Section 8 premium by ZIP code.
Does the voucher ceiling beat the open market where you invest? Enter a ZIP and bedrooms — we compare the HUD Fair Market Rent to the ZIP’s typical market rent and show the premium or discount. Free, no email required.
Want the premium for a specific address, after costs?
A ZIP-level premium is the market’s average. A deal decision needs the address-level spread — the FMR, that property’s market rent, and the monthly cash flow after costs. Paste an address and we’ll run it for you.
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What is the Section 8 premium?
HUD’s Fair Market Rent is the ceiling a Housing Choice Voucher can pay in an area. When that ceiling sits above what the open market pays for a comparable unit, a Section 8 tenancy carries a rent premium — the classic Rust-Belt setup where voucher rents out-earn market rents. When it sits below, the voucher program caps you under market and the “guaranteed rent” pitch costs you money.
The market side here is Zillow’s Observed Rent Index (ZORI) for the ZIP — a smoothed, repeat-listing measure of asking rents across ALL unit sizes. Because it blends every bedroom count, the comparison is approximate: a 3BR FMR vs an all-sizes typical rent overstates the premium where big units dominate, and understates it where studios do. Treat it as a screen, not an appraisal.
Data from HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rents via the HUD USER API and the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), © Zillow Group. Market figures are ZIP-level, all unit sizes. Informational only — not investment advice.
More free tools: check the raw ceiling with the FMR lookup or see where it’s heading with FMR trends.