The 2 bedroom fair market rent in Waite Park (Stearns County) is $1,250 for FY2026, and typical market asking rent is $1,228. Rents here moved +4.2 percent year over year. ZIP 56387 sits in the St. Cloud, MN 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 | $910 | +2.2% | |
| 1 bedroom | $950 | +3.3% | |
| 2 bedroom | $1,250 | +4.2% | |
| 3 bedroom | $1,660 | +5.7% | |
| 4 bedroom | $1,940 | +3.7% |
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.
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Market asking rent sits about $22 below the 2 bedroom FMR. That usually means the Zillow index skews to smaller or older stock in this ZIP, or supply is soft. Underwrite from actual comps, not the FMR.
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 29 Stearns County ZIP codes with a HUD rent estimate, 56387 ranks number 6 of 29 on 2 bedroom fair market rent. That is $80 above the county median of $1,170. The county runs from $1,040 in Sauk Centre 56378 to $1,520 in Saint Cloud 56304. Statewide the median 2 bedroom fair market rent is $1,090, which puts Waite Park 15 percent above the Minnesota median. The largest single year move since FY2021 came in FY2024, +19.0 percent, and the 2 bedroom estimate has gone from $860 to $1,250 over 5 fiscal years. Voucher competitiveness for every Stearns County ZIP code with both signals is on the Stearns County Section 8 page.
Of the 6 nearest ZIP codes with an estimate, Saint Cloud 56301 carries the highest 2 bedroom fair market rent at $1,310 and Saint Cloud 56303 the lowest at $1,170, against $1,250 here.
The HUD fair market rent for a 2 bedroom in ZIP 56387 is $1,250 for FY2026. Typical market asking rent is around $1,228 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 4.2 percent from FY2025 to FY2026, moving from $1,200 to $1,250.
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 $1,250 for a 2 bedroom, a deal in Waite Park 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.
