County FMR · HUD FY2026

Butte County Fair Market Rent

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for Butte County, CA - 32% above the US average.

$1,270
1-bedroom FMR
$1,625
2-bedroom FMR
+12.8%
YoY change
+32%
vs US avg

The verdict

Butte is the 27th cheapest of 58 counties in California by 2-bedroom FMR; nationally it ranks #377 most expensive of 3,145 HUD counties; rent here has climbed 12.8% since FY 2025, a sharp move relative to most counties.

#377
most expensive of 3,145 US counties (2BR)
#27
cheapest of 58 in California (2BR)
-23%
vs the state average
$50,800
income to afford it (30% rule)

Software Developers spend the smallest share of income on rent here (8.9%), while Fast Food and Counter Workers spend the most (41.2%); nearby California counties range as much as 68% apart in 1-bedroom FMR, so the county line itself can matter for renters comparing options.

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rent for Butte County, CA. Verify with HUD →

The Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Butte County, California is $1,270 per month in FY 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A 2-bedroom costs $1,625/mo and a studio is $1,155/mo. This is 32% higher than the national average of $959 and 23% below the California average of $1,647.

Rent increased12.8% from FY 2025 ($1,126), outpacing inflation. A household needs about $50,800/year to stay under the 30% rent-to-income line.

Observed renter burden: 53.7% of the 34,358 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.

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rents in California. Population: 213,605. Population declined 7.8% 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 California's statewide growth of +0.2% over the same period.

FMR filing desk

Area BUTTE·COUNTY·CA·CA

Butte County, CA: $1,270/mo 1BR · #377 of 3145 counties (2BR) · FY2026

  • FMR-AREA CA
  • 1BR-FMR $1,270
  • 2BR-FMR $1,625
  • RANK-MID #377
  • YOY-SURGE +12.8%
  • VSUS-HIGH +32%
  • VS-ST-LOW -23% CA
  • INC-MID 22%
  • POP-MID 214K
  • PHOTO-NEAR Los Angeles County
  • VOUCH-90-110 $1,143–$1,397
  • FY-2026 FY2026

Photo-finish peer: Los Angeles ($815 1BR gap)

Read with: Understanding rent burden

Fair Market Rents (2026)

Studio
State avg: $1,513 · US avg: $893
$1,155/mo
↑ 8.0% YoY -24% vs state +29% vs US
1 Bedroom
State avg: $1,647 · US avg: $959
$1,270/mo
↑ 12.8% YoY -23% vs state +32% vs US
2 Bedroom
State avg: $2,053 · US avg: $1,175
$1,625/mo
↑ 10.8% YoY -21% vs state +38% vs US
3 Bedroom
State avg: $2,752 · US avg: $1,525
$2,260/mo
↑ 10.0% YoY -18% vs state +48% vs US
4 Bedroom
State avg: $3,165 · US avg: $1,756
$2,726/mo
↑ 10.7% YoY -14% vs state +55% vs US

Year-over-Year Comparison

Bedrooms FY 2025 FY 2026 Change
Studio $1,069
$1,155
+$86 (+8.0%)
1 Bedroom $1,126
$1,270
+$144 (+12.8%)
2 Bedroom $1,466
$1,625
+$159 (+10.8%)
3 Bedroom $2,054
$2,260
+$206 (+10.0%)
4 Bedroom $2,462
$2,726
+$264 (+10.7%)

Rent Burden Analysis

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

Studio
20.2%
Affordable
Need $46,200/yr for 30% rule
1 Bedroom
22.2%
Affordable
Need $50,800/yr for 30% rule
2 Bedroom
28.4%
Affordable
Need $65,000/yr for 30% rule
3 Bedroom
39.5%
Burdened
Need $90,400/yr for 30% rule
4 Bedroom
47.7%
Burdened
Need $109,040/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%28.4%
Butte County 2-bedroom rent burden
County median income: $68,574 · National avg burden: 21.7% ·View California rent burden →

Where Butte sits among every US county

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

$1,625 Top 12% higher than 88% 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%). Below this entry. $1,200–$1,400: 417 counties (13%). Below this entry. $1,400–$1,600: 181 counties (6%). Below this entry. $1,600–$1,800: 172 counties (5%). This entry sits in this band. $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 Butte compares on 1-bedroom rent

1-bedroom FMR vs other California counties

1BR FMR / mo

What this shows Butte is highlighted. Nearby California counties by 1-bedroom FMR, highest to lowest: Santa Clara County ($2,982), Orange County ($2,746), San Diego County ($2,459), Los Angeles County ($2,085), Riverside County ($1,777), San Bernardino County ($1,777), Butte County (this county) ($1,270).

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

Can Common Jobs Afford Rent Here?

Against a high local FMR of $1,270/mo, which of 15 common occupations still clear the 30% line using California BLS wages?

Occupation CA Salary Rent Burden Verdict
Software Developers $170,910 8.9% Affordable
Registered Nurses $140,330 10.9% Affordable
General & Operations Managers $125,240 12.2% Affordable
Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers $115,400 13.2% Affordable
Elementary School Teachers $98,190 15.5% Affordable
Accountants & Auditors $96,360 15.8% Affordable
Electricians $76,540 19.9% Affordable
Paralegals & Legal Assistants $72,960 20.9% Affordable
Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $59,950 25.4% Affordable
Pharmacy Technicians $49,640 30.7% Stretched
Customer Service Representatives $47,790 31.9% Stretched
Teaching Assistants $45,460 33.5% Stretched
Janitors & Cleaners $38,640 39.4% Stretched
Retail Salespersons $37,250 40.9% Stretched
Fast Food & Counter Workers $37,010 41.2% Stretched
Salaries: BLS OES (California) median · 30% = affordable threshold · Try the salary calculator →

Rent Trends (2020–2026)

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

Over the 6-year span HUD has tracked for Butte (FY 2020-2026), the 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent has risen 50.8% overall, from $842 to $1,270. Most of that movement was gradual except for a single sharp jump of +15.9% in FY 2024, well above this county's typical year-to-year change.

$800$900$1,000$1,100$1,200$1,300 FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026 $1,270
Butte County 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent, FY2020–FY2026
Year Studio 1 BR 2 BR
FY 2026 ↑12.8% $1,155 $1,270 $1,625
FY 2025 ↑3.2% $1,069 $1,126 $1,466
FY 2024 ↑15.9% $1,049 $1,091 $1,428
FY 2023 ↑5.1% $893 $941 $1,239
FY 2022 ↓1.0% $826 $895 $1,177
FY 2021 ↑7.4% $825 $904 $1,192
FY 2020 $761 $842 $1,090
Total change (6yr): +50.8%
Annualized: +7.1%/yr
1 BR: $842 → $1,270

Part of the Chico, CA Metro Area

Butte County is a central county of the Chico, CA metropolitan statistical area.

Nationwide peers by 2BR FMR & rent burden

Two PlainRent-derived comparison paths for Butte County, both outside California 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 CA (FY2026).

Ketchikan Gateway Borough
AK · 2 BR $1,625/mo
North Slope Borough
AK · 2 BR $1,625/mo
Berkshire County
MA · 2 BR $1,626/mo
Benton County
OR · 2 BR $1,622/mo

Similar rent burden

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

Pinal County
AZ · 28.4% of income · 2 BR $1,839/mo
Richmond County
GA · 28.4% of income · 2 BR $1,261/mo
Wayne County
MI · 28.4% of income · 2 BR $1,411/mo
Newton County
TX · 28.4% of income · 2 BR $973/mo

Nearby Counties in California

Largest counties by population in California

Showing the 8 largest of 57 other counties in California.

Los Angeles County
1 BR: $2,085/mo Pop: 9,936,690
San Diego County
1 BR: $2,459/mo Pop: 3,289,701
Orange County
1 BR: $2,746/mo Pop: 3,175,227
Riverside County
1 BR: $1,777/mo Pop: 2,429,487
San Bernardino County
1 BR: $1,777/mo Pop: 2,180,563
Santa Clara County
1 BR: $2,982/mo Pop: 1,916,831
Alameda County
1 BR: $2,385/mo Pop: 1,663,823
Sacramento County
1 BR: $1,832/mo Pop: 1,579,211
View all counties in California →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average rent in Butte County? ▼
The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Butte County is $1,270 per month. A 2-bedroom is $1,625 and a studio is $1,155.
How does Butte County rent compare to the national average? ▼
Rent in Butte County is 32% above the national average. A 1-bedroom here costs $1,270 compared to $959 nationally.
Where does Butte County rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼
According to HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, Butte County's 2-bedroom FMR of $1,625 ranks #377 most expensive among 3,145 HUD counties, placing it in the upper-rent quarter of HUD counties.
What income do I need to afford rent in Butte County? ▼
Based on the 30% affordability rule, you need an annual income of at least $50,800 ($4,233/month) to afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent in Butte County.
Is rent going up or down in Butte County? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Butte County increased by 12.8% from FY 2025 to FY 2026, going from $1,126 to $1,270.
Which jobs can afford rent in Butte County? ▼
Based on California BLS salary data and the 30% affordability rule, jobs like Software Developers, Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers can afford a 1-bedroom at $1,270/mo. 9 of 15 common occupations are affordable here.
How much has rent changed in Butte County over time? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Butte County went from $842 in FY 2020 to $1,270 in FY 2026, a total change of +50.8% over 6 years.
How does Fair Market Rent affect Section 8 vouchers in Butte County? ▼
In Butte County, the FY 2026 FMR of $1,270/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 Butte County? ▼
For Butte County, it's the specific 40th-percentile rent HUD publishes each year ($1,270/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.