Polk County, Florida Fair Market Rent 2026
The FY2026 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent for Polk County is $1,497 per month, 2% above the $1,471 median across Florida. This is the figure HUD gives your housing authority when it decides how much a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher covers here.
FY2026 Fair Market Rents by Bedroom Size
Gross rent, including tenant-paid utilities other than phone, cable, and internet.
What you would actually pay in Polk County
With a Housing Choice Voucher you contribute about 30% of your adjusted monthly income toward rent and utilities. The housing authority pays the rest, up to its payment standard, which it sets between 90% and 110% of the Fair Market Rent shown above.
For a two-bedroom in Polk County, that puts the likely payment standard somewhere between $1,347 and $1,647 per month. Confirm the exact figure with the authority issuing your voucher before signing a lease, since anything above the payment standard comes out of your own pocket.
Affording this rent without a voucher
Renting a two-bedroom in Florida at 30% of income takes an hourly wage of $37.27 working full time, or about $77,522 a year. At the state minimum wage of $13.00, that is 115 hours a week.
Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2025 (statewide figure).
Housing authorities serving Polk County
These agencies issue vouchers and run the waiting lists for this county. Payment standards are set by the authority, not by HUD.
- Housing Authority of Bartow View contact details
- Lake Wales Housing Authority View contact details
- Lakeland Housing Authority View contact details
- Lakeland Housing Authority 1 View contact details
- Mulberry Housing Authority View contact details
- Polk County Housing Agency View contact details
- Winter Haven Housing Authority View contact details
Source: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026 · huduser.gov