District of Columbia Fair Market Rents 2026

HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for District of Columbia. It is the rent estimate your housing authority starts from when it decides how much a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher will cover. The two-bedroom Fair Market Rent here is $2,246 per month.

What it takes to afford a two-bedroom in District of Columbia

Housing wage
$44.50/hr
Annual income needed
$92,560
Hours at minimum wage
102/wk

To rent a modest two-bedroom in District of Columbia without spending more than 30% of income on housing, a household needs to earn $44.50 per hour full time. At the state minimum wage of $17.50, that means working 102 hours a week. Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2025.

Advertisement

FY2026 Fair Market Rents by County

County Studio 1 BR 2 BR 3 BR 4 BR
District of Columbia $1,953 $2,015 $2,246 $2,835 $3,332

Find a housing authority in District of Columbia

Fair Market Rent sets the ceiling, but the housing authority issuing your voucher sets the payment standard and runs the waiting list. Start there.

District of Columbia Housing Authorities District of Columbia Waiting Lists

For FY2026, HUD publishes a single Fair Market Rent area covering District of Columbia. The two-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,246 per month.

No. Each housing authority in District of Columbia sets its own payment standard, anywhere from 90% to 110% of the HUD Fair Market Rent for its area, and some receive HUD approval to go higher. Two authorities serving the same county can pay different amounts, so confirm the figure with the authority that will issue your voucher.

Find your county in the table below to see the FY2026 rent HUD estimates for each bedroom size. That figure is the starting point your housing authority uses to set its payment standard, which caps the subsidy on your unit. You generally pay about 30% of your adjusted monthly income, with the voucher covering the rest up to that cap.

Source: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026 · huduser.gov

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, gender, and disability. The Fair Housing Act ensures that all persons receive equal housing opportunity. For more information about the Fair Housing Act and your rights, visit the Department of Housing and Urban Development .