County FMR · HUD FY2026
Benton County Fair Market Rent
HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for Benton County, MS - 20% below the US average.
- $768
- 1-bedroom FMR
- $842
- 2-bedroom FMR
- -8.9%
- YoY change
- -20%
- vs US avg
The verdict
Benton is the 4th cheapest of 82 counties in Mississippi by 2-bedroom FMR; nationally it ranks #32 most affordable of 3,145 HUD counties; rent here has fallen 8.9% since FY 2025, a modest shift relative to most counties.
- #32
- most affordable of 3,145 US counties (2BR)
- #4
- cheapest of 82 in Mississippi (2BR)
- -2%
- vs the state average
- $30,720
- income to afford it (30% rule)
General and Operations Managers spend the smallest share of income on rent here (10.4%), while Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary spend the most (42.3%).
FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rent for Benton County, MS. Verify with HUD →
HUD sets the FY 2026 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent for Benton County, Mississippi at $768 per month - the federal rental-assistance benchmark for this county. A 2-bedroom costs $842/mo and a studio is $727/mo. This is 20% lower than the national average of $959 and 2% below the Mississippi average of $782.
Rent decreased8.9% from FY 2025 ($843), declining against the trend. The 30% affordability floor is comparatively reachable here at $30,720/year.
Observed renter burden: 34.0% of the 506 renter households counted by ACS paid at least 30% of income in gross rent. This ACS 2023 household measure is distinct from HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent benchmark above.
Market slack: The ACS rental vacancy rate here is 15.8%, a loose rental market that typically gives renters more negotiating leverage than the FMR schedule alone implies.
Local labor market: The county's BLS unemployment rate has averaged 4.1% over the past 12 months, close to the typical US county range.
FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rents in Mississippi. Population: 7,637. Population declined 8.0% over the past five years (Census ACS), a trend that can ease rental-market pressure over time even as FMR reflects recent rent levels. That's slower than Mississippi's statewide growth of -1.2% over the same period.
FMR filing desk
Area BENTON·COUNTY·MS·MS
Benton County, MS: $768/mo 1BR · #32 of 3145 counties (2BR) · FY2026
- FMR-AREA MS
- 1BR-FMR $768
- 2BR-FMR $842
- RANK-LOW #32
- YOY-DOWN -8.9%
- VSUS-BELOW -20%
- VS-ST-NEAR -2% MS
- INC-MID 22%
- POP-SMALL 8K
- PHOTO-NEAR Hinds County
- VOUCH-90-110 $691–$845
- FY-2026 FY2026
Photo-finish peer: Hinds ($329 1BR gap)
Read with: Section 8 housing guide
Fair Market Rents (2026)
Year-over-Year Comparison
| Bedrooms | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $807 | $727 | $-80 (-9.9%) |
| 1 Bedroom | $843 | $768 | $-75 (-8.9%) |
| 2 Bedroom | $933 | $842 | $-91 (-9.8%) |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,242 | $1,157 | $-85 (-6.8%) |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,242 | $1,284 | +$42 (+3.4%) |
Rent Burden Analysis
How much of household income goes to rent in Benton County. The 30% threshold indicates cost burden.
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.
Where Benton sits among every US county
2-bedroom Fair Market Rent vs. all 3,145 HUD counties
$842 higher than 1% of 3,145 counties
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 Benton compares on 1-bedroom rent
1-bedroom FMR vs other Mississippi counties
- DeSoto
DeSoto County
$1,154 1BR FMR / mo
- Hinds
Hinds County
$1,097 1BR FMR / mo
- Rankin
Rankin County
$1,097 1BR FMR / mo
- Madison
Madison County
$1,097 1BR FMR / mo
- Jackson
Jackson County
$951 1BR FMR / mo
- Harrison
Harrison County
$923 1BR FMR / mo
- Benton
Benton County
$768 1BR FMR / mo
What this shows Benton is highlighted. Nearby Mississippi counties by 1-bedroom FMR, highest to lowest: DeSoto County ($1,154), Hinds County ($1,097), Rankin County ($1,097), Madison County ($1,097), Jackson County ($951), Harrison County ($923), Benton County (this county) ($768).
Can Common Jobs Afford Rent Here?
With a below-average 1-bedroom at $768/mo, most of these Mississippi occupations clear, or miss, the 30% affordability line.
| Occupation | MS Salary | Rent Burden | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| General & Operations Managers | $88,290 | 10.4% | Affordable |
| Software Developers | $86,460 | 10.7% | Affordable |
| Registered Nurses | $74,470 | 12.4% | Affordable |
| Accountants & Auditors | $64,170 | 14.4% | Affordable |
| Electricians | $57,300 | 16.1% | Affordable |
| Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | $50,700 | 18.2% | Affordable |
| Elementary School Teachers | $48,440 | 19% | Affordable |
| Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers | $45,610 | 20.2% | Affordable |
| Paralegals & Legal Assistants | $39,120 | 23.6% | Affordable |
| Pharmacy Technicians | $38,210 | 24.1% | Affordable |
| Customer Service Representatives | $35,580 | 25.9% | Affordable |
| Retail Salespersons | $27,810 | 33.1% | Stretched |
| Janitors & Cleaners | $27,610 | 33.4% | Stretched |
| Fast Food & Counter Workers | $22,280 | 41.4% | Stretched |
| Teaching Assistants | $21,790 | 42.3% | Stretched |
Rent Trends (2020–2026)
7-year Fair Market Rent history for Benton County. Shows how HUD rental rates have changed over time.
Over the 6-year span HUD has tracked for Benton (FY 2020-2026), the 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent has risen 33.1% overall, from $577 to $768. The path there hasn't been smooth: year-over-year moves have swung by as much as 18.6% (FY 2024), a volatility pattern that makes single-year comparisons a poor guide to the underlying trend.
| Year | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2026 ↓8.9% | $727 | $768 | $842 |
| FY 2025 ↑4.9% | $807 | $843 | $933 |
| FY 2024 ↑18.6% | $775 | $804 | $903 |
| FY 2023 ↑9.5% | $643 | $678 | $766 |
| FY 2022 ↑3.2% | $576 | $619 | $705 |
| FY 2021 ↑4.0% | $513 | $600 | $684 |
| FY 2020 | $492 | $577 | $657 |
Part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area
Benton County is a outlying county of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metropolitan statistical area, alongside 8 other metro-area counties.
Benton County ranks #9 of 9 counties in this metro area by 1-bedroom FMR. Every county sharing this metro, highest to lowest: Shelby County ($1,154), DeSoto County ($1,154), Tipton County ($1,154), Crittenden County ($1,154), Fayette County ($1,154), Tunica County ($1,073), Marshall County ($846), Tate County ($830), Benton County (this county) ($768).
Nationwide peers by 2BR FMR & rent burden
Two PlainRent-derived comparison paths for Benton County, both outside Mississippi 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 MS (FY2026).
Similar rent burden
Nearest 2BR FMR as a share of median household income (outside MS).
Nearby Counties in Mississippi
Largest counties by population in Mississippi
Showing the 8 largest of 81 other counties in Mississippi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average rent in Benton County?
The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Benton County is $768 per month. A 2-bedroom is $842 and a studio is $727.
How does Benton County rent compare to the national average?
Rent in Benton County is 20% below the national average. A 1-bedroom here costs $768 compared to $959 nationally.
Where does Benton County rank nationally for Fair Market Rent?
According to HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, Benton County's 2-bedroom FMR of $842 ranks #32 most affordable among 3,145 HUD counties, placing it in the lowest-rent tenth of HUD counties.
What income do I need to afford rent in Benton County?
Based on the 30% affordability rule, you need an annual income of at least $30,720 ($2,560/month) to afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent in Benton County.
Is rent going up or down in Benton County?
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Benton County decreased by 8.9% from FY 2025 to FY 2026, going from $843 to $768.
Which jobs can afford rent in Benton County?
Based on Mississippi BLS salary data and the 30% affordability rule, jobs like General and Operations Managers, Software Developers, Registered Nurses can afford a 1-bedroom at $768/mo. 11 of 15 common occupations are affordable here.
How much has rent changed in Benton County over time?
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Benton County went from $577 in FY 2020 to $768 in FY 2026, a total change of +33.1% over 6 years.
How does Fair Market Rent affect Section 8 vouchers in Benton County?
In Benton County, the FY 2026 FMR of $768/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 Benton County?
For Benton County, it's the specific 40th-percentile rent HUD publishes each year ($768/mo for a 1-bedroom in FY 2026).
Is the rental market tight or loose in Benton County?
The ACS rental vacancy rate here is 15.8%, a loose rental market that typically gives renters more negotiating leverage than the FMR schedule alone implies.
What is the unemployment rate in Benton County?
The county's BLS unemployment rate has averaged 4.1% over the past 12 months, close to the typical US county range.
Data sources
What this means for renters
Treat Benton's FY2026 Fair Market Rent as HUD's affordability benchmark, not a single market quote.
- Budget to roughly 30% of income: the FY2026 1-bedroom FMR of $768 implies about $30,720/yr to rent without being cost-burdened. Run your numbers
- Mississippi counties vary widely around this figure - compare specific counties before assuming this applies to yours. Compare vs Hinds
- See where Benton ranks nationally on rent. National rankings
Fair Market Rent is HUD's 40th-percentile policy benchmark used to set Housing Choice Voucher payment standards. Actual asking rents can run higher or lower, and HUD updates FMRs once a year. This site is informational and not financial or relocation advice.
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.