Counties in North Carolina by fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly)

Buncombe County had the highest fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly) of 100 counties in 2024, at $2,160. Washington County had the lowest, at $1,035. The median was $1,314. Source: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest2,160Buncombe County
Median1,314100 counties

Map of counties, 2024

Alamance County: 1,523 USDAlexander County: 1,314 USDAlleghany County: 1,041 USDAnson County: 1,340 USDAshe County: 1,089 USDAvery County: 1,241 USDBeaufort County: 1,166 USDBertie County: 1,093 USDBladen County: 1,137 USDBrunswick County: 1,595 USDBuncombe County: 2,160 USDBurke County: 1,314 USDCabarrus County: 1,936 USDCaldwell County: 1,314 USDCamden County: 1,287 USDCarteret County: 1,454 USDCaswell County: 1,206 USDCatawba County: 1,314 USDChatham County: 2,051 USDCherokee County: 1,214 USDChowan County: 1,259 USDClay County: 1,193 USDCleveland County: 1,206 USDColumbus County: 1,035 USDCraven County: 1,660 USDCumberland County: 1,759 USDCurrituck County: 2,079 USDDare County: 1,736 USDDavidson County: 1,264 USDDavie County: 1,452 USDDuplin County: 1,092 USDDurham County: 2,051 USDEdgecombe County: 1,395 USDForsyth County: 1,452 USDFranklin County: 2,035 USDGaston County: 1,936 USDGates County: 1,431 USDGraham County: 1,206 USDGranville County: 1,579 USDGreene County: 1,184 USDGuilford County: 1,493 USDHalifax County: 1,070 USDHarnett County: 1,587 USDHaywood County: 1,496 USDHenderson County: 2,160 USDHertford County: 1,143 USDHoke County: 1,478 USDHyde County: 1,124 USDIredell County: 1,652 USDJackson County: 1,187 USDJohnston County: 2,035 USDJones County: 1,206 USDLee County: 1,242 USDLenoir County: 1,206 USDLincoln County: 1,436 USDMcDowell County: 1,059 USDMacon County: 1,163 USDMadison County: 2,160 USDMartin County: 1,122 USDMecklenburg County: 1,936 USDMitchell County: 1,053 USDMontgomery County: 1,089 USDMoore County: 1,402 USDNash County: 1,395 USDNew Hanover County: 2,002 USDNorthampton County: 1,150 USDOnslow County: 1,795 USDOrange County: 2,051 USDPamlico County: 1,376 USDPasquotank County: 1,454 USDPender County: 1,563 USDPerquimans County: 1,343 USDPerson County: 1,337 USDPitt County: 1,570 USDPolk County: 1,214 USDRandolph County: 1,493 USDRichmond County: 1,206 USDRobeson County: 1,081 USDRockingham County: 1,198 USDRowan County: 1,483 USDRutherford County: 1,117 USDSampson County: 1,074 USDScotland County: 1,139 USDStanly County: 1,244 USDStokes County: 1,452 USDSurry County: 1,045 USDSwain County: 1,206 USDTransylvania County: 1,364 USDTyrrell County: 1,206 USDUnion County: 1,936 USDVance County: 1,125 USDWake County: 2,035 USDWarren County: 1,084 USDWashington County: 1,035 USDWatauga County: 1,392 USDWayne County: 1,358 USDWilkes County: 1,139 USDWilson County: 1,213 USDYadkin County: 1,452 USDYancey County: 1,136 USD
  • Under 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,200
  • 1,200 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 1,700
  • 1,700 and over
USD, 2024. Source: HUD, HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2024

Buncombe County: 2,160 USDBuncombe County2,160Henderson County: 2,160 USDHenderson County2,160Madison County: 2,160 USDMadison County2,160Currituck County: 2,079 USDCurrituck County2,079Chatham County: 2,051 USDChatham County2,051Durham County: 2,051 USDDurham County2,051Orange County: 2,051 USDOrange County2,051Franklin County: 2,035 USDFranklin County2,035Johnston County: 2,035 USDJohnston County2,035Wake County: 2,035 USDWake County2,035New Hanover County: 2,002 USDNew Hanover County2,002Cabarrus County: 1,936 USDCabarrus County1,936Gaston County: 1,936 USDGaston County1,936Mecklenburg County: 1,936 USDMecklenburg County1,936Union County: 1,936 USDUnion County1,936Onslow County: 1,795 USDOnslow County1,795Cumberland County: 1,759 USDCumberland County1,759Dare County: 1,736 USDDare County1,736Craven County: 1,660 USDCraven County1,660Iredell County: 1,652 USDIredell County1,652Brunswick County: 1,595 USDBrunswick County1,595Harnett County: 1,587 USDHarnett County1,587Granville County: 1,579 USDGranville County1,579Pitt County: 1,570 USDPitt County1,570Pender County: 1,563 USDPender County1,563Alamance County: 1,523 USDAlamance County1,523Haywood County: 1,496 USDHaywood County1,496Guilford County: 1,493 USDGuilford County1,493Randolph County: 1,493 USDRandolph County1,493Rowan County: 1,483 USDRowan County1,483Hoke County: 1,478 USDHoke County1,478Carteret County: 1,454 USDCarteret County1,454Pasquotank County: 1,454 USDPasquotank County1,454Davie County: 1,452 USDDavie County1,452Forsyth County: 1,452 USDForsyth County1,452Stokes County: 1,452 USDStokes County1,452Yadkin County: 1,452 USDYadkin County1,452Lincoln County: 1,436 USDLincoln County1,436Gates County: 1,431 USDGates County1,431Moore County: 1,402 USDMoore County1,402Buncombe County: 2,160 USDBuncombe County2,160Henderson County: 2,160 USDHenderson County2,160Madison County: 2,160 USDMadison County2,160Currituck County: 2,079 USDCurrituck County2,079Chatham County: 2,051 USDChatham County2,051Durham County: 2,051 USDDurham County2,051Orange County: 2,051 USDOrange County2,051Franklin County: 2,035 USDFranklin County2,035Johnston County: 2,035 USDJohnston County2,035Wake County: 2,035 USDWake County2,035New Hanover County: 2,002 USDNew Hanover County2,002Cabarrus County: 1,936 USDCabarrus County1,936Gaston County: 1,936 USDGaston County1,936Mecklenburg County: 1,936 USDMecklenburg County1,936Union County: 1,936 USDUnion County1,936Onslow County: 1,795 USDOnslow County1,795Cumberland County: 1,759 USDCumberland County1,759Dare County: 1,736 USDDare County1,736Craven County: 1,660 USDCraven County1,660Iredell County: 1,652 USDIredell County1,652Brunswick County: 1,595 USDBrunswick County1,595Harnett County: 1,587 USDHarnett County1,587Granville County: 1,579 USDGranville County1,579Pitt County: 1,570 USDPitt County1,570Pender County: 1,563 USDPender County1,563Alamance County: 1,523 USDAlamance County1,523Haywood County: 1,496 USDHaywood County1,496Guilford County: 1,493 USDGuilford County1,493Randolph County: 1,493 USDRandolph County1,493Rowan County: 1,483 USDRowan County1,483Hoke County: 1,478 USDHoke County1,478Carteret County: 1,454 USDCarteret County1,454Pasquotank County: 1,454 USDPasquotank County1,454Davie County: 1,452 USDDavie County1,452Forsyth County: 1,452 USDForsyth County1,452Stokes County: 1,452 USDStokes County1,452Yadkin County: 1,452 USDYadkin County1,452Lincoln County: 1,436 USDLincoln County1,436Gates County: 1,431 USDGates County1,431Moore County: 1,402 USDMoore County1,402
USD. Source: HUD, HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
USD
Change on 2023
1Buncombe County2,160+10.8%
1Henderson County2,160+10.8%
1Madison County2,160+10.8%
4Currituck County2,079+12%
5Chatham County2,051+22.9%
5Durham County2,051+22.9%
5Orange County2,051+22.9%
8Franklin County2,035+17.4%
8Johnston County2,035+17.4%
8Wake County2,035+17.4%
11New Hanover County2,002+20%
12Cabarrus County1,936+14.5%
12Gaston County1,936+14.5%
12Mecklenburg County1,936+14.5%
12Union County1,936+14.5%
16Onslow County1,795+32.8%
17Cumberland County1,759+23.4%
18Dare County1,736+10.5%
19Craven County1,660+13.3%
20Iredell County1,652+18.4%
21Brunswick County1,595+17.8%
22Harnett County1,587+18.4%
23Granville County1,579+19.8%
24Pitt County1,570+13.9%
25Pender County1,563+13.7%
26Alamance County1,523+18.5%
27Haywood County1,496+21.8%
28Guilford County1,493+11.5%
28Randolph County1,493+11.5%
30Rowan County1,483+16.8%
31Hoke County1,478+19.4%
32Carteret County1,454+6.5%
32Pasquotank County1,454+10.9%
34Davie County1,452+13.4%
34Forsyth County1,452+13.4%
34Stokes County1,452+13.4%
34Yadkin County1,452+13.4%
38Lincoln County1,436+19.7%
39Gates County1,431+19%
40Moore County1,402+9.9%
41Edgecombe County1,395+15.3%
41Nash County1,395+15.3%
43Watauga County1,392+5.5%
44Pamlico County1,376+12.6%
45Transylvania County1,364+12.6%
46Wayne County1,358+18.3%
47Perquimans County1,343+4.4%
48Anson County1,340+14.2%
49Person County1,337+15.6%
50Alexander County1,314+27.2%
50Burke County1,314+27.2%
50Caldwell County1,314+27.2%
50Catawba County1,314+27.2%
54Camden County1,287+7.6%
55Davidson County1,264+13.5%
56Chowan County1,259+12.3%
57Stanly County1,244+13.4%
58Lee County1,242+12.6%
59Avery County1,241+9%
60Cherokee County1,214+11.1%
60Polk County1,214+7.9%
62Wilson County1,213+16.1%
63Caswell County1,206+11.7%
63Cleveland County1,206+12.8%
63Graham County1,206+21.6%
63Jones County1,206+12.7%
63Lenoir County1,206+13.5%
63Richmond County1,206+10%
63Swain County1,206+11.5%
63Tyrrell County1,206+4.2%
71Rockingham County1,198+13.9%
72Clay County1,193+16.2%
73Jackson County1,187+14%
74Greene County1,184+10.2%
75Beaufort County1,166+8.3%
76Macon County1,163+8.5%
77Northampton County1,150+9.7%
78Hertford County1,143+6.9%
79Scotland County1,139+16.5%
79Wilkes County1,139+10.3%
81Bladen County1,137+10%
82Yancey County1,136+7.7%
83Vance County1,125+8.2%
84Hyde County1,124+11.2%
85Martin County1,122+10%
86Rutherford County1,117+14.6%
87Bertie County1,093+15.9%
88Duplin County1,092+8.7%
89Ashe County1,089+16.1%
89Montgomery County1,089+13.4%
91Warren County1,084+9.8%
92Robeson County1,081+10.9%
93Sampson County1,074+9.3%
94Halifax County1,070+4.3%
95McDowell County1,059+12.9%
96Mitchell County1,053+12.3%
97Surry County1,045+6.5%
98Alleghany County1,041+9.7%
99Columbus County1,035+7.6%
99Washington County1,035+3.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Monthly gross rent, in US dollars, that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sets for a three-bedroom unit in the HUD area that contains the county.

More on how it is measured
  • Gross rent is the rent plus all utilities paid by the tenant except telephone, cable or satellite television and internet.
  • HUD sets Fair Market Rents at the 40th percentile of gross rents paid by recent movers for standard-quality rental units, from American Community Survey data brought forward to the fiscal year; until 2018 a few metropolitan areas were set at the 50th percentile.
  • They set payment standards for Housing Choice Vouchers and rent ceilings in other HUD programs.

A policy benchmark, not a measured rent: it is lower than the median rent by design and differs from the Census Bureau median gross rent. HUD sets one value per HUD area, a metropolitan area (sometimes split into HUD Metro FMR Areas) or a non-metropolitan county, so every county of a metropolitan area shows the same figure. Counties in the six New England states have no value, because HUD defines their areas by town and a county can span several areas. Where HUD splits off part of a county, the county value is the rest of the county: Howard County, Maryland, without Columbia until FY2015, and Crawford County, Missouri, without its part of Sullivan. The year is HUD's federal fiscal year: FY2027 runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024_final_revised.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. (2024). HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars (Counties in North Carolina by fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly), 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024_final_revised.xlsx

MLA 9

HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars, Counties in North Carolina by fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly), 2024. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 4 Mar. 2024, https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024_final_revised.xlsx. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fair-market-rent-three-bedroom/north-carolina-counties?period=2024. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. 2024. HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars. Counties in North Carolina by fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly), 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024_final_revised.xlsx. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fair-market-rent-three-bedroom/north-carolina-counties?period=2024.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research (2024) HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars, Counties in North Carolina by fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly), 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024_final_revised.xlsx, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/fair-market-rent-three-bedroom/north-carolina-counties?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_north_carolina_2024,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research}},
  title = {{HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars: Counties in North Carolina by fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly), 2024}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024_final_revised.xlsx},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fair-market-rent-three-bedroom/north-carolina-counties?period=2024. Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024\_final\_revised.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
TI  - HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars: Counties in North Carolina by fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly), 2024
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/03/04
PB  - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024_final_revised.xlsx
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/fair-market-rent-three-bedroom/north-carolina-counties?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fair-market-rent-three-bedroom/north-carolina-counties?period=2024.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD USER. HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2024/FMR2024_final_revised.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in North Carolina by fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly)?

Buncombe County, with $2,160 in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research.

Which county has the lowest fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly)?

Washington County, with $1,035 in 2024.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD Fair Market Rents by county: three bedrooms, monthly gross rent in dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Fair Market Rent, three bedrooms (HUD, monthly): other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings