Fair Market Rent is HUD's payment standard for the Housing Choice Voucher program, set at the 40th percentile of gross rents in each ZIP code. Market rent, from the Zillow Observed Rent Index, is what landlords are asking across all unit sizes today. The spread between the two shows where a voucher goes furthest and where it falls short.
When FMR sits at or above market rent, a landlord accepting a voucher at the payment standard collects as much or more than chasing a market rate tenant. That is a voucher competitive ZIP: fewer vacancies, less marketing, and a government backed portion of the rent every month. When market rent runs well above FMR, the voucher covers less of the ask, and a landlord has to make up the difference from the tenant's portion or look elsewhere for a match.
Two honest limits. FMR is a 2 bedroom, 40th percentile number, it does not capture unit condition, exact bedroom count, or the specific street. Zillow ZORI is a smoothed index across all unit sizes, not a same unit comparison. Treat the spread as a screening signal for where to dig into comps, not a final answer for one address.
| ZIP | City | Market rent | Zillow month | 2BR FMR | Spread $ | Spread % | Voucher fit |
|---|
Click a column to sort. Spread is market rent minus 2BR FMR. Voucher competitive ZIPs are where FMR meets or exceeds market rent. The market rent for each ZIP code is its own latest Zillow reading, which is not the same month everywhere: the Zillow month column says which one, and the monthly report uses only the newest month so its counts are smaller than this table's. Check one ZIP code against your own asking rent with the landlord voucher check, read this month's Minnesota Section 8 rent report, or start with the guide to reading the spread. Full definitions are in the methodology, and the same rows are available as JSON from the data API.
| County | ZIPs with both signals | Voucher competitive | Zillow month | Median 2BR FMR | Median spread | Median spread % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chisago County | 1 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,520 | -$540 | -35.5% |
| Benton County | 1 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,520 | -$387 | -25.5% |
| Mille Lacs County | 1 | 1 | 2026-06 | $1,520 | -$245 | -16.1% |
| Ramsey County | 19 | 17 | 2026-07 | $1,640 | -$168 | -10.5% |
| Carlton County | 1 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,260 | -$100 | -7.9% |
| Otter Tail County | 1 | 1 | 2026-07 | $990 | -$76 | -7.7% |
| Blue Earth County | 1 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,290 | -$91 | -7.1% |
| Le Sueur County | 1 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,520 | -$102 | -6.7% |
| Hennepin County | 58 | 38 | mixed | $1,850 | -$102 | -5.2% |
| Polk County | 1 | 1 | 2026-06 | $990 | -$45 | -4.5% |
| Scott County | 3 | 2 | 2026-07 | $1,860 | -$56 | -2.7% |
| Mower County | 1 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,070 | -$29 | -2.7% |
| Dakota County | 15 | 9 | 2026-07 | $1,810 | -$44 | -2.2% |
| Crow Wing County | 1 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,060 | -$20 | -1.9% |
| Anoka County | 9 | 5 | mixed | $1,840 | -$34 | -1.8% |
| Stearns County | 5 | 4 | 2026-07 | $1,310 | -$22 | -1.8% |
| Washington County | 10 | 5 | 2026-07 | $1,935 | +$23 | +0.2% |
| Kandiyohi County | 1 | 0 | 2026-07 | $970 | +$6 | +0.6% |
| Steele County | 1 | 0 | 2026-07 | $1,150 | +$18 | +1.6% |
| Freeborn County | 1 | 0 | 2026-07 | $970 | +$76 | +7.8% |
| Itasca County | 1 | 0 | 2026-05 | $1,130 | +$95 | +8.4% |
| Carver County | 4 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,920 | +$160 | +8.9% |
| Wright County | 6 | 2 | mixed | $1,520 | +$156 | +10.3% |
| Nicollet County | 2 | 0 | mixed | $1,085 | +$110 | +10.3% |
| Winona County | 1 | 0 | 2026-06 | $1,060 | +$111 | +10.5% |
| Pennington County | 1 | 0 | 2026-06 | $1,130 | +$130 | +11.5% |
| St. Louis County | 8 | 2 | mixed | $1,310 | +$178 | +13.8% |
| Goodhue County | 1 | 0 | 2026-07 | $1,150 | +$163 | +14.2% |
| Sherburne County | 3 | 1 | 2026-07 | $1,600 | +$230 | +15.1% |
| Olmsted County | 4 | 0 | 2026-07 | $1,440 | +$221 | +15.5% |
| Jackson County | 1 | 0 | 2026-07 | $970 | +$156 | +16.1% |
| Rice County | 2 | 0 | 2026-07 | $1,365 | +$232 | +17.3% |
| Beltrami County | 1 | 0 | 2026-07 | $1,150 | +$207 | +18.0% |
| Isanti County | 2 | 1 | 2026-06 | $1,535 | +$311 | +20.1% |
| Clay County | 2 | 0 | mixed | $1,160 | +$273 | +23.7% |
| Douglas County | 1 | 0 | 2026-07 | $1,000 | +$378 | +37.8% |
The 36 Minnesota counties with at least one ZIP code carrying both a fair market rent and a market rent, sorted from the most voucher friendly median spread to the least. Counties without a market rent anywhere in them have no page here; their fair market rents are in the table above and on the county directory. The Zillow month column reads mixed where the ZIP codes in a county do not share one reading month. Payment standards are set by each housing authority between 90 and 110 percent of the published fair market rent and are not in this data.
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It is the dollar and percent difference between HUD's Fair Market Rent, a 2 bedroom 40th percentile estimate, and Zillow's Observed Rent Index, a market wide asking rent. A positive spread means market rent runs above FMR. A negative spread means FMR sits at or above market rent.
A ZIP is flagged voucher competitive when the FMR payment standard is at or above the typical market asking rent. In those ZIPs a landlord accepting a Housing Choice Voucher tenant collects as much or more than chasing an open market tenant, which usually means faster leasing and less vacancy risk.
No. FMR is HUD's benchmark for voucher payment standards, not a market appraisal. It does not account for unit condition, exact bedroom count, or the specific block. Use this table to screen ZIP codes, then underwrite the actual unit with real comps.
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.
