Glazed Data
Our survey

How far off is the federal number? Our survey of housing authorities

Free rent websites show HUD's metro-wide Fair Market Rent. But a Section 8 voucher pays the local housing agency's own limit, its payment standard. We compared the two for every agency in our data.

32housing agencies measured, from their own published schedules

$128/momedian difference between the agency's own 2-bedroom limit and HUD's metro figure, about $1,536 a year

18 of 32agencies (56%) were more than 5% away from HUD's figure

Of all 32, 15 were above it, 16 below it and 1 equal to it.

about $120/momedian difference when each agency is weighted by how many vouchers it runs (rounded to the nearest $10)

All differences calculated by this site from HUD figures and each agency's published schedule.

Results by agency

AgencyStateEffective dateAreas in scheduleAgency's 2-bedroom limit vs HUD's figureSource
City of Long Beach Housing AuthorityCA2027-01-011210–20% loweragency's schedule
Housing Authority City of FresnoCA2026-01-011110–20% higheragency's schedule
Housing Authority of the City of Los AngelesCA2026-09-0111within 5%agency's schedule
Housing Authority of the County Contra CostaCA2026-10-0129within 5%agency's schedule
Housing Authority of the County of AlamedaCA2026-01-0125–10% loweragency's schedule
Housing Authority of the County of San BernardinoCAnot stated0not measurable (no standard tenant-based schedule)not posted
Housing Authority of the County of San DiegoCA2026-01-01615–10% loweragency's schedule
Los Angeles County Development AuthorityCA2026-08-2129210–20% loweragency's schedule
Oakland Housing AuthorityCA2026-10-011within 5%agency's schedule
Orange County Housing AuthorityCA2025-11-013within 5%agency's schedule
Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (Housing Authority of the County of Sacramento)CA2026-01-01605–10% higheragency's schedule
San Diego Housing CommissionCA2024-07-0133within 5%agency's schedule
San Francisco Housing AuthorityCA2026-01-0115–10% higheragency's schedule
Santa Clara County Housing AuthorityCA2026-01-0164within 5%agency's schedule
Housing Authority of the City and County of DenverCO2026-01-011within 5%agency's schedule
Housing Authority of the City of New HavenCT2025-01-01110–20% loweragency's schedule
DC Housing AuthorityDC2025-10-011more than 20% higheragency's schedule
TAMPA HOUSING AUTHORITYFL2025-11-0145–10% higheragency's schedule
Georgia Department of Community Affairs (statewide HCV)GAnot stated1135within 5%agency's schedule
Housing Authority of New OrleansLAnot stated0not measurable (no standard tenant-based schedule)not posted
Boston Housing AuthorityMA2026-01-01251within 5%agency's schedule
Cambridge Housing AuthorityMA2026-01-015more than 20% higheragency's schedule
Baltimore County, MDMD2026-01-011within 5%agency's schedule
HOUSING OPPRTY COM OF MONTGOMERY COMD2026-01-011under reviewagency's schedule
Housing Authority of Kansas City, MissouriMOnot stated1005–10% loweragency's schedule
Housing Authority of St. Louis CountyMO2026-01-01605–10% loweragency's schedule
INLIVIANNC2025-07-012within 5%agency's schedule
Newark Housing AuthorityNJnot stated1within 5%agency's schedule
NYC Dept of Housing Preservation and DevelopmentNYnot stated0not measurable (no standard tenant-based schedule)not posted
New York City Housing AuthorityNYnot stated0not measurable (no standard tenant-based schedule)not posted
Columbus Metropolitan Housing AuthorityOHnot stated0not measurable (no standard tenant-based schedule)not posted
Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing AuthorityOH2026-01-015310–20% higheragency's schedule
Home Forward (Housing Authority of Portland)OR2026-01-011within 5%agency's schedule
Housing Authority of the City of PittsburghPA2026-01-016more than 20% higheragency's schedule
Philadelphia Housing AuthorityPA2025-11-0155–10% higheragency's schedule
Metropolitan Development & Housing AgencyTN2026-01-0147within 5%agency's schedule
Austin Housing AuthorityTX2026-01-0115–10% higheragency's schedule
Dallas Housing Authority (Housing Solutions for North Texas)TX2026-01-013565–10% loweragency's schedule
San Antonio Housing Authority (Opportunity Home San Antonio)TXnot stated0not measurable (no standard tenant-based schedule)not posted
Virginia Housing Development AuthorityVAnot stated0under reviewnot posted
Seattle Housing AuthorityWAnot stated0not measurable (no standard tenant-based schedule)not posted

Each agency is shown as a band, based on its agency-level median difference. HUD figures: FY2027 Fair Market Rents. This product uses the HUD User Data API but is not endorsed or certified by HUD User.

How we measured it

  1. For each housing agency, we took the 2-bedroom amount from its standard voucher (tenant-based) payment standard schedule, as the agency published it.
  2. For each ZIP code that schedule covers, we compared that amount with HUD's 2027 Fair Market Rent for the ZIP's metro or county area, the number free rent sites show.
  3. We took the median difference across the agency's ZIP codes, as a percentage of HUD's figure. The table shows that number as a band, not an exact amount: within 5%, 5–10%, 10–20% or more than 20% higher or lower than HUD's figure. A value exactly on a boundary (5%, 10% or 20%) goes in the lower band.
  4. The headline is the median of those agency numbers, ignoring whether they were above or below HUD's figure. The voucher-weighted figure uses each agency's voucher count from HUD's Picture of Subsidized Households (2025), and is shown rounded to the nearest $10, because a weighted median is always one agency's own figure.