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Kentucky rent report: HUD fair market rents for fiscal 2027
From HUD's fiscal 2027 Fair Market Rents, generally effective October 1, 2026
Each year HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for every metro area and rural county: an estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent, meaning rent plus basic utilities, for a standard-quality home of each size. This report shows the fiscal 2027 figures for Kentucky, averaged across the state by population, and how they changed from fiscal 2026.
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Start freeKey numbers
- Two-bedroom, statewide
- $1,155
- fiscal 2027, population-weighted average
- Change from 2026
- +4.4%
- two-bedroom, same counties
- One-bedroom, statewide
- $946
- fiscal 2027
- Highest metro, two-bedroom
- $1,442
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
Rent by metro area
HUD's fiscal 2027 figures for each metro area in Kentucky, largest first by population, with the change in the two-bedroom figure from fiscal 2026.
| Area | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 2 bed change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville, KY-IN | $1,058 | $1,276 | $1,629 | +0.3% |
| Lexington-Fayette, KY | $1,205 | $1,416 | $1,948 | +11.3% |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $1,128 | $1,442 | $1,897 | +6.6% |
| Bowling Green, KY | $1,020 | $1,199 | $1,438 | +4.0% |
| Elizabethtown, KY | $866 | $1,087 | $1,505 | +2.9% |
| Owensboro, KY | $870 | $1,138 | $1,507 | +2.5% |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | $1,068 | $1,307 | $1,786 | -2.9% |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | $864 | $1,006 | $1,287 | +3.4% |
| McCracken County, KY | $924 | $1,131 | $1,348 | +6.9% |
| Shelby County, KY | $998 | $1,149 | $1,369 | +0.5% |
| Nelson County, KY | $781 | $1,022 | $1,302 | +0.6% |
| Meade County, KY | $804 | $1,052 | $1,443 | -2.1% |
| Carter County, KY | $749 | $909 | $1,246 | +5.0% |
| Grant County, KY | $899 | $1,146 | $1,365 | -0.8% |
| Allen County, KY | $779 | $1,019 | $1,293 | +2.3% |
| Lawrence County, KY | $799 | $971 | $1,157 | +4.9% |
| Butler County, KY | $695 | $909 | $1,190 | +5.0% |
| Livingston County, KY | $937 | $1,220 | $1,454 | +5.4% |
| Ballard County, KY | $902 | $1,180 | $1,406 | +10.1% |
| Carlisle County, KY | $798 | $932 | $1,272 | +1.9% |
| Outside metro areas (81 counties, average) | $776 | $953 | $1,224 | +5.4% |
Statewide rent by home size
| Home size | Fiscal 2026 | Fiscal 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $815 | $854 |
| One bedroom | $900 | $946 |
| Two bedrooms | $1,106 | $1,155 |
| Three bedrooms | $1,438 | $1,500 |
| Four bedrooms | $1,647 | $1,708 |
What these numbers mean
How this report is built
The metro rows show HUD's published figures. Statewide and rural averages weight each county or town by its population in HUD's fiscal 2027 file, and the change compares the same counties with the same weights in both years. Sources: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY26_FMRs_revised.xlsx, FY27_FMRs.xlsx.
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