County FMR · HUD FY2026

Erie County Fair Market Rent

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for Erie County, NY - 19% above the US average.

$1,139
1-bedroom FMR
$1,343
2-bedroom FMR
+13.8%
YoY change
+19%
vs US avg

The verdict

Erie is the 28th cheapest of 62 counties in New York by 2-bedroom FMR; nationally it ranks #692 most expensive of 3,145 HUD counties; rent here has climbed 13.8% since FY 2025, a sharp move relative to most counties.

#692
most expensive of 3,145 US counties (2BR)
#28
cheapest of 62 in New York (2BR)
-13%
vs the state average
$45,560
income to afford it (30% rule)

Software Developers spend the smallest share of income on rent here (8.5%), while Fast Food and Counter Workers spend the most (38.8%).

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rent for Erie County, NY. Verify with HUD →

HUD sets the FY 2026 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent for Erie County, New York at $1,139 per month - the federal rental-assistance benchmark for this county. A 2-bedroom costs $1,343/mo and a studio is $1,105/mo. This is 19% higher than the national average of $959 and 13% below the New York average of $1,315.

Rent increased13.8% from FY 2025 ($1,001), outpacing inflation. A household needs about $45,560/year to stay under the 30% rent-to-income line.

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rents in New York. Population: 951,232. Population has held roughly steady over the past five years (+3.3%, Census ACS). That's faster than New York's statewide growth of +1.3% over the same period.

FMR filing desk

Area ERIE·COUNTY·NY·NY

Erie County, NY: $1,139/mo 1BR · #692 of 3145 counties (2BR) · FY2026

  • FMR-AREA NY
  • 1BR-FMR $1,139
  • 2BR-FMR $1,343
  • RANK-MID #692
  • YOY-SURGE +13.8%
  • VSUS-ABOVE +19%
  • VS-ST-LOW -13% NY
  • INC-ROOM 19%
  • POP-MAJOR 951K
  • PHOTO-NEAR Kings County
  • VOUCH-90-110 $1,025–$1,253
  • FY-2026 FY2026

Photo-finish peer: Kings ($1,516 1BR gap)

Read with: Understanding rent burden

Fair Market Rents (2026)

Studio
State avg: $1,215 · US avg: $893
$1,105/mo
↑ 14.2% YoY -9% vs state +24% vs US
1 Bedroom
State avg: $1,315 · US avg: $959
$1,139/mo
↑ 13.8% YoY -13% vs state +19% vs US
2 Bedroom
State avg: $1,579 · US avg: $1,175
$1,343/mo
↑ 14.2% YoY -15% vs state +14% vs US
3 Bedroom
State avg: $1,976 · US avg: $1,525
$1,640/mo
↑ 14.0% YoY -17% vs state +8% vs US
4 Bedroom
State avg: $2,193 · US avg: $1,756
$1,869/mo
↑ 15.0% YoY -15% vs state +6% vs US

Year-over-Year Comparison

Bedrooms FY 2025 FY 2026 Change
Studio $968
$1,105
+$137 (+14.2%)
1 Bedroom $1,001
$1,139
+$138 (+13.8%)
2 Bedroom $1,176
$1,343
+$167 (+14.2%)
3 Bedroom $1,438
$1,640
+$202 (+14.0%)
4 Bedroom $1,625
$1,869
+$244 (+15.0%)

Rent Burden Analysis

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

Studio
18.6%
Affordable
Need $44,200/yr for 30% rule
1 Bedroom
19.2%
Affordable
Need $45,560/yr for 30% rule
2 Bedroom
22.6%
Affordable
Need $53,720/yr for 30% rule
3 Bedroom
27.7%
Affordable
Need $65,600/yr for 30% rule
4 Bedroom
31.5%
Burdened
Need $74,760/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%22.6%
Erie County 2-bedroom rent burden
County median income: $71,175 · National avg burden: 21.7% ·View New York rent burden →

Where Erie sits among every US county

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

$1,343 Top 22% higher than 78% 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%). This entry sits in this band. $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 Erie compares on 1-bedroom rent

1-bedroom FMR vs other New York counties

1BR FMR / mo

What this shows Erie is highlighted. Nearby New York counties by 1-bedroom FMR, highest to lowest: Kings County ($2,655), Queens County ($2,655), New York County ($2,655), Bronx County ($2,655), Suffolk County ($2,379), Nassau County ($2,379), Erie County (this county) ($1,139).

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 $1,139/mo, which of 15 common occupations still clear the 30% line using New York BLS wages?

Occupation NY Salary Rent Burden Verdict
Software Developers $161,260 8.5% Affordable
General & Operations Managers $129,990 10.5% Affordable
Registered Nurses $105,600 12.9% Affordable
Accountants & Auditors $101,780 13.4% Affordable
Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers $93,050 14.7% Affordable
Elementary School Teachers $82,480 16.6% Affordable
Electricians $77,460 17.6% Affordable
Paralegals & Legal Assistants $66,390 20.6% Affordable
Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $60,520 22.6% Affordable
Customer Service Representatives $47,840 28.6% Affordable
Pharmacy Technicians $40,840 33.5% Stretched
Janitors & Cleaners $39,920 34.2% Stretched
Retail Salespersons $37,020 36.9% Stretched
Teaching Assistants $36,600 37.3% Stretched
Fast Food & Counter Workers $35,270 38.8% Stretched
Salaries: BLS OES (New York) median · 30% = affordable threshold · Try the salary calculator →

Rent Trends (2020–2026)

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

Over the 6-year span HUD has tracked for Erie (FY 2020-2026), the 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent has risen 62.0% overall, from $703 to $1,139. Most of that movement was gradual except for a single sharp jump of +13.8% in FY 2026, well above this county's typical year-to-year change.

$600$700$800$900$1,000$1,100$1,200 FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026 $1,139
Erie County 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent, FY2020–FY2026
Year Studio 1 BR 2 BR
FY 2026 ↑13.8% $1,105 $1,139 $1,343
FY 2025 ↑0.9% $968 $1,001 $1,176
FY 2024 ↑9.3% $951 $992 $1,163
FY 2023 ↑11.8% $869 $908 $1,069
FY 2022 ↑5.2% $774 $812 $963
FY 2021 ↑9.8% $743 $772 $920
FY 2020 $674 $703 $843
Total change (6yr): +62.0%
Annualized: +8.4%/yr
1 BR: $703 → $1,139

Part of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area

Erie County is a central county of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metropolitan statistical area, alongside 1 other metro-area county.

Erie County ranks #2 of 2 counties in this metro area by 1-bedroom FMR. Every county sharing this metro, highest to lowest: Niagara County ($1,139), Erie County (this county) ($1,139).

Niagara County
1 BR: $1,139/mo
Erie County (this county)
1 BR: $1,139/mo

Nationwide peers by 2BR FMR & rent burden

Two PlainRent-derived comparison paths for Erie County, both outside New York 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 NY (FY2026).

Lake County
CO · 2 BR $1,343/mo
Mineral County
CO · 2 BR $1,343/mo
Musselshell County
MT · 2 BR $1,344/mo
Baldwin County
AL · 2 BR $1,345/mo

Similar rent burden

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

Fall River County
SD · 22.6% of income · 2 BR $1,152/mo
Henry County
VA · 22.6% of income · 2 BR $914/mo
Brewster County
TX · 22.6% of income · 2 BR $993/mo
Glynn County
GA · 22.6% of income · 2 BR $1,293/mo

Nearby Counties in New York

Largest counties by population in New York

Showing the 8 largest of 61 other counties in New York.

Kings County
1 BR: $2,655/mo Pop: 2,679,620
Queens County
1 BR: $2,655/mo Pop: 2,360,826
New York County
1 BR: $2,655/mo Pop: 1,645,867
Suffolk County
1 BR: $2,379/mo Pop: 1,524,486
Bronx County
1 BR: $2,655/mo Pop: 1,443,229
Nassau County
1 BR: $2,379/mo Pop: 1,389,160
Westchester County
1 BR: $2,655/mo Pop: 997,904
Monroe County
1 BR: $1,256/mo Pop: 756,406
View all counties in New York →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average rent in Erie County? ▼
The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Erie County is $1,139 per month. A 2-bedroom is $1,343 and a studio is $1,105.
How does Erie County rent compare to the national average? ▼
Rent in Erie County is 19% above the national average. A 1-bedroom here costs $1,139 compared to $959 nationally.
Where does Erie County rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼
According to HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, Erie County's 2-bedroom FMR of $1,343 ranks #692 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 Erie County? ▼
Based on the 30% affordability rule, you need an annual income of at least $45,560 ($3,797/month) to afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent in Erie County.
Is rent going up or down in Erie County? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Erie County increased by 13.8% from FY 2025 to FY 2026, going from $1,001 to $1,139.
Which jobs can afford rent in Erie County? ▼
Based on New York BLS salary data and the 30% affordability rule, jobs like Software Developers, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses can afford a 1-bedroom at $1,139/mo. 10 of 15 common occupations are affordable here.
How much has rent changed in Erie County over time? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Erie County went from $703 in FY 2020 to $1,139 in FY 2026, a total change of +62.0% over 6 years.
How does Fair Market Rent affect Section 8 vouchers in Erie County? ▼
In Erie County, the FY 2026 FMR of $1,139/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 Erie County? ▼
For Erie County, it's the specific 40th-percentile rent HUD publishes each year ($1,139/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.