County FMR · HUD FY2026

Wood County Fair Market Rent

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for Wood County, WV - 22% below the US average.

$745
1-bedroom FMR
$928
2-bedroom FMR
-4.0%
YoY change
-22%
vs US avg

The verdict

Wood is the 24th most expensive of 55 counties in West Virginia by 2-bedroom FMR; nationally it ranks #661 most affordable of 3,145 HUD counties.

#661
most affordable of 3,145 US counties (2BR)
#24
most expensive of 55 in West Virginia (2BR)
-3%
vs the state average
$29,800
income to afford it (30% rule)

Software Developers spend the smallest share of income on rent here (8.6%), while Fast Food and Counter Workers spend the most (35.8%).

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rent for Wood County, WV. Verify with HUD →

Wood County, West Virginia carries an FY 2026 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $745 per month, the federal benchmark HUD publishes for this county. A 2-bedroom costs $928/mo and a studio is $741/mo. That's 22% below the national benchmark of $959 and 3% below the West Virginia average of $766.

Rent decreased4.0% from FY 2025 ($776), declining against the trend. The 30% affordability floor is comparatively reachable here at $29,800/year.

FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rents in West Virginia. Population: 84,272. Population has held roughly steady over the past five years (-2.0%, Census ACS). That's in line with West Virginia's statewide growth of -2.4% over the same period.

FMR filing desk

Area WOOD·COUNTY·WV·WV

Wood County, WV: $745/mo 1BR · #661 of 3145 counties (2BR) · FY2026

  • FMR-AREA WV
  • 1BR-FMR $745
  • 2BR-FMR $928
  • RANK-MID #661
  • YOY-DOWN -4.0%
  • VSUS-BELOW -22%
  • VS-ST-NEAR -3% WV
  • INC-ROOM 16%
  • POP-MID 84K
  • PHOTO-NEAR Kanawha County
  • VOUCH-90-110 $671–$820
  • FY-2026 FY2026

Photo-finish peer: Kanawha ($84 1BR gap)

Read with: Section 8 housing guide

Fair Market Rents (2026)

Studio
State avg: $714 · US avg: $893
$741/mo
↓ 3.9% YoY +4% vs state -17% vs US
1 Bedroom
State avg: $766 · US avg: $959
$745/mo
↓ 4.0% YoY -3% vs state -22% vs US
2 Bedroom
State avg: $945 · US avg: $1,175
$928/mo
↓ 0.5% YoY -2% vs state -21% vs US
3 Bedroom
State avg: $1,231 · US avg: $1,525
$1,194/mo
↓ 4.6% YoY -3% vs state -22% vs US
4 Bedroom
State avg: $1,380 · US avg: $1,756
$1,253/mo
↓ 3.9% YoY -9% vs state -29% vs US

Year-over-Year Comparison

Bedrooms FY 2025 FY 2026 Change
Studio $771
$741
$-30 (-3.9%)
1 Bedroom $776
$745
$-31 (-4.0%)
2 Bedroom $933
$928
$-5 (-0.5%)
3 Bedroom $1,252
$1,194
$-58 (-4.6%)
4 Bedroom $1,304
$1,253
$-51 (-3.9%)

Rent Burden Analysis

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

Studio
15.8%
Affordable
Need $29,640/yr for 30% rule
1 Bedroom
15.9%
Affordable
Need $29,800/yr for 30% rule
2 Bedroom
19.8%
Affordable
Need $37,120/yr for 30% rule
3 Bedroom
25.5%
Affordable
Need $47,760/yr for 30% rule
4 Bedroom
26.8%
Affordable
Need $50,120/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%19.8%
Wood County 2-bedroom rent burden
County median income: $56,193 · National avg burden: 21.7% ·View West Virginia rent burden →

Where Wood sits among every US county

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

$928 higher than 21% 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 Wood compares on 1-bedroom rent

1-bedroom FMR vs other West Virginia counties

1BR FMR / mo

What this shows Wood is highlighted. Nearby West Virginia counties by 1-bedroom FMR, highest to lowest: Berkeley County ($971), Monongalia County ($877), Cabell County ($853), Harrison County ($843), Kanawha County ($829), Wood County (this county) ($745), Raleigh County ($719).

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 $745/mo, most of these West Virginia occupations clear, or miss, the 30% affordability line.

Occupation WV Salary Rent Burden Verdict
Software Developers $103,550 8.6% Affordable
General & Operations Managers $80,490 11.1% Affordable
Registered Nurses $79,990 11.2% Affordable
Accountants & Auditors $74,520 12% Affordable
Electricians $63,850 14% Affordable
Elementary School Teachers $55,550 16.1% Affordable
Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers $54,570 16.4% Affordable
Paralegals & Legal Assistants $49,620 18% Affordable
Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $49,040 18.2% Affordable
Customer Service Representatives $37,610 23.8% Affordable
Pharmacy Technicians $37,370 23.9% Affordable
Janitors & Cleaners $30,590 29.2% Affordable
Teaching Assistants $28,220 31.7% Stretched
Retail Salespersons $27,910 32% Stretched
Fast Food & Counter Workers $24,960 35.8% Stretched
Salaries: BLS OES (West Virginia) median · 30% = affordable threshold · Try the salary calculator →

Rent Trends (2020–2026)

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

Over the 6-year span HUD has tracked for Wood (FY 2020-2026), the 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent has risen 17.1% overall, from $636 to $745. Rent fell in 3 of the last 6 tracked years, including a 17.9% drop in FY 2024 - an unusual multi-year softening rather than the steady increases seen in most US counties.

$600$650$700$750$800$850 FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026 $745
Wood County 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent, FY2020–FY2026
Year Studio 1 BR 2 BR
FY 2026 ↓4.0% $741 $745 $928
FY 2025 ↓2.0% $771 $776 $933
FY 2024 ↑17.9% $787 $792 $948
FY 2023 ↑4.2% $668 $672 $793
FY 2022 ↑3.7% $636 $645 $781
FY 2021 ↓2.2% $605 $622 $745
FY 2020 $574 $636 $754
Total change (6yr): +17.1%
Annualized: +2.7%/yr
1 BR: $636 → $745

Part of the Parkersburg-Vienna, WV Metro Area

Wood County is a central county of the Parkersburg-Vienna, WV metropolitan statistical area, alongside 1 other metro-area county.

Wood County ranks #2 of 2 counties in this metro area by 1-bedroom FMR. Every county sharing this metro, highest to lowest: Wirt County ($745), Wood County (this county) ($745).

Wirt County
1 BR: $745/mo
Wood County (this county)
1 BR: $745/mo

Nationwide peers by 2BR FMR & rent burden

Two PlainRent-derived comparison paths for Wood County, both outside West Virginia 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 WV (FY2026).

Etowah County
AL · 2 BR $927/mo
Gibson County
TN · 2 BR $927/mo
Brown County
SD · 2 BR $929/mo
Yankton County
SD · 2 BR $929/mo

Similar rent burden

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

Peach County
GA · 19.8% of income · 2 BR $1,129/mo
East Feliciana Parish
LA · 19.8% of income · 2 BR $1,204/mo
Johnson County
NE · 19.8% of income · 2 BR $982/mo
Houston County
AL · 19.8% of income · 2 BR $950/mo

Nearby Counties in West Virginia

Largest counties by population in West Virginia

Showing the 8 largest of 54 other counties in West Virginia.

Kanawha County
1 BR: $829/mo Pop: 179,895
Berkeley County
1 BR: $971/mo Pop: 123,283
Monongalia County
1 BR: $877/mo Pop: 105,988
Cabell County
1 BR: $853/mo Pop: 93,965
Raleigh County
1 BR: $719/mo Pop: 74,303
Harrison County
1 BR: $843/mo Pop: 65,862
Mercer County
1 BR: $717/mo Pop: 59,530
Jefferson County
1 BR: $953/mo Pop: 58,043
View all counties in West Virginia →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average rent in Wood County? ▼
The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Wood County is $745 per month. A 2-bedroom is $928 and a studio is $741.
How does Wood County rent compare to the national average? ▼
Rent in Wood County is 22% below the national average. A 1-bedroom here costs $745 compared to $959 nationally.
Where does Wood County rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼
According to HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule, Wood County's 2-bedroom FMR of $928 ranks #661 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 Wood County? ▼
Based on the 30% affordability rule, you need an annual income of at least $29,800 ($2,483/month) to afford a 1-bedroom at Fair Market Rent in Wood County.
Is rent going up or down in Wood County? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Wood County decreased by 4.0% from FY 2025 to FY 2026, going from $776 to $745.
Which jobs can afford rent in Wood County? ▼
Based on West Virginia BLS salary data and the 30% affordability rule, jobs like Software Developers, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses can afford a 1-bedroom at $745/mo. 12 of 15 common occupations are affordable here.
How much has rent changed in Wood County over time? ▼
The 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent in Wood County went from $636 in FY 2020 to $745 in FY 2026, a total change of +17.1% over 6 years.
How does Fair Market Rent affect Section 8 vouchers in Wood County? ▼
In Wood County, the FY 2026 FMR of $745/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 Wood County? ▼
For Wood County, it's the specific 40th-percentile rent HUD publishes each year ($745/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.