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

Up to the housing authority's payment standard, which it sets between 90% and 110% of FMR. For a two-bedroom that's $1,345 to $1,643. 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 Spokane County?

HUD publishes a second set of numbers, Small Area FMRs, for individual ZIP codes. In Spokane those run from $1,380 to $2,200 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 Spokane 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 Washington figures are loaded.

HUD Fair Market Rent · FY 2027 · Effective Oct 1, 2026 to Sep 30, 2027

Fair Market Rent in Spokane County, Washington (FY 2027)

$1,494 a month. That's HUD's FY 2027 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Spokane County, and it's the baseline every voucher in Spokane is measured against.

Two-bedroom FMR

$1,494

-2.4% from FY 2026

Payment standard

$1,345–$1,643

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

Income to afford

$59,760

a year, with rent at 30% of income

Rank in Washington

16th of 39

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	$1,116	$1,004–$1,228	$44,640	$21.46/hr	+1.2%
1 bedroom	$1,173	$1,056–$1,290	$46,920	$22.56/hr	-1.7%
2 bedroom	$1,494	$1,345–$1,643	$59,760	$28.73/hr	-2.4%
3 bedroom	$2,047	$1,842–$2,252	$81,880	$39.37/hr	-2.0%
4 bedroom	$2,497	$2,247–$2,747	$99,880	$48.02/hr	-0.4%

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	$2,872	$2,585–$3,159
6 bedroom Estimate	$3,246	$2,921–$3,571
7 bedroom Estimate	$3,621	$3,259–$3,983
8 bedroom Estimate	$3,995	$3,596–$4,395

Source: HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, FY 2027 Fair Market Rents. Rents include utilities. huduser.gov

Market check

Two-bedrooms in Spokane are asking $1,333. HUD says $1,494.

That's 11% below the county FMR. Median asking rent across 14 Spokane ZIP codes with active 2BR listings. FMR includes utilities and asking rents usually don't, so the true gap is a little smaller.

Spokane 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 Spokane somewhere between $1,345 and $1,643. 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.

$1,494 a month is affordable, by HUD's 30% rule, on an income of roughly $59,760 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%$1,345	Voucher pays at 100%$1,494	Voucher pays at 110%$1,643
$2,500	$750	$595	$744	$893
$4,000	$1,200	$145	$294	$443

Run your own numbers in the Section 8 rent calculator

Rate history

The two-bedroom rate went down 2% from FY 2026 ($1,531) to FY 2027 ($1,494). Since FY 2020 it's up 64% in total, about 7.3% a year. The Washington median moved up 7% over the same year.

Fiscal year	Studio	1 BR	2 BR	3 BR	4 BR	2BR change
FY 2020	$597	$696	$910	$1,305	$1,551	—
FY 2021	$674	$774	$1,007	$1,441	$1,718	+10.7%
FY 2022	$701	$795	$1,033	$1,467	$1,745	+2.6%
FY 2023	$812	$926	$1,198	$1,703	$1,987	+16.0%
FY 2024	$890	$1,012	$1,304	$1,835	$2,131	+8.8%
FY 2025	$998	$1,123	$1,444	$1,997	$2,339	+10.7%
FY 2026	$1,103	$1,193	$1,531	$2,088	$2,506	+6.0%
FY 2027In effect	$1,116	$1,173	$1,494	$2,047	$2,497	-2.4%

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 Spokane, that runs from $1,116 for a studio up to $2,497 for four bedrooms, all five rates in the table above.

Spokane is its own HUD metro area (Spokane, WA), so the rate here is set from rents inside the county rather than a wider region.

Among Washington's 39 counties, Spokane ranks 16th for two-bedroom FMR. That's within a couple percent of the state median of $1,467 and about 41% above the national median county at $1,063. About 549,056 people live here, 4th in the state.

Live asking rents in Spokane

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

Rates by ZIP code

Zoom in and the picture changes. HUD's Small Area FMRs put a two-bedroom at $1,380 in 99004 (Cheney) and $2,200 in 99019 (Liberty Lake), with the 50 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
99001	Airway Heights	$1,600	+7.1%
99003	Chattaroy	$1,410	-5.6%
99004	Cheney	$1,380	-7.6%
99005	Colbert	$1,580	+5.8%
99006	Deer Park	$1,380	-7.6%
99009	Elk	$1,380	-7.6%
99011	Fairchild Air Force Base	$2,000	+33.9%
99012	Fairfield	$1,380	-7.6%
99014	Four Lakes	$1,380	-7.6%
99016	Greenacres	$2,180	+45.9%
99018	Latah	$1,380	-7.6%
99019	Liberty Lake	$2,200	+47.3%
99020	Marshall	$1,390	-7.0%
99021	Mead	$1,600	+7.1%
99022	Medical Lake	$1,380	-7.6%
99023	Mica	$2,020	+35.2%
99025	Newman Lake	$1,520	+1.7%
99026	Nine Mile Falls	$1,380	-7.6%
99027	Otis Orchards	$1,420	-5.0%
99029	Reardan	$1,380	-7.6%
99030	Rockford	$1,490	-0.3%
99031	Spangle	$1,380	-7.6%
99036	Valleyford	$1,480	-0.9%
99037	Veradale	$1,600	+7.1%
99039	Waverly	$1,380	-7.6%
99201	Spokane	$1,380	-7.6%
99202	Spokane	$1,380	-7.6%
99203	Spokane	$1,440	-3.6%
99204	Spokane	$1,380	-7.6%
99205	Spokane	$1,510	+1.1%
99206	Spokane	$1,410	-5.6%
99207	Spokane	$1,430	-4.3%
99208	Spokane	$1,570	+5.1%
99209	Spokane	$1,490	-0.3%
99210	Spokane	$1,490	-0.3%
99211	Spokane	$1,490	-0.3%
99212	Spokane	$1,430	-4.3%
99213	Spokane	$1,490	-0.3%
99214	Spokane	$1,490	-0.3%
99215	Spokane	$1,494County rate	—

Nearby counties

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

Lincoln County

48 mi · 11,489 people

$1,091

-27%

Stevens County

49 mi · 48,067 people

$1,121

-25%

Whitman County

49 mi · 47,003 people

$1,269

-15%

Pend Oreille County

62 mi · 14,050 people

$1,298

-13%

Adams County

73 mi · 20,800 people

$1,262

-16%

Garfield County

82 mi · 2,353 people

$1,143

-23%

Ferry County

88 mi · 7,387 people

$1,058

-29%

Columbia County

91 mi · 4,014 people

$1,190

-20%

Questions people ask

$1,494 a month for FY 2027, which runs October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. The other rates are $1,116 for a studio, $1,173 for one bedroom, $2,047 for three and $2,497 for four.

Tools for this county

All Washington 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