Metro FMR · CBSA 17420 · HUD FY2026

Cleveland, TN MSA Fair Market Rent

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for the Cleveland, TN MSA metro area - 2% below the US average.

$940
1-bedroom FMR
$1,233
2-bedroom FMR
+2.0%
YoY change
-2%
vs US avg

The verdict

A 2-bedroom in the Cleveland, TN MSA area rents at $1,233 under HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent - 5% above the US average, lower than 60% of the 387 metro areas HUD tracks.

#156
most affordable of 387 US metros (2BR)
+5%
vs the US 2-bedroom average
$49,320
income to afford it (30% rule)
+2.0%
1BR change, FY2025→2026

Affordability & income context

Cleveland: #156 most affordable nationally · income context

At the metro's ACS median household income of $63,490, this 1-bedroom FMR takes 17.8% of annual income. It is well below the 30% affordability guide for a median-income household.

The 2-bedroom figure places Cleveland in the middle half of HUD metro areas, using the same FY2026 HUD schedule as the national comparison.

With 126,479 residents, this is a smaller-metro benchmark rather than a single-neighborhood rent quote.

Population has held roughly steady over the past five years (+5.0%, Census ACS).

The ACS rental vacancy rate here is 3.7%, a tight rental market where HUD's annual FMR schedule can lag what landlords are actually asking.

The Census ACS median gross rent across all rental units here is $939/month - the FY2026 HUD two-bedroom FMR of $1,233 runs 31.3% above that all-unit-types median. The two figures measure different things (ACS covers every rented unit; FMR targets a specific bedroom count), so a gap is expected, not an error.

Its 2-bedroom FMR sits in the middle half of HUD metro areas, so the local-income comparison is more informative than the national rank alone.

The studio-through-two-bedroom FMR bands stay below 30% of recorded median income here; the larger-bedroom rows show where that headroom narrows.

Observed renter burden: 41.7% of the 14,742 renter households counted by ACS paid at least 30% of income in gross rent. This ACS 2023 household measure is distinct from the FY2026 HUD FMR benchmark.

ACS median household income lags the FY2026 HUD FMR schedule. The income share is a same-metro cross-source read (Census ACS B19013 vs HUD FMR), not a same-vintage ratio.

Studio

$850/mo

16.1% of median income

1 Bedroom

$940/mo

17.8% of median income

2 Bedroom

$1,233/mo

23.3% of median income

3 Bedroom

$1,584/mo

29.9% of median income

4 Bedroom

$1,633/mo

30.9% of median income

FMR filing desk

CBSA CBSA·17420

Cleveland: $940/mo 1BR · #156 of 387 metros (2BR) · FY2026 CBSA 17420

  • CBSA 17420
  • 1BR-FMR $940
  • 2BR-FMR $1,233
  • RANK-MID #156
  • YOY-FLAT +2.0%
  • VSUS-NEAR -2%
  • IN-ST-LOW #4 TN
  • INC-ROOM 18%
  • POP-MID 126K
  • PHOTO-NEAR Chattanooga
  • VOUCH-90-110 $846–$1,034
  • FY-2026 FY2026

Photo-finish peer: Chattanooga ($323 1BR gap)

Read with: How Fair Market Rent works

Where Cleveland sits among every US metro

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent vs. all 387 HUD metro areas

$1,233 higher than 40% of 387 metro areas

$800–$1,000: 28 metro areas (7%). Below this entry. $1,000–$1,200: 114 metro areas (29%). Below this entry. $1,200–$1,400: 95 metro areas (25%). This entry sits in this band. $1,400–$1,600: 52 metro areas (13%). Above this entry. $1,600–$1,800: 41 metro areas (11%). Above this entry. $1,800–$2,000: 26 metro areas (7%). Above this entry. $2,000–$2,200: 9 metro areas (2%). Above this entry. $2,200–$2,400: 5 metro areas (1%). Above this entry. $2,400–$2,600: 5 metro areas (1%). Above this entry. $2,600–$2,800: 5 metro areas (1%). Above this entry. $2,800–$3,000: 4 metro areas (1%). Above this entry. $3,000–$3,200: 2 metro areas (1%). Above this entry. $3,200–$3,400: 0 metro areas (0%). Above this entry. $3,400–$3,600: 0 metro areas (0%). Above this entry. $3,600–$3,800: 0 metro areas (0%). Above this entry. $3,800–$4,000: 0 metro areas (0%). Above this entry. $4,000–$4,200: 0 metro areas (0%). Above this entry. $4,200–$4,400: 1 metro areas (0%). Above this entry. This metro $800 $4,400 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $0.2K-wide band; taller bars hold more metro areas. 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.

What this shows #156 of 387 HUD-tracked metro areas, 5% above the national 2-bedroom average. 94 other metro areas fall in this same rent band.

Source U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents · FY2026

CBSA 17420

Counties inside Cleveland

Across 2 HUD counties in CBSA 17420, 2-bedroom FMRs cluster tightly ($1,233–$1,233, 0% spread), so the metro-wide schedule tracks most constituent counties closely.

Bradley County 2BR $1,233 · 109K Polk County 2BR $1,233 · 18K

Cleveland studio–4BR schedule (FY2026) · 2BR #156 most affordable

1BR $940 (-2% vs US, +2.0% YoY). Each bedroom band below is FY2026 HUD FMR for CBSA 17420.

Studio
$850
US avg $893
↑2.4% YoY -5% vs US
1 Bedroom
$940
US avg $959
↑2.0% YoY -2% vs US
2 Bedroom
$1,233
US avg $1,175
↑1.9% YoY +5% vs US
3 Bedroom
$1,584
US avg $1,525
↑0.3% YoY +4% vs US
4 Bedroom
$1,633
US avg $1,756
↑1.8% YoY -7% vs US

How Cleveland compares on 1-bedroom rent

1-bedroom FMR vs other TN metro areas

1BR FMR / mo

What this shows Cleveland highlighted among 5 peers · FY2026 1BR HUD FMR.

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

Cleveland: out-of-state FMR & burden peers

PlainRent pairs Cleveland with the 4 nearest HUD 2BR schedules and 4 nearest burden matches outside TN (burden peers exclude the FMR set; pop ≥50k).

2BR FMR · outside TN

Nearest schedules by 2BR delta (FY2026).

Killeen-Temple
TX · 2 BR $1,233/mo
Duluth
MN · 2 BR $1,232/mo
Racine-Mount Pleasant
WI · 2 BR $1,235/mo
Appleton
WI · 2 BR $1,236/mo

Burden % · outside TN

Nearest 2BR FMR ÷ ACS median income (FY2026).

Kankakee
IL · 23.3% of income · 2 BR $1,326/mo
Great Falls
MT · 23.3% of income · 2 BR $1,284/mo
Muskegon-Norton Shores
MI · 23.4% of income · 2 BR $1,236/mo
Battle Creek
MI · 23.4% of income · 2 BR $1,176/mo

Cleveland: quick answers

What is the average rent in the Cleveland, TN MSA metro area? ▼
The FY 2026 Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom in Cleveland, TN MSA is $940 per month. A 2-bedroom is $1,233 and a studio is $850.
How does Cleveland, TN MSA rent compare to the national average? ▼
Rent in the Cleveland, TN MSA metro area is 2% below the national average. A 1-bedroom costs $940 compared to $959 nationally.
Where does Cleveland rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼
HUD's FY 2026 2-bedroom FMR of $1,233 ranks #156 most affordable among 387 US metro areas (the middle half of HUD metro areas).
Do county rents differ inside the Cleveland metro area? ▼
Yes. HUD assigns one metro-wide FMR for CBSA 17420, but 2 constituent counties publish their own county FMR schedules spanning $1,233–$1,233 for a 2-bedroom (0% spread). Use county pages for filing at the county level.
Is Cleveland's population growing, and how tight is its rental market? ▼
Population has held roughly steady over the past five years (+5.0%, Census ACS). The ACS rental vacancy rate here is 3.7%, a tight rental market where HUD's annual FMR schedule can lag what landlords are actually asking.

Compare Cleveland vs Chattanooga →

What this means for renters

Treat Cleveland's FY2026 Fair Market Rent as HUD's affordability benchmark, not a single market quote.

  • Budget to roughly 30% of income: the FY2026 1-bedroom FMR of $940 implies about $37,600/yr to rent without being cost-burdened. Run your numbers
  • See how Cleveland stacks up against a comparable metro before assuming this figure applies elsewhere. Compare vs Chattanooga
  • See where Cleveland ranks nationally on rent. National rankings

Fair Market Rent is HUD's 40th-percentile policy benchmark used to set Housing Choice Voucher payment standards. This is a metro-wide figure across 2 counties; actual asking rents in any specific county can run higher or lower, and HUD updates FMRs once a year. This site is informational and not financial or relocation advice.

Data as of FY 2026. Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rents. Population and demographic data from U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS).

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

FY 2026 HUD FMR $940/mo · 1BR TN

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.