Fair Market Rent (FMR) follows real local rents, so HUD’s annual figures double as a map of where renting costs the most. Here are the most expensive large US metros by FY2026 two-bedroom FMR.
FMR is HUD’s 40th-percentile gross-rent benchmark, not the market median. Verify on huduser.gov.
Most expensive metros (2-bedroom FMR, FY2026)
| Rank | Metro area | 2 BR FMR / mo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $3,604 |
| 2 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $3,483 |
| 3 | Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA | $3,236 |
| 4 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $3,001 |
| 5 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | $2,941 |
| 6 | Oakland-Fremont, CA | $2,912 |
| 7 | New York, NY | $2,910 |
| 8 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA | $2,903 |
See the full most-expensive ranking for all 75 of the largest metros.
Why these metros top the list
Every metro in the top eight is a coastal, supply-constrained market. The West Coast tech corridor (San Francisco, San Jose, the Orange County and San Diego areas) and the dense Northeast (New York, Boston) combine high demand with limited new construction. Because FMR is the 40th-percentile gross rent drawn from recent-mover survey data, those high local rents flow straight into a high FMR.
The gap is enormous: San Francisco’s $3,604 two-bedroom FMR is roughly 3.7× the national median 2-bedroom FMR of $975.
By state
At the state level, Hawaii has the highest median 2-bedroom FMR ($2,492), ahead of DC ($2,246) and Massachusetts ($2,067). For the other end of the table, see the cheapest US metros and cheapest states.
To see whether your own rent is above or below the local FMR, try the rent-vs-FMR calculator.