HUD FY2026 · National FMR ranking

Most Expensive Rent in the US

The highest-cost counties and metro areas by Fair Market Rent. The priciest county runs $4,214 for a 2-bedroom — several multiples of the national floor.

$4,214
Priciest county (2BR) — Santa Cruz
$4,214
Priciest metro (2BR)
3,145
Counties ranked

The verdict

The most expensive county for a 2-bedroom is Santa Cruz County at $4,214 — the single highest of all 3,145 US counties, about 3.6× the national average of $1,175.

$4,214
#1: Santa Cruz County (2BR)
$4,214
priciest metro: Santa Cruz-Watsonville
3.6×
the US average of $1,175
3,145
counties ranked, every US state + DC

Ranked across all 50 states and DC from HUD's published FY2026 Fair Market Rents. Top metros routinely exceed $2,000 for a 1-bedroom. Figures are HUD's published FMRs; see our methodology.

How far above the rest the priciest counties sit

The #1 county's 2-bedroom FMR vs. all 3,145 US counties

$4,214 Top 1% higher than 99% of 3,145 counties

$600–$800: 23 counties (1%). Below this entry. $800–$1,000: 1,406 counties (45%). Below this entry. $1,000–$1,200: 723 counties (23%). Below this entry. $1,200–$1,400: 417 counties (13%). Below this entry. $1,400–$1,600: 181 counties (6%). Below this entry. $1,600–$1,800: 172 counties (5%). Below this entry. $1,800–$2,000: 108 counties (3%). Below this entry. $2,000–$2,200: 29 counties (1%). Below this entry. $2,200–$2,400: 40 counties (1%). Below this entry. $2,400–$2,600: 13 counties (0%). Below this entry. $2,600–$2,800: 9 counties (0%). Below this entry. $2,800–$3,000: 15 counties (0%). Below this entry. $3,000–$3,200: 3 counties (0%). Below this entry. $3,200–$3,400: 1 counties (0%). Below this entry. $3,400–$3,600: 1 counties (0%). Below this entry. $3,600–$3,800: 3 counties (0%). Below this entry. $3,800–$4,000: 0 counties (0%). Below this entry. $4,000–$4,200: 0 counties (0%). Below this entry. $4,200–$4,400: 1 counties (0%). This entry sits in this band. #1 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

Top 10 most expensive counties by 1-bedroom FMR

HUD Fair Market Rent — the FY2026 ceiling HUD will subsidize for a modest 1-bedroom unit

1BR FMR / mo

What this shows Santa Cruz County leads the nation. Coastal California and the New York metro dominate the top of the table.

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

Top 50 Most Expensive Counties

Ranked by 1-bedroom FMR (the column HUD subsidizes first). All five bedroom sizes shown for FY2026.

# County Studio1 BR2 BR3 BR4 BR
1 Santa Cruz County $3,179
$3,298
$4,214$5,377$5,659
2 Santa Clara County $2,621
$2,982
$3,483$4,602$5,010
3 Marin County $2,485
$2,977
$3,604$4,604$4,772
4 San Francisco County $2,485
$2,977
$3,604$4,604$4,772
5 San Mateo County $2,485
$2,977
$3,604$4,604$4,772
6 Orange County $2,682
$2,746
$3,236$4,393$5,246
7 Santa Barbara County $2,459
$2,746
$3,124$4,075$4,647
8 Bronx County $2,529
$2,655
$2,910$3,644$3,959
9 Kings County $2,529
$2,655
$2,910$3,644$3,959
10 New York County $2,529
$2,655
$2,910$3,644$3,959
11 Putnam County $2,529
$2,655
$2,910$3,644$3,959
12 Queens County $2,529
$2,655
$2,910$3,644$3,959
13 Richmond County $2,529
$2,655
$2,910$3,644$3,959
14 Rockland County $2,529
$2,655
$2,910$3,644$3,959
15 Westchester County $2,529
$2,655
$2,910$3,644$3,959
16 Essex County $2,359
$2,476
$2,941$3,526$3,894
17 Middlesex County $2,359
$2,476
$2,941$3,526$3,894
18 Suffolk County $2,359
$2,476
$2,941$3,526$3,894
19 San Diego County $2,288
$2,459
$3,001$3,998$4,845
20 Hudson County $2,407
$2,458
$2,763$3,367$3,955
21 Nantucket County $2,409
$2,425
$3,138$4,143$5,260
22 Alameda County $2,142
$2,385
$2,912$3,724$4,413
23 Contra Costa County $2,142
$2,385
$2,912$3,724$4,413
24 Nassau County $1,992
$2,379
$2,747$3,563$3,768
25 Suffolk County $1,992
$2,379
$2,747$3,563$3,768
26 Ventura County $1,998
$2,250
$2,693$3,652$4,240
27 Monterey County $2,173
$2,232
$2,684$3,623$3,945
28 San Benito County $2,205
$2,212
$2,902$3,944$4,190
29 Monroe County $1,726
$2,211
$2,504$3,303$3,315
30 Sonoma County $1,949
$2,155
$2,827$3,887$4,147
31 King County $2,074
$2,146
$2,501$3,272$3,847
32 Snohomish County $2,074
$2,146
$2,501$3,272$3,847
33 Napa County $1,912
$2,113
$2,773$3,532$4,134
34 Greater Bridgeport Planning Region $1,731
$2,100
$2,511$3,036$3,598
35 Western Connecticut Planning Region $1,731
$2,100
$2,511$3,036$3,598
36 Los Angeles County $1,863
$2,085
$2,601$3,298$3,672
37 Bergen County $1,778
$2,024
$2,324$2,835$3,618
38 Passaic County $1,778
$2,024
$2,324$2,835$3,618
39 Pitkin County $1,526
$2,020
$2,214$2,826$3,471
40 Honolulu County $1,877
$2,016
$2,642$3,674$4,432
41 District of Columbia $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
42 Charles County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
43 Frederick County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
44 Montgomery County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
45 Prince George's County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
46 Arlington County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
47 Clarke County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
48 Fairfax County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
49 Fauquier County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
50 Loudoun County $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332

Top 25 Most Expensive Metro Areas

Metro-level FMR areas, ranked by 1-bedroom FMR. A metro shares one FMR across every county inside it.

# Metro area Studio1 BR2 BR3 BR4 BR
1 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA $3,179
$3,298
$4,214$5,377$5,659
2 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA MSA $2,459
$2,746
$3,124$4,075$4,647
3 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area $2,359
$2,476
$2,941$3,526$3,894
4 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA $2,288
$2,459
$3,001$3,998$4,845
5 Oakland-Fremont, CA HUD Metro FMR Area $2,142
$2,385
$2,912$3,724$4,413
6 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA $1,998
$2,250
$2,693$3,652$4,240
7 Salinas, CA MSA $2,173
$2,232
$2,684$3,623$3,945
8 San Benito County, CA HUD Metro FMR Area $2,205
$2,212
$2,902$3,944$4,190
9 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA MSA $1,949
$2,155
$2,827$3,887$4,147
10 Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area $2,074
$2,146
$2,501$3,272$3,847
11 Napa, CA MSA $1,912
$2,113
$2,773$3,532$4,134
12 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT MSA $1,731
$2,100
$2,511$3,036$3,598
13 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA HUD Metro FMR Area $1,863
$2,085
$2,601$3,298$3,672
14 Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area $1,778
$2,024
$2,324$2,835$3,618
15 Urban Honolulu, HI MSA $1,877
$2,016
$2,642$3,674$4,432
16 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD HUD Metro FMR Area $1,953
$2,015
$2,246$2,835$3,332
17 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA MSA $1,732
$1,914
$2,512$3,370$3,861
18 Fort Lauderdale, FL HUD Metro FMR Area $1,737
$1,900
$2,333$3,216$3,810
19 Kalawao County, HI HUD Metro FMR Area $1,801
$1,899
$2,492$3,227$4,024
20 Calvert County, MD HUD Metro FMR Area $1,811
$1,851
$2,083$2,639$3,106
21 Barnstable Town, MA MSA $1,834
$1,846
$2,422$2,985$3,428
22 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA HUD Metro FMR Area $1,748
$1,832
$2,255$3,002$3,460
23 Naples-Marco Island, FL MSA $1,396
$1,797
$1,986$2,581$2,805
24 Boulder, CO MSA $1,553
$1,795
$2,124$2,820$3,239
25 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA $1,692
$1,777
$2,201$2,912$3,514

About this ranking

Counties and metro areas are ranked by 1-bedroom Fair Market Rent across all 50 states and DC, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's published FY2026 schedule. FMR is the 40th-percentile gross rent for a modest unit, so a high rank means even an entry-level rental is expensive. See our methodology for how the figures are sourced and verified.

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