Section 8 in Cleveland: FY2026 FMR by ZIP and Where the Spread Lives
Cleveland Section 8 FMR by ZIP for FY2026: real HUD Small Area FMRs for every city ZIP, the highest and lowest 3BR rents, and where the voucher spread is.
Cleveland is the market people mean when they say "Section 8 cash flow." It is a Small Area FMR metro, which means HUD publishes a separate Fair Market Rent for every ZIP code — and inside Cuyahoga County those numbers range from $1,220 to $2,470 for a 3-bedroom in FY2026. Same county, more than a $1,200/month gap. If you invest here, the ZIP code is the deal.
Every FMR figure below comes straight from HUD's FY2026 Small Area FMR data for the Cleveland, OH HUD Metro FMR Area (Cuyahoga County). Everything about prices and market rents is context, not data — verify it deal by deal.
The headline numbers
The metro-level FY2026 FMRs for the Cleveland HUD Metro FMR Area:
| Bedrooms | FY2026 FMR (metro) |
|---|---|
| 1BR | $1,058 |
| 2BR | $1,279 |
| 3BR | $1,646 |
| 4BR | $1,760 |
But because Cleveland is a SAFMR metro, the metro number is only a reference point. What a voucher can actually support depends on the ZIP — CMHA (the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority) sets its payment standards from these ZIP-level figures.
FY2026 3BR Small Area FMRs across Cleveland's city ZIPs
Here is the spread across the city and inner-ring ZIPs, lowest to highest (2BR / 3BR / 4BR, all from HUD's FY2026 dataset):
| ZIP | Area (general) | 2BR | 3BR | 4BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44127 | Slavic Village north | $970 | $1,250 | $1,340 |
| 44104 | Kinsman/Mt. Pleasant | $980 | $1,260 | $1,350 |
| 44105 | Slavic Village/Union | $1,070 | $1,380 | $1,470 |
| 44109 | Old Brooklyn | $1,080 | $1,390 | $1,490 |
| 44112 | East Cleveland edge | $1,080 | $1,390 | $1,490 |
| 44110 | Collinwood | $1,100 | $1,420 | $1,510 |
| 44102 | West side/Cudell | $1,130 | $1,450 | $1,550 |
| 44108 | Glenville | $1,160 | $1,490 | $1,600 |
| 44111 | West Park | $1,180 | $1,520 | $1,620 |
| 44120 | Shaker Square | $1,210 | $1,560 | $1,660 |
| 44128 | Lee-Harvard | $1,250 | $1,610 | $1,720 |
| 44107 | Lakewood | $1,360 | $1,750 | $1,870 |
| 44121 | Cleveland Hts. edge | $1,420 | $1,830 | $1,950 |
| 44113 | Ohio City/Tremont | $1,920 | $2,470 | $2,640 |
The lowest 3BR SAFMR anywhere in the FMR area is $1,220 (outlying ZIPs like 44270/44851) and the highest is $2,470, shared by downtown-adjacent 44113 and some far-suburban ZIPs.
Where the spread actually lives
The Section 8 thesis is the gap between the voucher-supported rent and what an unassisted tenant would pay on the same street. In Cleveland that gap is widest in a specific band: the working-class ZIPs where the 3BR SAFMR sits at $1,380–$1,610 but houses still trade cheaply.
Take 44105 as a worked example — and note these assumptions are illustrative, not data:
- FY2026 3BR SAFMR: $1,380 (HUD, exact). CMHA's payment standard is set from this figure; at 100% it supports roughly $1,380 gross rent, minus any tenant-paid utility allowance.
- Purchase: solid doubles and 3BR singles in Slavic Village have commonly traded in the $60,000–$90,000 range in recent years (illustrative — check current comps).
- Unassisted market rent: often around $1,000–$1,100 for the same unit (illustrative).
If you achieve a contract rent near $1,300 after utility allowance, that's roughly $200–$300/month more than the street would pay unassisted — on a sub-$100k basis, that spread is the difference between a marginal deal and a real one.
Contrast that with 44113: a $2,470 3BR SAFMR looks spectacular until you notice Tremont townhouses cost several times what Slavic Village doubles do, and unassisted tenants there will pay near-market anyway. High SAFMR does not mean high spread. The spread lives where the SAFMR is moderate and the basis is low.
Voucher demand in Cuyahoga County
Demand-side depth matters: HUD's Picture of Subsidized Households shows 16,813 Housing Choice Vouchers allocated in Cuyahoga County, with 15,999 in use as of the December 2025 extract. That is one of the largest voucher pools in the Midwest — landlords who pass inspection here are not waiting around for tenant demand.
Cleveland-specific diligence
- Property taxes are the silent killer. Cuyahoga County effective rates are high, and reassessments have been aggressive. Underwrite the future tax bill on your purchase price, not the seller's.
- Old housing stock. Most of this inventory is 1900–1930 vintage. Budget real capex: roofs, galvanized plumbing, knob-and-tube remnants. HQS inspections will surface peeling paint and handrail issues immediately.
- Point-of-sale inspections in several inner-ring suburbs (not the city itself) can add required repairs at purchase — know the municipality.
- CMHA moves at CMHA's pace. Build the inspection-to-first-payment lag into your reserves (we cover the full timeline in a separate post).
The bottom line
Cleveland rewards precision. The metro FMR of $1,646 tells you almost nothing; the ZIP-level range of $1,220–$2,470 tells you everything. The deals that work cluster in ZIPs like 44105, 44109, 44110, and 44128 — moderate SAFMRs over a low basis — and the deals that disappoint are usually a right house in the wrong ZIP.
Before you offer on anything in Cuyahoga County, check the exact SAFMR for that ZIP and bedroom count, then compare it to street-level rents. That's literally what we built: paste an address, get the full spread report free.
This article is for general information only and is not investment, legal, or tax advice. FMR figures are HUD's published FY2026 Small Area FMR data; price and rent characterizations are illustrative estimates that vary by block and over time. Payment standards are set by CMHA and change — confirm with the housing authority before you underwrite.