The 2 bedroom fair market rent in Lake Elmo (Washington County) is $1,770 for FY2026, and typical market asking rent is $2,364. Rents here moved +1.1 percent year over year. ZIP 55042 sits in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area.
See how this ZIP compares for Section 8 vouchers, fair market rent against market asking rent for every tracked Minnesota ZIP.
| Unit size | FY2026 FMR | Vs FY2025 | ACS median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,290 | +1.6% | |
| 1 bedroom | $1,460 | +2.1% | |
| 2 bedroom | $1,770 | +1.1% | |
| 3 bedroom | $2,350 | +0.9% | |
| 4 bedroom | $2,630 | +0.8% |
FMR is the HUD Fair Market Rent for this ZIP, the 40th percentile of gross rents. It anchors Section 8 payment standards and runs below top of market. ACS median is the Census survey estimate where available.
Get an email when rents change in ZIP 55042. We will send a short note, not a newsletter.
Market asking rent runs about $594 above the 2 bedroom FMR, a 34 percent premium. For an investor that gap is a cushion: underwrite at or near FMR and the market gives you room, and Section 8 tenants at payment standard are competitive with market rate here.
Zillow ZORI is a smoothed index of asking rents across all unit sizes. HUD FMR is a 2 bedroom 40th percentile estimate. They measure different things, so treat the spread as a signal, not a price. See the full FMR versus market rent spread for every Minnesota ZIP with both signals.
Among the 18 Washington County ZIP codes with a HUD rent estimate, 55042 ranks number 12 of 18 on 2 bedroom fair market rent. That is $150 below the county median of $1,920. The county runs from $1,520 in Scandia 55073 to $2,560 in Marine On Saint Croix 55047. Statewide the median 2 bedroom fair market rent is $1,090, which puts Lake Elmo 62 percent above the Minnesota median. The largest single year move since FY2021 came in FY2024, +21.0 percent, and the 2 bedroom estimate has gone from $1,290 to $1,770 over 5 fiscal years. Voucher competitiveness for every Washington County ZIP code with both signals is on the Washington County Section 8 page.
Of the 6 nearest ZIP codes with an estimate, Saint Paul 55125 carries the highest 2 bedroom fair market rent at $2,230 and Stillwater 55082 the lowest at $1,660, against $1,770 here.
The HUD fair market rent for a 2 bedroom in ZIP 55042 is $1,770 for FY2026. Typical market asking rent is around $2,364 per Zillow as of 2026-07. Actual rents vary by unit size, condition, and location within the ZIP.
The 2 bedroom fair market rent rose 1.1 percent from FY2025 to FY2026, moving from $1,750 to $1,770.
Fair Market Rent is HUD's estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent for a ZIP. It sets Section 8 payment standards, so it is the rent a voucher will support here. Investors use it as a conservative floor when underwriting rental income.
Rent level is only one input. Run the numbers: at $1,770 for a 2 bedroom, a deal in Lake Elmo pencils or it does not based on price, taxes, insurance, and financing. Pencilwrite computes cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, and true ROE from a few inputs.
Pencilwrite turns an address, a price, and these rents into a full underwrite, cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, true ROE, taxes, and an offer you can send. Limited beta access spots open. Sign up for the beta, opening in the next two months. Free.
