County FMR · HUD FY2026

Union County Fair Market Rent

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for Union County, NJ - 90% above the US average.

Compiled by PlainRent · August 5, 2026

$1,822
1-bedroom FMR: $2,205
2-bedroom FMR: +3.1%
YoY change: +90%
vs US avg

The verdict

Union is the 9th most expensive of 21 counties in New Jersey by 2-bedroom FMR; nationally it ranks #94 most expensive of 3,145 HUD counties.

#94
most expensive of 3,145 US counties (2BR): #9
most expensive of 21 in New Jersey (2BR): +4%
vs the state average: $72,880
income to afford it (30% rule)

General and Operations Managers spend the smallest share of income on rent here (14.6%), while Fast Food and Counter Workers spend the most (65.7%).

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rent for Union County, NJ. Verify with HUD →

Union County, New Jersey carries an FY 2026 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,822 per month, the federal benchmark HUD publishes for this county. A 2-bedroom costs $2,205/mo and a studio is $1,612/mo. That's 90% above the national benchmark of $959 and 4% above the New Jersey average of $1,759.

Rent increased3.1% from FY 2025 ($1,768), outpacing inflation. Clearing the 30% rule here takes $72,880/year, a high bar relative to most US counties.

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rents in New Jersey. Population: 572,079. Population has held roughly steady over the past five years (+3.5%, Census ACS). That's in line with New Jersey's statewide growth of +4.3% over the same period.

FMR filing desk

Area UNION·COUNTY·NJ·NJ

Union County, NJ: $1,822/mo 1BR · #94 of 3145 counties (2BR) · FY2026

FMR-AREA NJ
1BR-FMR $1,822
2BR-FMR $2,205
RANK-UPPER #94
YOY-UP +3.1%
VSUS-HIGH +90%
VS-ST-NEAR +4% NJ
INC-MID 22%
POP-MAJOR 572K
PHOTO-NEAR Bergen County
VOUCH-90-110 $1,640–$2,004
FY-2026 FY2026

Photo-finish peer: Bergen ($202 1BR gap)

Read with: Understanding rent burden

Fair Market Rents (2026)

Studio

State avg: $1,599 · US avg: $893

$1,612/mo

↑ 3.9% YoY +1% vs state +81% vs US

1 Bedroom

State avg: $1,759 · US avg: $959

$1,822/mo

↑ 3.1% YoY +4% vs state +90% vs US

2 Bedroom

State avg: $2,132 · US avg: $1,175

$2,205/mo

↑ 3.0% YoY +3% vs state +88% vs US

3 Bedroom

State avg: $2,658 · US avg: $1,525

$2,761/mo

↑ 2.4% YoY +4% vs state +81% vs US

4 Bedroom

State avg: $3,005 · US avg: $1,756

$3,137/mo

↑ 2.3% YoY +4% vs state +79% vs US

Year-over-Year Comparison

Bedrooms	FY 2025	FY 2026	Change	vs State	vs US
Studio	$1,551	$1,612	+$61 (+3.9%)	+1%	+81%
1 Bedroom	$1,768	$1,822	+$54 (+3.1%)	+4%	+90%
2 Bedroom	$2,140	$2,205	+$65 (+3.0%)	+3%	+88%
3 Bedroom	$2,695	$2,761	+$66 (+2.4%)	+4%	+81%
4 Bedroom	$3,065	$3,137	+$72 (+2.3%)	+4%	+79%

Rent Burden Analysis

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

Studio

19.3%

Affordable

Need $64,480/yr for 30% rule

1 Bedroom

21.8%

Affordable

Need $72,880/yr for 30% rule

2 Bedroom

26.4%

Affordable

Need $88,200/yr for 30% rule

3 Bedroom

33.1%

Burdened

Need $110,440/yr for 30% rule

4 Bedroom

37.6%

Burdened

Need $125,480/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.

Union County 2-bedroom rent burden

County median income: $100,117 · National avg burden: 21.7% ·View New Jersey rent burden →

Where Union sits among every US county

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

$2,205 Top 3% higher than 97% 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

Hudson

$2,458
Bergen

$2,024
Middlesex

$1,978
Monmouth

$1,889
Ocean

$1,889
Union

$1,822
Essex

$1,822

What this shows Union is highlighted. Nearby New Jersey counties by 1-bedroom FMR, highest to lowest: Hudson County ($2,458), Bergen County ($2,024), Middlesex County ($1,978), Monmouth County ($1,889), Ocean County ($1,889), Union County (this county) ($1,822), Essex County ($1,822).

Can Common Jobs Afford Rent Here?

Against a high local FMR of $1,822/mo, which of 15 common occupations still clear the 30% line using New Jersey BLS wages?

Occupation	NJ Salary	Rent Burden	Verdict
General & Operations Managers	$149,990	14.6%	Affordable
Software Developers	$132,400	16.5%	Affordable
Registered Nurses	$102,730	21.3%	Affordable
Accountants & Auditors	$101,340	21.6%	Affordable
Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers	$89,030	24.6%	Affordable
Elementary School Teachers	$77,150	28.3%	Affordable
Electricians	$73,090	29.9%	Affordable
Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	$64,720	33.8%	Stretched
Paralegals & Legal Assistants	$62,790	34.8%	Stretched
Customer Service Representatives	$46,740	46.8%	Stretched
Pharmacy Technicians	$38,890	56.2%	Unaffordable
Janitors & Cleaners	$37,320	58.6%	Unaffordable
Teaching Assistants	$35,620	61.4%	Unaffordable
Retail Salespersons	$35,630	61.4%	Unaffordable
Fast Food & Counter Workers	$33,290	65.7%	Unaffordable

Salaries: BLS OES (New Jersey) median · 30% = affordable threshold · Try the salary calculator →

Rent Trends (2020–2026)

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

Over the 6-year span HUD has tracked for Union (FY 2020-2026), the 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent has risen 49.6% overall, from $1,218 to $1,822. The path there hasn't been smooth: year-over-year moves have swung by as much as 18.8% (FY 2024), a volatility pattern that makes single-year comparisons a poor guide to the underlying trend.

Union County 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent, FY2020–FY2026

Year	Studio	1 BR	2 BR	3 BR	4 BR
FY 2026 ↑3.1%	$1,612	$1,822	$2,205	$2,761	$3,137
FY 2025 ↑11.2%	$1,551	$1,768	$2,140	$2,695	$3,065
FY 2024 ↑18.8%	$1,379	$1,590	$1,916	$2,424	$2,800
FY 2023 ↑9.4%	$1,129	$1,338	$1,606	$2,038	$2,394
FY 2022 ↓9.9%	$1,017	$1,223	$1,479	$1,887	$2,249
FY 2021 ↑11.5%	$1,129	$1,358	$1,643	$2,096	$2,498
FY 2020	$1,034	$1,218	$1,483	$1,891	$2,236

Total change (6yr): +49.6%

Annualized: +6.9%/yr

1 BR: $1,218 → $1,822

Part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area

Union County is a central county of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan statistical area, alongside 21 other metro-area counties.

Union County ranks #22 of 22 counties in this metro area by 1-bedroom FMR. Every county sharing this metro, highest to lowest: Kings County ($2,655), Queens County ($2,655), New York County ($2,655), Bronx County ($2,655), Westchester County ($2,655), Richmond County ($2,655), Rockland County ($2,655), Putnam County ($2,655), Hudson County ($2,458), Suffolk County ($2,379), Nassau County ($2,379), Bergen County ($2,024), Passaic County ($2,024), Middlesex County ($1,978), Somerset County ($1,978), Hunterdon County ($1,978), Monmouth County ($1,889), Ocean County ($1,889), Essex County ($1,822), Morris County ($1,822), Sussex County ($1,822), Union County (this county) ($1,822).

Union County (this county)

1 BR: $1,822/mo

Show all 22 counties in this metro area

Nationwide peers by 2BR FMR & rent burden

Two PlainRent-derived comparison paths for Union County, both outside New Jersey 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 NJ (FY2026).

Riverside County

CA · 2 BR $2,201/mo

San Bernardino County

Similar rent burden

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

Coos County

NH · 26.4% of income · 2 BR $1,287/mo

Tehama County

CA · 26.4% of income · 2 BR $1,362/mo

Miller County

AR · 26.4% of income · 2 BR $1,101/mo

St. Louis city

MO · 26.4% of income · 2 BR $1,218/mo

Nearby Counties in New Jersey

Largest counties by population in New Jersey

Showing the 8 largest of 20 other counties in New Jersey.

Bergen County

1 BR: $2,024/mo Pop: 953,243

Middlesex County

1 BR: $1,978/mo Pop: 860,147

Essex County

1 BR: $1,822/mo Pop: 853,374

Hudson County

1 BR: $2,458/mo Pop: 712,029

Monmouth County

1 BR: $1,889/mo Pop: 643,064

Ocean County

1 BR: $1,889/mo Pop: 638,691

Camden County

1 BR: $1,520/mo Pop: 522,581

Passaic County

1 BR: $2,024/mo Pop: 519,986

View all counties in New Jersey →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average rent in Union County? ▼

The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Union County is $1,822 per month. A 2-bedroom is $2,205 and a studio is $1,612.

How does Union County rent compare to the national average? ▼

Rent in Union County is 90% above the national average. A 1-bedroom here costs $1,822 compared to $959 nationally.

Where does Union County rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼

According to HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, Union County's 2-bedroom FMR of $2,205 ranks #94 most expensive among 3,145 HUD counties, placing it in the highest-rent tenth of HUD counties.

What income do I need to afford rent in Union County? ▼

Based on the 30% affordability rule, you need an annual income of at least $72,880 ($6,073/month) to afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent in Union County.

Is rent going up or down in Union County? ▼

The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Union County increased by 3.1% from FY 2025 to FY 2026, going from $1,768 to $1,822.

Which jobs can afford rent in Union County? ▼

Based on New Jersey BLS salary data and the 30% affordability rule, jobs like General and Operations Managers, Software Developers, Registered Nurses can afford a 1-bedroom at $1,822/mo. 7 of 15 common occupations are affordable here.

How much has rent changed in Union County over time? ▼

The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Union County went from $1,218 in FY 2020 to $1,822 in FY 2026, a total change of +49.6% over 6 years.

How does Fair Market Rent affect Section 8 vouchers in Union County? ▼

In Union County, the FY 2026 FMR of $1,822/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 Union County? ▼

For Union County, it's the specific 40th-percentile rent HUD publishes each year ($1,822/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.