Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA MSA Fair Market Rent

What these rents mean for the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA MSA metro

HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule sets the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA MSA Metro Area (CBSA 28700) 1-bedroom at $818, with a studio at $720, 2-bedroom at $1,044, 3-bedroom at $1,338, and 4-bedroom at $1,464. These are the 40th percentile of gross rents — utilities included, excluding telephone — meaning roughly 60% of standard-quality rentals in the metro cost more. Because HUD treats a metropolitan statistical area as a single rent market, every county inside the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA MSA CBSA shares these FMR figures, and local housing authorities use them to set Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher payment standards (typically between 90% and 110% of FMR).

Against the national benchmark, a 1-bedroom in Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA MSA is 15% below the US 1-bedroom FMR of $959. Year-over-year the 1-bedroom FMR shifted from $824 in FY 2025 to $818 in FY 2026 — a change of -0.7%, which tracks roughly with broader price growth. Metro-level FMRs often diverge from the rents listed for any single suburb, so renters should view this as the HUD ceiling, not a street-level market rate.

For affordability, the 30% rule says rent should not exceed 30% of gross household income. At the FY 2026 1-bedroom FMR of $818, that implies a household income of $32,720 per year (about $2,727/month) — a 2-bedroom at $1,044 raises that income floor further. With a metro population of 308,386 and a median household income of $55,948, the gap between FMR and local wages determines how many households qualify as rent-burdened (paying more than 30% of income) or severely burdened (above 50%). Metro FMR also anchors the Small Area FMR program, which sets ZIP-level payment standards in designated metros to expand voucher choice into higher-opportunity neighborhoods.