County FMR · HUD FY2026

Oconee County Fair Market Rent

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for Oconee County, SC - 25% below the US average.

$717
1-bedroom FMR
$941
2-bedroom FMR
-3.8%
YoY change
-25%
vs US avg

The verdict

Oconee is the 17th cheapest of 46 counties in South Carolina by 2-bedroom FMR; nationally it ranks #787 most affordable of 3,145 HUD counties.

#787
most affordable of 3,145 US counties (2BR)
#17
cheapest of 46 in South Carolina (2BR)
-27%
vs the state average
$28,680
income to afford it (30% rule)

Software Developers spend the smallest share of income on rent here (7.9%), while Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary spend the most (35.1%); 13 of 15 common occupations here can afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent without exceeding the 30% threshold; nearby South Carolina counties range as much as 51% apart in 1-bedroom FMR, so the county line itself can matter for renters comparing options.

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rent for Oconee County, SC. Verify with HUD →

HUD sets the FY 2026 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent for Oconee County, South Carolina at $717 per month - the federal rental-assistance benchmark for this county. A 2-bedroom costs $941/mo and a studio is $712/mo. This is 25% lower than the national average of $959 and 27% below the South Carolina average of $982.

Rent decreased3.8% from FY 2025 ($745), declining against the trend. The 30% affordability floor is comparatively reachable here at $28,680/year.

Observed renter burden: 44.0% of the 8,273 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 South Carolina. Population: 78,775. Population has held roughly steady over the past five years (+3.7%, Census ACS). That's slower than South Carolina's statewide growth of +5.2% over the same period.

FMR filing desk

Area OCONEE·COUNTY·SC·SC

Oconee County, SC: $717/mo 1BR · #787 of 3145 counties (2BR) · FY2026

  • FMR-AREA SC
  • 1BR-FMR $717
  • 2BR-FMR $941
  • RANK-MID #787
  • YOY-DOWN -3.8%
  • VSUS-LOW -25%
  • VS-ST-LOW -27% SC
  • INC-ROOM 14%
  • POP-MID 79K
  • PHOTO-NEAR Greenville County
  • VOUCH-90-110 $645–$789
  • FY-2026 FY2026

Photo-finish peer: Greenville ($504 1BR gap)

Read with: Section 8 housing guide

Fair Market Rents (2026)

Studio
State avg: $928 · US avg: $893
$712/mo
↓ 0.4% YoY -23% vs state -20% vs US
1 Bedroom
State avg: $982 · US avg: $959
$717/mo
↓ 3.8% YoY -27% vs state -25% vs US
2 Bedroom
State avg: $1,155 · US avg: $1,175
$941/mo
↓ 3.7% YoY -19% vs state -20% vs US
3 Bedroom
State avg: $1,450 · US avg: $1,525
$1,153/mo
↓ 4.2% YoY -20% vs state -24% vs US
4 Bedroom
State avg: $1,699 · US avg: $1,756
$1,337/mo
↓ 3.2% YoY -21% vs state -24% vs US

Year-over-Year Comparison

Bedrooms FY 2025 FY 2026 Change
Studio $715
$712
$-3 (-0.4%)
1 Bedroom $745
$717
$-28 (-3.8%)
2 Bedroom $977
$941
$-36 (-3.7%)
3 Bedroom $1,203
$1,153
$-50 (-4.2%)
4 Bedroom $1,381
$1,337
$-44 (-3.2%)

Rent Burden Analysis

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

Studio
14.2%
Affordable
Need $28,480/yr for 30% rule
1 Bedroom
14.3%
Affordable
Need $28,680/yr for 30% rule
2 Bedroom
18.8%
Affordable
Need $37,640/yr for 30% rule
3 Bedroom
23%
Affordable
Need $46,120/yr for 30% rule
4 Bedroom
26.7%
Affordable
Need $53,480/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%18.8%
Oconee County 2-bedroom rent burden
County median income: $60,193 · National avg burden: 21.7% ·View South Carolina rent burden →

Where Oconee sits among every US county

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

$941 higher than 25% of 3,145 counties

$600–$800: 23 counties (1%). Below this entry. $800–$1,000: 1,406 counties (45%). This entry sits in this band. $1,000–$1,200: 723 counties (23%). Above this entry. $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 Oconee compares on 1-bedroom rent

1-bedroom FMR vs other South Carolina counties

1BR FMR / mo

What this shows Oconee is highlighted. Nearby South Carolina counties by 1-bedroom FMR, highest to lowest: Charleston County ($1,630), Horry County ($1,229), Greenville County ($1,221), Richland County ($1,164), Lexington County ($1,164), Spartanburg County ($1,083), Oconee County (this county) ($717).

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

Can Common Jobs Afford Rent Here?

With a below-average 1-bedroom at $717/mo, most of these South Carolina occupations clear, or miss, the 30% affordability line.

Occupation SC Salary Rent Burden Verdict
Software Developers $108,690 7.9% Affordable
General & Operations Managers $99,340 8.7% Affordable
Registered Nurses $79,900 10.8% Affordable
Accountants & Auditors $73,180 11.8% Affordable
Elementary School Teachers $59,370 14.5% Affordable
Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers $58,020 14.8% Affordable
Electricians $58,260 14.8% Affordable
Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $51,810 16.6% Affordable
Paralegals & Legal Assistants $48,640 17.7% Affordable
Pharmacy Technicians $38,960 22.1% Affordable
Customer Service Representatives $37,940 22.7% Affordable
Janitors & Cleaners $29,560 29.1% Affordable
Retail Salespersons $29,450 29.2% Affordable
Fast Food & Counter Workers $26,830 32.1% Stretched
Teaching Assistants $24,510 35.1% Stretched
Salaries: BLS OES (South Carolina) median · 30% = affordable threshold · Try the salary calculator →

Rent Trends (2020–2026)

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

Over the 6-year span HUD has tracked for Oconee (FY 2020-2026), the 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent has risen 40.0% overall, from $512 to $717. Most of that movement was gradual except for a single sharp jump of +18.6% in FY 2024, well above this county's typical year-to-year change.

$500$600$700$800 FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026 $717
Oconee County 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent, FY2020–FY2026
Year Studio 1 BR 2 BR
FY 2026 ↓3.8% $712 $717 $941
FY 2025 ↓0.9% $715 $745 $977
FY 2024 ↑18.6% $670 $752 $988
FY 2023 ↑3.4% $558 $634 $835
FY 2022 ↑11.5% $536 $613 $806
FY 2021 ↑7.4% $507 $550 $725
FY 2020 $477 $512 $674
Total change (6yr): +40.0%
Annualized: +5.8%/yr
1 BR: $512 → $717

Part of the Seneca, SC Micro Area

Oconee County is a central county of the Seneca, SC micropolitan statistical area.

Nationwide peers by 2BR FMR & rent burden

Two PlainRent-derived comparison paths for Oconee County, both outside South Carolina 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 SC (FY2026).

Ellis County
KS · 2 BR $941/mo
Grainger County
TN · 2 BR $941/mo
Tama County
IA · 2 BR $941/mo
Cumberland County
TN · 2 BR $942/mo

Similar rent burden

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

Valley County
ID · 18.8% of income · 2 BR $1,190/mo
Marion County
KY · 18.8% of income · 2 BR $866/mo
Elk County
KS · 18.8% of income · 2 BR $877/mo
Miami County
IN · 18.8% of income · 2 BR $956/mo

Nearby Counties in South Carolina

Largest counties by population in South Carolina

Showing the 8 largest of 45 other counties in South Carolina.

Greenville County
1 BR: $1,221/mo Pop: 528,251
Richland County
1 BR: $1,164/mo Pop: 416,161
Charleston County
1 BR: $1,630/mo Pop: 409,840
Horry County
1 BR: $1,229/mo Pop: 356,578
Spartanburg County
1 BR: $1,083/mo Pop: 330,119
Lexington County
1 BR: $1,164/mo Pop: 295,934
York County
1 BR: $1,538/mo Pop: 282,987
Berkeley County
1 BR: $1,630/mo Pop: 231,419
View all counties in South Carolina →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average rent in Oconee County? ▼
The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Oconee County is $717 per month. A 2-bedroom is $941 and a studio is $712.
How does Oconee County rent compare to the national average? ▼
Rent in Oconee County is 25% below the national average. A 1-bedroom here costs $717 compared to $959 nationally.
Where does Oconee County rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼
According to HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, Oconee County's 2-bedroom FMR of $941 ranks #787 most affordable among 3,145 HUD counties, placing it in the lower-rent quarter of HUD counties.
What income do I need to afford rent in Oconee County? ▼
Based on the 30% affordability rule, you need an annual income of at least $28,680 ($2,390/month) to afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent in Oconee County.
Is rent going up or down in Oconee County? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Oconee County decreased by 3.8% from FY 2025 to FY 2026, going from $745 to $717.
Which jobs can afford rent in Oconee County? ▼
Based on South Carolina BLS salary data and the 30% affordability rule, jobs like Software Developers, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses can afford a 1-bedroom at $717/mo. 13 of 15 common occupations are affordable here.
How much has rent changed in Oconee County over time? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Oconee County went from $512 in FY 2020 to $717 in FY 2026, a total change of +40.0% over 6 years.
How does Fair Market Rent affect Section 8 vouchers in Oconee County? ▼
In Oconee County, the FY 2026 FMR of $717/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 Oconee County? ▼
For Oconee County, it's the specific 40th-percentile rent HUD publishes each year ($717/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.