Rent prices in Texas (FY2027)

Metro areas in Texas

2-bedroom FMR; arrow = change vs FY2026. Sorted by population in Texas. Tap a metro for studio to 4 bedrooms and the income you need.

Rural counties (non-metro)

Big number = 2-bedroom FMR. HUD sets a floor: no 2-bedroom FMR may be below the lower of the state’s or the national non-metro median ($1,014 for FY2027).

Rent affordability check

Income needed at the Texas average

Gross yearly income so that rent plus utilities is 30% of income; hourly = yearly ÷ 2,080 hours.

What a Fair Market Rent is (and is not)

A Fair Market Rent (FMR) is set every year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It is HUD’s estimate of the 40th-percentile gross rent — rent plus utilities (except phone, cable and internet) — paid by recent movers into standard-quality, non-luxury rental homes in an area. In other words, about 40% of recently rented units in the area cost less than the FMR and about 60% cost more.

FMRs are not asking rents and not the price of any specific listing. They are built from Census Bureau American Community Survey rents and updated with inflation and trend factors, so they lag the newest listings and smooth out neighborhood differences. HUD uses them to set Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) payment standards and other program rents. Treat them as a solid, official benchmark for a typical modest rental — new listings in popular neighborhoods often cost more.

Questions & answers

Source: HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents (effective October 1, 2026; Federal Register notice), compared with FY2026 revised FMRs. HUD data is in the public domain. State and U.S. averages are Tachlis calculations weighted by each county’s population as listed in HUD’s file. HUD may revise FMRs for areas that request a reevaluation.