HUD Fair Market Rent · FY 2026 · effective Oct 1, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026
Fair Market Rent in Waynesboro city, Virginia (FY 2026)
A two-bedroom in Waynesboro city carries a FY 2026 Fair Market Rent of $1,261 a month, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. Everything Section 8 pays in Waynesboro keys off that figure.
2 bedroom FMR
$1,261
FY 2026, utilities included
Payment standard range
$1,135 to $1,387
90% to 110% of FMR
Income to afford 2BR
$50,440
per year, at 30% of income
Rank in Virginia
64th of 133
by 2BR FMR
HUD has already published FY 2027. On October 1, 2026 the two-bedroom rate in Waynesboro moves to $1,199. That's down 5%. The full FY 2027 table is in the history section below.
HUD's number is one input. What does a two-bedroom in Waynesboro actually rent for?
Search any address in Waynesboro for a rent estimate built from nearby comps, with the HUD figure right next to it.
FY 2026 Fair Market Rents
| Bedrooms | FMR | Payment standard | Income needed | Hourly wage | vs FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,088 | $979 to $1,197 | $43,520 | $20.92/hr | -1.7% |
| 1 bedroom | $1,095 | $986 to $1,205 | $43,800 | $21.06/hr | -1.7% |
| 2 bedroom | $1,261 | $1,135 to $1,387 | $50,440 | $24.25/hr | -1.6% |
| 3 bedroom | $1,734 | $1,561 to $1,907 | $69,360 | $33.35/hr | -3.5% |
| 4 bedroom | $1,941 | $1,747 to $2,135 | $77,640 | $37.33/hr | -7.2% |
5 to 8 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 | $2,232 | $2,009 to $2,455 |
| 6 bedroom Estimate | $2,523 | $2,271 to $2,775 |
| 7 bedroom Estimate | $2,814 | $2,533 to $3,095 |
| 8 bedroom Estimate | $3,106 | $2,795 to $3,417 |
Source: HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, FY 2026 Fair Market Rents. Rents include utilities. huduser.gov
HUD sets Fair Market Rent once a year, based on what typical units in the area actually rent for, with utilities folded in. FY 2026 runs October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, and in Waynesboro city the five published rates run from $1,088 to $1,941, studio through four bedrooms.
Waynesboro doesn't get its own number. It sits inside the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro and shares one rate with 2 other cities, including Augusta County, Staunton city. HUD sets metro FMRs from rents across the whole metro, which is why a rural corner of a big metro can carry a city-sized rate.
The state median two-bedroom FMR is $1,254. Waynesboro comes in at $1,261, within a couple percent of that, and ranks 64th of 133 in Virginia. Against the national median county ($1,018) it's about 24% above. Population is around 22,341.
Counties sharing the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro rate
Rates by ZIP code
HUD also publishes Small Area FMRs by ZIP code. For the one ZIP code it covers in Waynesboro, the two-bedroom rate is $1,190 across the board, so there's no ZIP-level story here.
| ZIP | City | 2BR rate | vs county |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22980 | Waynesboro | $1,190 | -5.6% |
What a voucher pays here
The FMR isn't the check you'd receive. Your local housing authority turns it into a payment standard, set between 90% and 110% of FMR, so a two-bedroom here lands between $1,135 and $1,387. Subtract about 30% of the tenant's income and that's the housing assistance payment. If you ask more than similar unassisted units rent for, the PHA's rent reasonableness check will push back.
At the standard 30% of income, a household needs about $50,440 a year to afford $1,261 a month. On a 40-hour week that's $24 an hour.
Worked example for a two-bedroom, assuming the rent equals the payment standard. Tenant pays 30% of monthly income, HUD's housing assistance payment covers the rest.
| Monthly household income | Tenant pays (30%) | HAP at 90% ($1,135) | HAP at 100% ($1,261) | HAP at 110% ($1,387) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,500 | $750 | $385 | $511 | $637 |
| $4,000 | $1,200 | $0 | $61 | $187 |
Rate history
The two-bedroom rate went down 2% from FY 2025 ($1,282) to FY 2026 ($1,261). Since FY 2020 it's up 40% in total, about 5.8% a year. The Virginia median moved up 5% over the same year.
| Year | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR | 2BR change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2020 | $678 | $683 | $899 | $1,222 | $1,285 | — |
| FY 2021 | $690 | $695 | $910 | $1,239 | $1,416 | +1.2% |
| FY 2022 | $729 | $734 | $917 | $1,255 | $1,531 | +0.8% |
| FY 2023 | $824 | $829 | $989 | $1,380 | $1,685 | +7.9% |
| FY 2024 | $981 | $987 | $1,149 | $1,616 | $1,922 | +16.2% |
| FY 2025 | $1,107 | $1,114 | $1,282 | $1,796 | $2,092 | +11.6% |
| FY 2026 | $1,088 | $1,095 | $1,261 | $1,734 | $1,941 | -1.6% |
| FY 2027 | $1,041 | $1,047 | $1,199 | $1,634 | $1,798 | -4.9% |
Nearby counties
Staunton city
$1,26110 mi · pop 25,581
Augusta County
$1,26112 mi · pop 77,433
Albemarle County
$1,82418 mi · pop 112,513
Nelson County
$1,82421 mi · pop 14,773
Charlottesville city
$1,82423 mi · pop 46,289
Harrisonburg city
$1,32226 mi · pop 51,784
Greene County
$1,82427 mi · pop 20,631
Rockingham County
$1,32229 mi · pop 83,905
Questions people ask
$1,261 a month for FY 2026, which runs October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The other rates are $1,088 for a studio, $1,095 for one bedroom, $1,734 for three and $1,941 for four.
Tools for this county
Fair Market Rent lookup
Look up any ZIP code's Small Area FMR by bedroom count.
Section 8 rent calculator
Work out the 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
See what income a household needs for a given rent.
What does a rental in Waynesboro actually go for?
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