Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA MSA Fair Market Rent

What these rents mean for the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA MSA metro

HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule sets the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA MSA Metro Area (CBSA 36500) 1-bedroom at $1,682, with a studio at $1,538, 2-bedroom at $1,960, 3-bedroom at $2,613, and 4-bedroom at $3,288. 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 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA 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 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA MSA is 75% above the US 1-bedroom FMR of $959. Year-over-year the 1-bedroom FMR shifted from $1,585 in FY 2025 to $1,682 in FY 2026 — a change of +6.1%, 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 $1,682, that implies a household income of $67,280 per year (about $5,607/month) — a 2-bedroom at $1,960 raises that income floor further. With a metro population of 294,272 and a median household income of $93,985, 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.