County FMR · HUD FY2026

Bedford County Fair Market Rent

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for Bedford County, TN - 3% below the US average.

$928
1-bedroom FMR
$1,017
2-bedroom FMR
+1.4%
YoY change
-3%
vs US avg

The verdict

Bedford is the 40th most expensive of 95 counties in Tennessee by 2-bedroom FMR; nationally it ranks #1,542 most affordable of 3,145 HUD counties.

#1,542
most affordable of 3,145 US counties (2BR)
#40
most expensive of 95 in Tennessee (2BR)
+0%
vs the state average
$37,120
income to afford it (30% rule)

Software Developers spend the smallest share of income on rent here (9.5%), while Fast Food and Counter Workers spend the most (40%).

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rent for Bedford County, TN. Verify with HUD →

HUD sets the FY 2026 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent for Bedford County, Tennessee at $928 per month - the federal rental-assistance benchmark for this county. A 2-bedroom costs $1,017/mo and a studio is $796/mo. This is 3% lower than the national average of $959 and 0% above the Tennessee average of $924.

Rent increased1.4% from FY 2025 ($915), roughly tracking inflation. Under the 30% rule, affordability starts near $37,120/year for a 1-bedroom.

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rents in Tennessee. Population: 50,533. Population grew 7.8% over the past five years (Census ACS) - among the faster-growing counties nationally, a trend that typically adds upward pressure on rents. That's faster than Tennessee's statewide growth of +5.0% over the same period.

FMR filing desk

Area BEDFORD·COUNTY·TN·TN

Bedford County, TN: $928/mo 1BR · #1542 of 3145 counties (2BR) · FY2026

  • FMR-AREA TN
  • 1BR-FMR $928
  • 2BR-FMR $1,017
  • RANK-MID #1,542
  • YOY-FLAT +1.4%
  • VSUS-NEAR -3%
  • VS-ST-NEAR +0% TN
  • INC-ROOM 18%
  • POP-MID 51K
  • PHOTO-NEAR Shelby County
  • VOUCH-90-110 $835–$1,021
  • FY-2026 FY2026

Photo-finish peer: Shelby ($226 1BR gap)

Read with: How Fair Market Rent works

Fair Market Rents (2026)

Studio
State avg: $882 · US avg: $893
$796/mo
↓ 1.8% YoY -10% vs state -11% vs US
1 Bedroom
State avg: $924 · US avg: $959
$928/mo
↑ 1.4% YoY +0% vs state -3% vs US
2 Bedroom
State avg: $1,118 · US avg: $1,175
$1,017/mo
↑ 0.4% YoY -9% vs state -13% vs US
3 Bedroom
State avg: $1,445 · US avg: $1,525
$1,414/mo
↑ 4.7% YoY -2% vs state -7% vs US
4 Bedroom
State avg: $1,644 · US avg: $1,756
$1,641/mo
↑ 21.4% YoY -0% vs state -7% vs US

Year-over-Year Comparison

Bedrooms FY 2025 FY 2026 Change
Studio $811
$796
$-15 (-1.8%)
1 Bedroom $915
$928
+$13 (+1.4%)
2 Bedroom $1,013
$1,017
+$4 (+0.4%)
3 Bedroom $1,350
$1,414
+$64 (+4.7%)
4 Bedroom $1,352
$1,641
+$289 (+21.4%)

Rent Burden Analysis

How much of household income goes to rent in Bedford County. The 30% threshold indicates cost burden.

Studio
15.4%
Affordable
Need $31,840/yr for 30% rule
1 Bedroom
17.9%
Affordable
Need $37,120/yr for 30% rule
2 Bedroom
19.6%
Affordable
Need $40,680/yr for 30% rule
3 Bedroom
27.3%
Affordable
Need $56,560/yr for 30% rule
4 Bedroom
31.7%
Burdened
Need $65,640/yr for 30% rule
How we calculate this

Rent burden = (FMR × 12) ÷ county median household income. Required income = (FMR × 12) ÷ 0.3, the federal 30%-of-gross-income rule HUD uses to define cost burden. Median household income is from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey; FMR is from HUD's FY2026 release. See methodology.

0%100%National avg22%19.6%
Bedford County 2-bedroom rent burden
County median income: $62,197 · National avg burden: 21.7% ·View Tennessee rent burden →

Where Bedford sits among every US county

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent vs. all 3,145 HUD counties

$1,017 higher than 49% of 3,145 counties

$600–$800: 23 counties (1%). Below this entry. $800–$1,000: 1,406 counties (45%). Below this entry. $1,000–$1,200: 723 counties (23%). This entry sits in this band. $1,200–$1,400: 417 counties (13%). Above this entry. $1,400–$1,600: 181 counties (6%). Above this entry. $1,600–$1,800: 172 counties (5%). Above this entry. $1,800–$2,000: 108 counties (3%). Above this entry. $2,000–$2,200: 29 counties (1%). Above this entry. $2,200–$2,400: 40 counties (1%). Above this entry. $2,400–$2,600: 13 counties (0%). Above this entry. $2,600–$2,800: 9 counties (0%). Above this entry. $2,800–$3,000: 15 counties (0%). Above this entry. $3,000–$3,200: 3 counties (0%). Above this entry. $3,200–$3,400: 1 counties (0%). Above this entry. $3,400–$3,600: 1 counties (0%). Above this entry. $3,600–$3,800: 3 counties (0%). Above this entry. $3,800–$4,000: 0 counties (0%). Above this entry. $4,000–$4,200: 0 counties (0%). Above this entry. $4,200–$4,400: 1 counties (0%). Above this entry. This county $600 $4,400 every US county, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $0.2K-wide band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents · FY2026

How Bedford compares on 1-bedroom rent

1-bedroom FMR vs other Tennessee counties

1BR FMR / mo

What this shows Bedford is highlighted. Nearby Tennessee counties by 1-bedroom FMR, highest to lowest: Davidson County ($1,578), Rutherford County ($1,578), Williamson County ($1,578), Hamilton County ($1,263), Knox County ($1,184), Shelby County ($1,154), Bedford County (this county) ($928).

Source U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) As of FY2026

Can Common Jobs Afford Rent Here?

How a 1-bedroom at $928/mo compares to Tennessee salaries for popular occupations (BLS wage data, 30%-of-income rule).

Occupation TN Salary Rent Burden Verdict
Software Developers $117,340 9.5% Affordable
General & Operations Managers $102,850 10.8% Affordable
Registered Nurses $79,030 14.1% Affordable
Accountants & Auditors $75,500 14.7% Affordable
Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers $59,410 18.7% Affordable
Electricians $59,190 18.8% Affordable
Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $55,610 20% Affordable
Paralegals & Legal Assistants $55,270 20.1% Affordable
Elementary School Teachers $52,690 21.1% Affordable
Customer Service Representatives $40,130 27.7% Affordable
Pharmacy Technicians $38,130 29.2% Affordable
Janitors & Cleaners $31,220 35.7% Stretched
Retail Salespersons $30,770 36.2% Stretched
Teaching Assistants $28,030 39.7% Stretched
Fast Food & Counter Workers $27,840 40% Stretched
Salaries: BLS OES (Tennessee) median · 30% = affordable threshold · Try the salary calculator →

Rent Trends (2020–2026)

7-year Fair Market Rent history for Bedford County. Shows how HUD rental rates have changed over time.

Over the 6-year span HUD has tracked for Bedford (FY 2020-2026), the 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent has risen 56.2% overall, from $594 to $928. The path there hasn't been smooth: year-over-year moves have swung by as much as 22.9% (FY 2024), a volatility pattern that makes single-year comparisons a poor guide to the underlying trend.

$500$600$700$800$900$1,000 FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026 $928
Bedford County 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent, FY2020–FY2026
Year Studio 1 BR 2 BR
FY 2026 ↑1.4% $796 $928 $1,017
FY 2025 ↑1.0% $811 $915 $1,013
FY 2024 ↑22.9% $835 $906 $1,017
FY 2023 ↑16.1% $732 $737 $907
FY 2022 ↑5.3% $630 $635 $835
FY 2021 ↑1.5% $599 $603 $795
FY 2020 $590 $594 $768
Total change (6yr): +56.2%
Annualized: +7.7%/yr
1 BR: $594 → $928

Part of the Shelbyville, TN Micro Area

Bedford County is a central county of the Shelbyville, TN micropolitan statistical area.

Nationwide peers by 2BR FMR & rent burden

Two PlainRent-derived comparison paths for Bedford County, both outside Tennessee so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice above. Axes stay disjoint: burden peers exclude the FMR peer set.

Similar 2-bedroom FMR

Nearest HUD 2BR Fair Market Rents outside TN (FY2026).

Washington County
FL · 2 BR $1,017/mo
Franklin County
GA · 2 BR $1,017/mo
Montgomery County
AL · 2 BR $1,016/mo
Elmore County
AL · 2 BR $1,016/mo

Similar rent burden

Nearest 2BR FMR as a share of median household income (outside TN).

LaPorte County
IN · 19.6% of income · 2 BR $1,152/mo
Lake County
IL · 19.6% of income · 2 BR $1,781/mo
Lincoln County
NE · 19.6% of income · 2 BR $1,052/mo
Henry County
IL · 19.6% of income · 2 BR $1,143/mo

Nearby Counties in Tennessee

Largest counties by population in Tennessee

Showing the 8 largest of 94 other counties in Tennessee.

Shelby County
1 BR: $1,154/mo Pop: 926,440
Davidson County
1 BR: $1,578/mo Pop: 709,786
Knox County
1 BR: $1,184/mo Pop: 481,406
Hamilton County
1 BR: $1,263/mo Pop: 367,193
Rutherford County
1 BR: $1,578/mo Pop: 343,727
Williamson County
1 BR: $1,578/mo Pop: 248,897
Montgomery County
1 BR: $1,094/mo Pop: 222,305
Sumner County
1 BR: $1,578/mo Pop: 196,845
View all counties in Tennessee →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average rent in Bedford County? ▼
The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Bedford County is $928 per month. A 2-bedroom is $1,017 and a studio is $796.
How does Bedford County rent compare to the national average? ▼
Rent in Bedford County is 3% below the national average. A 1-bedroom here costs $928 compared to $959 nationally.
Where does Bedford County rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼
According to HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, Bedford County's 2-bedroom FMR of $1,017 ranks #1,542 most affordable among 3,145 HUD counties, placing it in the middle half of HUD counties.
What income do I need to afford rent in Bedford County? ▼
Based on the 30% affordability rule, you need an annual income of at least $37,120 ($3,093/month) to afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent in Bedford County.
Is rent going up or down in Bedford County? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Bedford County increased by 1.4% from FY 2025 to FY 2026, going from $915 to $928.
Which jobs can afford rent in Bedford County? ▼
Based on Tennessee BLS salary data and the 30% affordability rule, jobs like Software Developers, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses can afford a 1-bedroom at $928/mo. 11 of 15 common occupations are affordable here.
How much has rent changed in Bedford County over time? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Bedford County went from $594 in FY 2020 to $928 in FY 2026, a total change of +56.2% over 6 years.
How does Fair Market Rent affect Section 8 vouchers in Bedford County? ▼
In Bedford County, the FY 2026 FMR of $928/mo for a 1-bedroom sets the baseline that local housing authorities use for Section 8 payment standards.
What does Fair Market Rent mean for Bedford County? ▼
For Bedford County, it's the specific 40th-percentile rent HUD publishes each year ($928/mo for a 1-bedroom in FY 2026).

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD Fair Market Rents. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county-level fair-market rent estimates by bedroom count. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr
  • HUD Income Limits - area median income for affordability calculations. huduser.gov/datasets/il
  • HUD Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) - rent burden and housing-cost distribution. huduser.gov/datasets/cp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - county and metro housing characteristics + median rent. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BLS Consumer Price Index, Rent of Primary Residence - rent inflation by metro. bls.gov/cpi
  • IRS Migration Data (SOI) - interstate migration aggregates affecting county demand. irs.gov/statistics/migration
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics - state-level median wages by occupation, used for job affordability analysis. bls.gov/oes

Every figure on PlainRent is rendered directly from HUD's published Fair Market Rent records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of FY 2026.