Essex County, Virginia Fair Market Rent 2026

The FY2026 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent for Essex County is $1,113 per month, 11% below the $1,254 median across Virginia. 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.

Studio
$907
per month
1 Bedroom
$912
per month
2 Bedrooms
$1,113
per month
3 Bedrooms
$1,341
per month
4 Bedrooms
$1,556
per month
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What you would actually pay in Essex 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 Essex County, that puts the likely payment standard somewhere between $1,002 and $1,224 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 Virginia at 30% of income takes an hourly wage of $33.64 working full time, or about $69,971 a year. At the state minimum wage of $12.41, that is 109 hours a week.

Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2025 (statewide figure).

All Virginia Fair Market Rents Virginia Waiting Lists

For FY2026, the Fair Market Rent in Essex County is $907 for a studio, $912 for one bedroom, $1,113 for two bedrooms, $1,341 for three bedrooms, and $1,556 for four bedrooms, per month.

The two-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Essex County is $1,113, compared with a statewide median of $1,254 across Virginia. That is 11% below the median.

Not necessarily. The Fair Market Rent is HUD's estimate, but the housing authority serving Essex County sets its own payment standard between 90% and 110% of that figure. Your voucher covers the difference between roughly 30% of your adjusted monthly income and the payment standard. If the unit rents for more than the payment standard, you pay the excess yourself.

Applications go through a local housing authority rather than HUD directly. Browse the Virginia housing authority directory to find the agency covering Essex County and check whether its waiting list is open.

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 .