Lake Charles, LA HUD Metro FMR Area Fair Market Rent

What these rents mean for the Lake Charles, LA HUD Metro FMR Area metro

HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule sets the Lake Charles, LA HUD Metro FMR Area Metro Area (CBSA 29340) 1-bedroom at $928, with a studio at $921, 2-bedroom at $1,217, 3-bedroom at $1,459, and 4-bedroom at $1,611. 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 Lake Charles, LA HUD Metro FMR Area 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 Lake Charles, LA HUD Metro FMR Area is 3% below the US 1-bedroom FMR of $959. Year-over-year the 1-bedroom FMR shifted from $877 in FY 2025 to $928 in FY 2026 - a change of +5.8%, which outpaces typical consumer inflation and signals continued demand pressure. 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 $928, that implies a household income of $37,120 per year (about $3,093/month) - a 2-bedroom at $1,217 raises that income floor further. With a metro population of 248,494 and a median household income of $67,010, 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.