HUD · rent benchmarks and affordable housing

What rent costs, ZIP by ZIP

HUD sets a rent benchmark for every ZIP code each October: the 40th-percentile gross rent, utilities included, that housing vouchers pay against. It isn't an asking-rent survey, but it's the one consistent, official rent yardstick published for every NWA ZIP, and the change from one year to the next shows where rents are moving.

Typical NWA ZIP, 2-bedroom, FY2027

$1,220

▼ 7.6% vs FY2026

median across 31 ZIPs · FY2027

Highest 2-bedroom benchmark

$1,880

ZIP 72718 · Cave Springs · FY2027

ZIPs sharing the most common benchmark

16 of 31

at $1,220 for 2 bedrooms · 22 ZIPs fell vs FY2026 · FY2027

Affordable (LIHTC) units

5,975

93 projects · Benton, Carroll, Madison, Washington · HUD LIHTC

Change in the 2-bedroom benchmark, FY2026 → FY2027

Every NWA ZIP with a HUD small-area rent

Source: HUD USER — Small Area Fair Market Rents (FY2026 revised, FY2027) and LIHTC Database. HUD voucher benchmarks (40th-percentile gross rent including utilities), not asking rents.

Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections

ZIP	Town	Studio	1 bed	2 bed	3 bed	4 bed	2 bed, FY2026	Change
72718	Cave Springs	$1,370	$1,580	$1,880	$2,600	$3,140	$2,020	-6.9%
72751	Pea Ridge	$1,340	$1,550	$1,840	$2,550	$3,080	$1,860	-1.1%
72719	Centerton	$1,150	$1,330	$1,580	$2,190	$2,640	$1,700	-7.1%
72730	Farmington	$1,140	$1,320	$1,570	$2,170	$2,620	$1,660	-5.4%
72715	Bella Vista	$1,130	$1,300	$1,550	$2,150	$2,590	$1,600	-3.1%
72713	Bentonville	$1,090	$1,250	$1,490	$2,060	$2,490	$1,580	-5.7%
72758	Rogers	$1,080	$1,240	$1,480	$2,050	$2,470	$1,590	-6.9%
72714	Bella Vista	$1,060	$1,230	$1,460	$2,020	$2,440	$1,560	-6.4%
72712	Bentonville	$1,040	$1,190	$1,420	$1,970	$2,370	$1,520	-6.6%
72704	Fayetteville	$990	$1,130	$1,340	$1,860	$2,240	$1,470	-8.8%
72774	West Fork	$980	$1,090	$1,300	$1,800	$2,170	$1,440	-9.7%
72762	Springdale	$940	$1,080	$1,290	$1,790	$2,160	$1,390	-7.2%
72701	Fayetteville	$930	$1,080	$1,280	$1,770	$2,140	$1,360	-5.9%
72745	Lowell	$930	$1,080	$1,280	$1,770	$2,140	$1,370	-6.6%
72739	Gravette	$920	$1,020	$1,240	$1,720	$2,030	$1,370	-9.5%
72703	Fayetteville	$910	$1,020	$1,220	$1,690	$2,020	$1,310	-6.9%
72717	Canehill	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,250	-2.4%
72722	Decatur	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,030	+18.4%
72732	Garfield	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,200	+1.7%
72734	Gentry	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,010	$1,310	-6.9%
72736	Gravette	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,010	$1,310	-6.9%
72744	Lincoln	$910	$1,030	$1,220	$1,690	$2,040	$1,320	-7.6%
72747	Maysville	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,150	+6.1%
72749	Morrow	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,250	-2.4%
72753	Prairie Grove	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,140	+7.0%
72756	Rogers	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,130	+8.0%
72761	Siloam Springs	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,190	+2.5%
72764	Springdale	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,270	-3.9%
72768	Sulphur Springs	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,000	+22.0%
72769	Summers	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,220	0.0%
72959	Winslow	$910	$1,010	$1,220	$1,690	$2,000	$1,080	+13.0%

HUD USER — Small Area Fair Market Rents (FY2026 revised, FY2027) and LIHTC Database · as of Oct 14, 2026 · FY2027 benchmarks took effect Oct 1, 2026

Affordable housing (LIHTC)

low-income housing tax credit properties

LIHTC units placed in service, by year

Benton, Washington, Carroll and Madison counties

HUD LIHTC Database. Projects without a recorded placed-in-service year are left off this chart but counted in the county table.

Data through 2024 · Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections

County	Projects	Total units	Low-income units
Benton	44	2,926	2,877
Carroll	8	222	206
Madison	3	89	88
Washington	38	2,738	2,617

HUD USER — Small Area Fair Market Rents (FY2026 revised, FY2027) and LIHTC Database · as of Oct 14, 2026 · LIHTC database through the latest HUD release