21522 Bittinger, MD Fair Market Rent

What the FMR for ZIP 21522 actually means

HUD publishes ZIP-level Small Area FMRs in designated metros. Our load has no SAFMR row for ZIP 21522, so we show the FMR-area schedule for Garrett: $864 1-bedroom, studio $848, 2-bedroom $973, 3-bedroom $1,353, 4-bedroom $1,441. Other ZIPs in the same FMR area share this schedule until a SAFMR row is available. These are 40th-percentile gross rents, not live asking rents.

Without SAFMR for this ZIP, every ZIP mapped to Garrett's FMR area shares the same baseline figures even when street-level market rents differ. Against the national benchmark the 1-bedroom FMR-area figure is 10% below the US average of $959, and 38% below the MD state average of $1,404. Year-over-year, the 1-bedroom moved up4.7% from FY 2025 ($825) to FY 2026.

For budgeting, the 30% affordability rule says rent should not exceed 30% of gross household income. At the FY 2026 1-bedroom FMR of $864, that implies a household income of $34,560 per year (about $2,880/month) to avoid being cost-burdened, a 2-bedroom at $973 lifts that threshold higher still. ZIP 21522 has a population of 141 residents, so the gap between these FMR figures and local wages shapes how many households qualify as rent-burdened (paying more than 30% of income) or severely burdened (above 50%).