024	$1,093	$1,142	$1,369	$1,785	$1,963	+3.2%
FY 2025	$1,163	$1,209	$1,443	$1,880	$2,057	+5.4%
FY 2026In effect	$1,232	$1,278	$1,531	$1,980	$2,189	+6.1%
FY 2027From Oct 1, 2026	$1,306	$1,365	$1,630	$2,113	$2,417	+6.5%

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 Kent, that runs from $1,232 for a studio up to $2,189 for four bedrooms, all five rates in the table above.

Kent is its own HUD metro area (Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI), so the rate here is set from rents inside the county rather than a wider region.

Among Michigan's 83 counties, Kent ranks 2nd for two-bedroom FMR. That's about 48% above the state median of $1,033 and about 50% above the national median county at $1,018. About 657,321 people live here, 4th in the state.

Live asking rents in Grand Rapids

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

Rates by ZIP code

Zoom in and the picture changes. HUD's Small Area FMRs put a two-bedroom at $1,300 in 49343 (Sand Lake) and $2,300 in 49301 (Ada), with the 35 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
49301	Ada	$2,300	+50.2%
49302	Alto	$1,470	-4.0%
49306	Belmont	$1,740	+13.7%
49315	Byron Center	$1,680	+9.7%
49316	Caledonia	$1,720	+12.3%
49317	Cannonsburg	$1,531County rate	—
49319	Cedar Springs	$1,390	-9.2%
49321	Comstock Park	$1,340	-12.5%
49330	Kent City	$1,520	-0.7%
49331	Lowell	$1,440	-5.9%
49341	Rockford	$1,670	+9.1%
49343	Sand Lake	$1,300	-15.1%
49345	Sparta	$1,300	-15.1%
49351	Rockford	$1,530	-0.1%
49355	Ada	$1,531County rate	—
49356	Ada	$1,531County rate	—
49357	Ada	$1,531County rate	—
49418	Grandville	$1,550	+1.2%
49468	Grandville	$1,530	-0.1%
49501	Grand Rapids	$1,530	-0.1%
49502	Grand Rapids	$1,531County rate	—
49503	Grand Rapids	$1,610	+5.2%
49504	Grand Rapids	$1,430	-6.6%
49505	Grand Rapids	$1,570	+2.5%
49506	Grand Rapids	$1,700	+11.0%
49507	Grand Rapids	$1,530	-0.1%
49508	Grand Rapids	$1,550	+1.2%
49509	Wyoming	$1,320	-13.8%
49510	Grand Rapids	$1,530	-0.1%
49512	Grand Rapids	$1,530	-0.1%
49514	Grand Rapids	$1,530	-0.1%
49515	Grand Rapids	$1,530	-0.1%
49516	Grand Rapids	$1,530	-0.1%
49518	Grand Rapids	$1,530	-0.1%
49519	Wyoming	$1,490	-2.7%
49523	Grand Rapids	$1,531County rate	—
49525	Grand Rapids	$1,810	+18.2%
49528	Grand Rapids	$1,531County rate	—
49530	Grand Rapids	$1,531County rate	—
49544	Grand Rapids	$1,450	-5.3%

Nearby counties

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

Ottawa County

21 mi · 296,183 people

$1,519

-1%

Ionia County

27 mi · 66,663 people

$1,209

-21%

Allegan County

30 mi · 120,189 people

$1,267

-17%

Barry County

31 mi · 62,581 people

$1,334

-13%

Montcalm County

31 mi · 66,901 people

$1,203

-21%

Muskegon County

35 mi · 175,947 people

$1,236

-19%

Newaygo County

39 mi · 50,130 people

$976

-36%

Eaton County

46 mi · 109,072 people

$1,268

-17%

Questions people ask

$1,531 a month for FY 2026, which runs October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The other rates are $1,232 for a studio, $1,278 for one bedroom, $1,980 for three and $2,189 for four.

Tools for this county

All Michigan 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