County FMR · HUD FY2026

Unicoi County Fair Market Rent

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for Unicoi County, TN - 7% below the US average.

$893
1-bedroom FMR
$1,132
2-bedroom FMR
-0.2%
YoY change
-7%
vs US avg

The verdict

Unicoi is the 32nd most expensive of 95 counties in Tennessee by 2-bedroom FMR; nationally it ranks #1,195 most expensive of 3,145 HUD counties.

#1,195
most expensive of 3,145 US counties (2BR)
#32
most expensive of 95 in Tennessee (2BR)
-3%
vs the state average
$35,720
income to afford it (30% rule)

Software Developers spend the smallest share of income on rent here (9.1%), while Fast Food and Counter Workers spend the most (38.5%).

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

Unicoi County, Tennessee carries an FY 2026 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $893 per month, the federal benchmark HUD publishes for this county. A 2-bedroom costs $1,132/mo and a studio is $887/mo. That's 7% below the national benchmark of $959 and 3% below the Tennessee average of $924.

Rent decreased0.2% from FY 2025 ($895), roughly tracking inflation. Under the 30% rule, affordability starts near $35,720/year for a 1-bedroom.

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rents in Tennessee. Population: 17,845. Population has held roughly steady over the past five years (+0.0%, Census ACS). That's slower than Tennessee's statewide growth of +5.0% over the same period.

FMR filing desk

Area UNICOI·COUNTY·TN·TN

Unicoi County, TN: $893/mo 1BR · #1195 of 3145 counties (2BR) · FY2026

  • FMR-AREA TN
  • 1BR-FMR $893
  • 2BR-FMR $1,132
  • RANK-MID #1,195
  • YOY-FLAT -0.2%
  • VSUS-NEAR -7%
  • VS-ST-NEAR -3% TN
  • INC-MID 21%
  • POP-SMALL 18K
  • PHOTO-NEAR Shelby County
  • VOUCH-90-110 $804–$982
  • FY-2026 FY2026

Photo-finish peer: Shelby ($261 1BR gap)

Read with: How Fair Market Rent works

Fair Market Rents (2026)

Studio
State avg: $882 · US avg: $893
$887/mo
↓ 0.3% YoY +1% vs state -1% vs US
1 Bedroom
State avg: $924 · US avg: $959
$893/mo
↓ 0.2% YoY -3% vs state -7% vs US
2 Bedroom
State avg: $1,118 · US avg: $1,175
$1,132/mo
↑ 1.2% YoY +1% vs state -4% vs US
3 Bedroom
State avg: $1,445 · US avg: $1,525
$1,398/mo
↑ 0.6% YoY -3% vs state -8% vs US
4 Bedroom
State avg: $1,644 · US avg: $1,756
$1,548/mo
↓ 0.9% YoY -6% vs state -12% vs US

Year-over-Year Comparison

Bedrooms FY 2025 FY 2026 Change
Studio $890
$887
$-3 (-0.3%)
1 Bedroom $895
$893
$-2 (-0.2%)
2 Bedroom $1,119
$1,132
+$13 (+1.2%)
3 Bedroom $1,389
$1,398
+$9 (+0.6%)
4 Bedroom $1,562
$1,548
$-14 (-0.9%)

Rent Burden Analysis

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

Studio
21.1%
Affordable
Need $35,480/yr for 30% rule
1 Bedroom
21.3%
Affordable
Need $35,720/yr for 30% rule
2 Bedroom
27%
Affordable
Need $45,280/yr for 30% rule
3 Bedroom
33.3%
Burdened
Need $55,920/yr for 30% rule
4 Bedroom
36.9%
Burdened
Need $61,920/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%27%
Unicoi County 2-bedroom rent burden
County median income: $50,381 · National avg burden: 21.7% ·View Tennessee rent burden →

Where Unicoi sits among every US county

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

$1,132 Top 38% higher than 62% 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 Unicoi compares on 1-bedroom rent

1-bedroom FMR vs other Tennessee counties

1BR FMR / mo

What this shows Unicoi 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), Unicoi County (this county) ($893).

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

Can Common Jobs Afford Rent Here?

How a 1-bedroom at $893/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 9.1% Affordable
General & Operations Managers $102,850 10.4% Affordable
Registered Nurses $79,030 13.6% Affordable
Accountants & Auditors $75,500 14.2% Affordable
Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers $59,410 18% Affordable
Electricians $59,190 18.1% Affordable
Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $55,610 19.3% Affordable
Paralegals & Legal Assistants $55,270 19.4% Affordable
Elementary School Teachers $52,690 20.3% Affordable
Customer Service Representatives $40,130 26.7% Affordable
Pharmacy Technicians $38,130 28.1% Affordable
Janitors & Cleaners $31,220 34.3% Stretched
Retail Salespersons $30,770 34.8% Stretched
Teaching Assistants $28,030 38.2% Stretched
Fast Food & Counter Workers $27,840 38.5% Stretched
Salaries: BLS OES (Tennessee) median · 30% = affordable threshold · Try the salary calculator →

Rent Trends (2020–2026)

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

Over the 6-year span HUD has tracked for Unicoi (FY 2020-2026), the 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent has risen 58.3% overall, from $564 to $893. Most of that movement was gradual except for a single sharp jump of +20.2% in FY 2024, well above this county's typical year-to-year change.

$500$600$700$800$900$1,000 FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026 $893
Unicoi County 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent, FY2020–FY2026
Year Studio 1 BR 2 BR
FY 2026 ↓0.2% $887 $893 $1,132
FY 2025 ↑2.9% $890 $895 $1,119
FY 2024 ↑20.2% $864 $870 $1,070
FY 2023 ↑11.7% $700 $724 $875
FY 2022 ↑4.3% $609 $648 $781
FY 2021 ↑10.1% $617 $621 $752
FY 2020 $558 $564 $692
Total change (6yr): +58.3%
Annualized: +8.0%/yr
1 BR: $564 → $893

Part of the Johnson City, TN Metro Area

Unicoi County is a outlying county of the Johnson City, TN metropolitan statistical area, alongside 2 other metro-area counties.

Unicoi County ranks #3 of 3 counties in this metro area by 1-bedroom FMR. Every county sharing this metro, highest to lowest: Washington County ($893), Carter County ($893), Unicoi County (this county) ($893).

Washington County
1 BR: $893/mo
Carter County
1 BR: $893/mo
Unicoi County (this county)
1 BR: $893/mo

Nationwide peers by 2BR FMR & rent burden

Two PlainRent-derived comparison paths for Unicoi 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).

Wayne County
PA · 2 BR $1,132/mo
Union County
FL · 2 BR $1,132/mo
Laurens County
SC · 2 BR $1,133/mo
Stevens County
WA · 2 BR $1,131/mo

Similar rent burden

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

Trinity County
CA · 27% of income · 2 BR $1,202/mo
Ector County
TX · 26.9% of income · 2 BR $1,595/mo
Siskiyou County
CA · 27% of income · 2 BR $1,249/mo
Union Parish
LA · 26.9% of income · 2 BR $1,026/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 Unicoi County? ▼
The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Unicoi County is $893 per month. A 2-bedroom is $1,132 and a studio is $887.
How does Unicoi County rent compare to the national average? ▼
Rent in Unicoi County is 7% below the national average. A 1-bedroom here costs $893 compared to $959 nationally.
Where does Unicoi County rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼
According to HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, Unicoi County's 2-bedroom FMR of $1,132 ranks #1,195 most expensive among 3,145 HUD counties, placing it in the middle half of HUD counties.
What income do I need to afford rent in Unicoi County? ▼
Based on the 30% affordability rule, you need an annual income of at least $35,720 ($2,977/month) to afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent in Unicoi County.
Is rent going up or down in Unicoi County? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Unicoi County decreased by 0.2% from FY 2025 to FY 2026, going from $895 to $893.
Which jobs can afford rent in Unicoi 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 $893/mo. 11 of 15 common occupations are affordable here.
How much has rent changed in Unicoi County over time? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Unicoi County went from $564 in FY 2020 to $893 in FY 2026, a total change of +58.3% over 6 years.
How does Fair Market Rent affect Section 8 vouchers in Unicoi County? ▼
In Unicoi County, the FY 2026 FMR of $893/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 Unicoi County? ▼
For Unicoi County, it's the specific 40th-percentile rent HUD publishes each year ($893/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.