Programme use · HUD rental data
Payment standard
The subsidy ceiling a local housing authority actually adopts, set within a range around the FMR.
The payment standard is the maximum a public housing authority will use in calculating a Housing Choice Voucher subsidy. Authorities set it within a band around the FMR — conventionally 90% to 110%, with HUD approval available outside that range.
This is the distinction that matters for anyone reading FMRs as programme parameters: the FMR is HUD's published estimate, the payment standard is what the local authority adopted, and they are frequently not the same number. What a specific household receives then depends on its income as well, so neither figure is a benefit amount.
Also known as: voucher payment standard, PHA payment standard.
See payment standard in the data
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Payment standard — FAQ
What is payment standard in HUD rent data?+
The subsidy ceiling a local housing authority actually adopts, set within a range around the FMR. The payment standard is the maximum a public housing authority will use in calculating a Housing Choice Voucher subsidy. Authorities set it within a band around the FMR — conventionally 90% to 110%, with HUD approval available outside that range.
Why does payment standard matter?+
This is the distinction that matters for anyone reading FMRs as programme parameters: the FMR is HUD's published estimate, the payment standard is what the local authority adopted, and they are frequently not the same number. What a specific household receives then depends on its income as well, so neither figure is a benefit amount.
Where does this HUD rent data come from?+
Fair Market Rents are published annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for each fiscal year. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with HUD; nothing here is a determination of any household's benefit.