Lexington, KY
Lexington, KY Rental Market Data (2026)
By TrueCap · built by a Philadelphia rental investor
HUD Fair Market Rent (FY2026) for the Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, the HUD area that includes Fayette County, KY: $1,272 a month for a 2-bedroom unit and $1,743 for a 3-bedroom unit. Fair Market Rent is HUD's estimate of the 40th-percentile gross rent for standard-quality rental units in an area, used to determine payment standard amounts for the Housing Choice Voucher program: a percentile, not an average of current asking rents (HUD). At a stated $265,000 price with the 3-bedroom FMR as a placeholder rent, TrueCap's sample underwrite below comes to −$450/mo cash flow, a 4.5% cap rate, and a 0.73 DSCR. A specific Lexington property runs on its own price, rent, tax bill, and insurance.
Lexington HUD Fair Market Rent (FY2026)
HUD Fair Market Rent (FY2026) for the Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, the HUD area that includes Fayette County, KY. It is an area benchmark, not what a specific unit rents for: compare it with current leases for the address. HUD's FY2026 page for this area shows every bedroom size.
| Bedrooms | FY2025 / month | FY2026 / month |
|---|---|---|
| 2 bedrooms | $1,165 | $1,272 |
| 3 bedrooms | $1,583 | $1,743 |
What the HUD FMR pencils to
Sample underwrite at a stated $265,000 price with the HUD 3-bedroom FMR as a placeholder rent — not a listing. TrueCap ran its sample deal with $1,743/mo of rent and every other assumption unchanged.
- Monthly cash flow
- −$450/mo
- Cap rate
- 4.5%
- DSCR
- 0.73
Assumptions: $265,000 price, $1,743/mo rent (HUD FMR, 3 bedrooms), 20% down, 6.6% rate, 30-year loan, 3% closing costs, 1.49% property tax, 0.5% insurance, 5% vacancy, 8% management, 5% maintenance, 5% CapEx reserve. Change any of them in the analyzer and the numbers move with you.
Lexington rental data: common questions
What is HUD's Fair Market Rent for Lexington, KY in FY2026?
HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for the Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, the HUD area that includes Fayette County, KY, is $1,272 a month for a 2-bedroom unit and $1,743 for a 3-bedroom unit.
Source: HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent documentation: Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, retrieved September 28, 2026
How did Lexington's HUD Fair Market Rent change from FY2025 to FY2026?
For the Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, the 2-bedroom figure went from $1,165 in FY2025 to $1,272 in FY2026 (+$107, +9.2%), and the 3-bedroom figure went from $1,583 in FY2025 to $1,743 in FY2026 (+$160, +10.1%).
Source: HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent documentation: Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, retrieved September 28, 2026
What do 12 months of HUD Fair Market Rent come to in Lexington?
At HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for the Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, 12 months come to $15,264 for a 2-bedroom unit and $20,916 for a 3-bedroom unit.
Source: HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent documentation: Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, retrieved September 28, 2026
Sources & methodology
Data as of HUD FY2026 (retrieved July 13, 2026).
HUD figures come from HUD's published tables for the area. The sample underwrite runs TrueCap's sample deal through the analyzer's own math.
- HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent documentation: Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA, retrieved September 28, 2026
- HUD Fair Market Rents: definition and uses (huduser.gov), retrieved September 27, 2026
Reviewed by the TrueCap team. See our full methodology.
Three things to verify locally
- Property tax bill. Pull the parcel's current bill from the county assessor or treasurer, and check whether a sale changes the assessment. The sample above uses 1.49% of price; enter the Lexington bill instead.
- Rental licensing and permits. Check whether Lexington requires a rental license, registration, inspection, or certificate of occupancy for the address, and budget any fees before you close.
- Insurance quotes. Get a written landlord-policy quote for the specific property, with wind, hail, or flood coverage where the property needs it, and enter that premium instead of a default.
For Kentucky data, see the Kentucky guide.
The terms behind the numbers
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