High-FMR payment standards - Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area
HUD FY2026 2-BR Fair Market Rent for Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area is $2,941/month - 99th percentile of 396 published metro FMR areas (#393 cheapest→expensive) ; voucher vs ACS median: 41.6% above market ; FMR rows touch Essex County, Middlesex County, Norfolk County, Plymouth County, Rockingham County, Suffolk County .
Geography note: HUD divides this CBSA into 6 separate Fair Market Rent areas, each with its own rent schedule. The amounts above are for Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area only, not the whole metro.
Expensive rung: who shares Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area's FMR tier
Near-amount peers: Oakland-Fremont, CA HUD Metro FMR Area ($2,912), San Benito County, CA HUD Metro FMR Area ($2,902), San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA ($3,001) .
For scale, bottom-quartile published amounts include Allen County, KY HUD Metro FMR Area, Floyd County, VA HUD Metro FMR Area, Binghamton, NY MSA, Brownsville-Harlingen, TX MSA, Fayette County, WV HUD Metro FMR Area, Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX MSA - those metros are not substitutes for lease-up planning in Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area.
MA-state FMR neighbors for Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area
Closest 2-BR amounts inside MA: Barnstable Town, MA MSA ($2,422); Amherst Town-Northampton, MA MSA ($2,004); Fitchburg-Leominster, MA HUD Metro FMR Area ($1,749); Springfield, MA MSA ($1,734); Pittsfield, MA HUD Metro FMR Area ($1,626); New Bedford, MA HUD Metro FMR Area ($1,527) . 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 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area?
| Size | HUD FMR |
|---|---|
| Studio | $2,359/mo |
| 1-BR | $2,476/mo |
| 2-BR | $2,941/mo |
| 3-BR | $3,526/mo |
| 4-BR | $3,894/mo |
Section 8 payment standard range for Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area
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 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area; 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 | $2,359/mo | $2,123/mo | $2,595/mo |
| 1-BR | $2,476/mo | $2,228/mo | $2,724/mo |
| 2-BR | $2,941/mo | $2,647/mo | $3,235/mo |
| 3-BR | $3,526/mo | $3,173/mo | $3,879/mo |
| 4-BR | $3,894/mo | $3,505/mo | $4,283/mo |
For a 2-bedroom in Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area, the HUD reference rent is $2,941/month, so the lawful payment-standard band runs $2,647–$3,235/month before any tenant income share.
ACS median 2-BR rent $2,077/mo → 41.6% above market (generous). Detail: gap analysis for Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area.
MA agencies near this metro's scale key
Housing authorities in MA whose HCV caseload sits closest to a CBSA-stable scale target (not the statewide giants list - that list was identical across siblings):
Full near-amount ladder
- Oakland-Fremont, CA HUD Metro FMR Area · $2,912
- San Benito County, CA HUD Metro FMR Area · $2,902
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA · $3,001
- Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA MSA · $2,827
- Napa, CA MSA · $2,773
- Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA MSA · $3,124
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA · $2,693
- Salinas, CA MSA · $2,684
- Urban Honolulu, HI MSA · $2,642
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA HUD Metro FMR Area · $2,601
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA MSA · $2,512
- Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT MSA · $2,511
What to do with this FMR desk
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD FY2026 2-BR FMR is $2,941/mo; use the schedule as a source desk, not a lease quote.
- Open the voucher-vs-market gap board for this CBSA (41.6% 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.
Verify with HUD → · Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Set a September HUD update reminder