High-FMR payment standards - Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA
HUD FY2026 2-BR Fair Market Rent for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA is $1,857/month - 88th percentile of 396 published metro FMR areas (#349 cheapest→expensive) ; voucher vs ACS median: 14.4% above market ; FMR rows touch Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Baltimore city, Carroll County, Harford County, Howard County, Queen Anne's County .
Expensive rung: who shares Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA's FMR tier
Near-amount peers: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX MSA ($1,852), Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA ($1,865), Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT MSA ($1,866) .
For scale, bottom-quartile published amounts include Bay City, MI MSA, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX MSA, Fayette County, WV HUD Metro FMR Area, Arecibo, PR Metro Area, Anniston-Oxford, AL MSA, Binghamton, NY MSA - those metros are not substitutes for lease-up planning in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA.
MD-state FMR neighbors for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA
Closest 2-BR amounts inside MD: Calvert County, MD HUD Metro FMR Area ($2,083); Hagerstown, MD HUD Metro FMR Area ($1,261); Somerset County, MD HUD Metro FMR Area ($1,167) . Alphabetical “nearby” lists are intentionally not used here - amount proximity is the comparison that matters for payment standards.
What are the HUD FY2026 bedroom FMRs for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA?
| Size | HUD FMR |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,362/mo |
| 1-BR | $1,511/mo |
| 2-BR | $1,857/mo |
| 3-BR | $2,358/mo |
| 4-BR | $2,611/mo |
Section 8 payment standard range for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA
HUD lets each Public Housing Authority set its payment standard between 90% and 110% of the published Fair Market Rent for the bedroom size served. These dollar amounts are derived from HUD FY2026 FMR for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA; your PHA may choose a figure inside this band. This is not a quote for a specific unit, availability, or waitlist status.
| Size | HUD FMR | 90% floor | 110% ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,362/mo | $1,226/mo | $1,498/mo |
| 1-BR | $1,511/mo | $1,360/mo | $1,662/mo |
| 2-BR | $1,857/mo | $1,671/mo | $2,043/mo |
| 3-BR | $2,358/mo | $2,122/mo | $2,594/mo |
| 4-BR | $2,611/mo | $2,350/mo | $2,872/mo |
For a 2-bedroom in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA, the HUD reference rent is $1,857/month, so the lawful payment-standard band runs $1,671–$2,043/month before any tenant income share.
HUD FMR filing-year trail · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA
Published two-bedroom Fair Market Rent for this HUD area across FY2022-2026. Year-over-year deltas compare adjacent fiscal years only. This is a historical HUD reference-rent series, not a PHA payment standard, unit quote, availability, eligibility, or waitlist result.
- Latest 2-BR
- $1,857
- FY2026
- vs prior FY
- -5.5%
- from FY2025 $1,965
- Span change
- +33.1%
- FY2022-2026
- Years shown
- 5
- HUD FMR history
| FY | 2-BR FMR | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $1,395/mo | - |
| 2023 | $1,548/mo | +11.0% |
| 2024 | $1,943/mo | +25.5% |
| 2025 | $1,965/mo | +1.1% |
| 2026 | $1,857/mo | -5.5% |
Source: HUD USER Fair Market Rents historical series for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA, FY2022-2026. Adjacent-year deltas only.
ACS median 2-BR rent $1,623/mo → 14.4% above market (generous). Detail: gap analysis for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA.
MD agencies near this metro's scale key
Housing authorities in MD whose HCV caseload sits closest to a CBSA-stable scale target (not the statewide giants list - that list was identical across siblings):
- Cecil County Housing Agency
- Housing Authority of Washington County
- Rockville Housing Enterprises
- Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis
- Carroll County Housing & Community Dev
- Housing Authority of Calvert County
- Wicomico County Housing Authority
- County Commissioners Charles County
- Frederick Housing Authority
- City Of Westminster Housing Office
Full near-amount ladder
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX MSA · $1,852
- Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA · $1,865
- Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT MSA · $1,866
- Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,867
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA · $1,839
- Cumberland County, ME (part) HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,833
- Charlottesville, VA MSA · $1,824
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,820
- Warren County, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,895
- Kingston, NY MSA · $1,818
- Beaufort County, SC HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,816
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA · $1,810
What to do with this FMR desk
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HUD FY2026 2-BR FMR is $1,857/mo; use the schedule as a source desk, not a lease quote.
- Read the FY2022-2026 filing trail (+33.1% across the span) before comparing peers. FMR history on this page
- Open the voucher-vs-market gap board for this CBSA (14.4% above market). Metro gap page
- Confirm how PHAs may set payment standards at 90-110% of FMR, and why the two figures are not interchangeable. FMR vs payment standard
FMR is HUD's published Fair Market Rent for this FMR area. It is not a PHA payment standard, unit quote, eligibility result, or waitlist status. Confirm any leasing figure with the PHA that serves the unit.
Source: HUD USER Fair Market Rent (FY2026) ; Census ACS median gross rent. Confirm the live PHA figure before leasing. Methodology.
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