Los Angeles, CA Rent Report: Market Rent vs. HUD Fair Market Rent by ZIP

Los Angeles has no single voucher rent to put into a property budget. HACLA’s September 2026 schedule lists a two-bedroom payment standard of $2,277 in ZIP 90001 and $4,000 in 90024. Those are assistance-calculation inputs. Neither is an approved rent or the amount an owner necessarily receives.

The practical question is which evidence applies to your address, unit and household. This report connects the live rent tables with the local checks that change that answer, then follows a hypothetical rental through operating costs and the first lease.

How it works · illustrated

A postal label, an agency schedule and an owner budget each describe a different part of the rental.

Address and jurisdiction

Who administers it?

Confirm the legal city and authority. A Los Angeles mailing address alone is insufficient.

Unit and household

What rent is approved?

Match the bedroom sizes, rent evidence, utility responsibilities and agency determination.

Owner budget

What cash remains?

Use total owner receipts, actual property costs and a separate lease-start cash plan.

HACLA and LACDA are different agencies. Do not choose between their schedules by whichever number is larger.

Original RentalCalcs illustration. Conceptual artwork, not a monetary scale or geographic map. Agency scope: LACDA jurisdiction guidance. Reviewed October 17, 2026.

Market rent and voucher rent by ZIP code in Los Angeles

The median of the 93 tracked ZIP-level rent indices for Los Angeles is $2,743 a month; the newest ZIP observation is September 2026. This is an unweighted summary of ZIP indices, not a citywide rent estimate. ZIP 90057 has the lowest index at $1,891 and ZIP 90077 the highest at $13,742. Unit mix, observation dates and coverage can differ.

Across Los Angeles County, typical rent is $2,806 as of September 2026. That is up 1.4% from a year earlier and up 17.7% over five years.

HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a two bedroom in Los Angeles County is $2,964. HUD marks this area for Small Area FMRs; check the applicable ZIP and housing authority schedule. In 75 of 93 tracked Los Angeles ZIPs, the two-bedroom HUD reference exceeds the all-size rent index. This comparison does not establish what a voucher tenancy will pay for a particular unit.

The table groups ZIPs under the Los Angeles postal label in our data. It does not draw the legal city boundary or establish a housing authority’s service area. The county references and history below cover Los Angeles County, a larger geography than the city.

Market rent is the Zillow Observed Rent Index, which covers all unit sizes. Dates and HUD geography are shown for each row.These columns compare different measures and periods; the difference is not a matched-unit premium, an adopted payment standard or an approved rent. Check bedroom-matched comps, the authority's schedule and utility allowance before underwriting.

For a quick lookup, use average rent in Los Angeles by ZIP code. For a price you could defend for one unit, compare similar bedrooms, property type, condition, parking, utilities and lease terms. An all-size ZIP index cannot establish a two-bedroom asking rent.

Zillow’s ZORI methodology measures changes in asking rents using repeat listings and weighting. An asking-rent index is not a record of your signed lease. Record each comp’s observation date and whether its price is an advertisement, a verified lease or an effective rent after concessions.

For example, an invented $2,900 listing with one free month on a 12-month lease produces $31,900 over that lease, or about $2,658 per month before other losses. Comparing its advertised price directly with a $2,800 lease with no concession would reverse which lease collects more. The rent-pricing guide explains how to compare these terms without counting the free month again as vacancy.

HUD Fair Market Rents for Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County, HUD fiscal year 2027. Source: HUD Fair Market Rents. These are the latest figures loaded into RentalCalcs, not an authority's adopted payment standards or a rent approval.

These are the latest HUD references loaded into RentalCalcs. An October federal fiscal-year change does not prove that HACLA changed its adopted schedule that day. Keep the HUD year, authority schedule date and intended lease date separate.

Start with the administering authority

For an ordinary City of Los Angeles Housing Choice Voucher tenancy, start with HACLA. For an unincorporated address or another city, check the LACDA jurisdiction tool and service-area explanation. LACDA serves unincorporated areas and 62 incorporated cities; Los Angeles is among the cities with its own housing agency. Portability and special programs require confirmation with the administering agency.

Do not choose the more generous schedule simply because both tables contain the ZIP. HACLA’s schedule specifically limits its out-of-city ZIP entries to its Community Choice Demonstration program.

HACLA uses the lower applicable standard for the voucher bedroom size and the leased unit’s bedroom size. The unit’s rent still needs support from comparable rents. The current HACLA payment-standard page provides the full schedule and these conditions. The adopted schedule PDF contains all tiers. The three ZIP examples above are not neighborhood investment rankings.

Follow the utility responsibility, not the advertised rent

Consider a hypothetical two-bedroom apartment in ZIP 90012, within HACLA’s ordinary jurisdiction, with a two-bedroom voucher. Assume $2,800 contract rent is approved and the household’s authority-determined total tenant payment is $750.

For this example, the tenant pays gas space heating, gas cooking, gas water heating and basic electricity. The December 1, 2025 multifamily allowance schedule lists $16, $5, $18 and $30 respectively: $69 per month. The owner supplies the appliances and pays water/sewer, trash and city fees; no other allowance category applies in this example. The allowance is a program estimate, not a prediction of the tenant’s actual bills.

The owner receives $2,800, combining $2,119 assistance and $681 tenant rent. Adding the $69 allowance to the owner’s receipts would overstate rent. The household’s modeled housing share is $681 plus the $69 allowance; actual utility bills can differ. The calculation follows 24 CFR 982.505. This illustration has no utility reimbursement and does not determine a household’s eligibility or initial affordability approval.

Source: HACLA’s utility schedules, using the multifamily table on page 3 of its linked December 2025 PDF. At review, the landing page and PDF disagree on the SCEP/RSO fee allowances. This example has no tenant fee pass-through, so neither disputed allowance is included. If fees will be passed through, get HACLA’s written treatment before completing that calculation.

Use the Section 8 calculation guide for the general payment formula and its exceptions. Local schedules narrow the input; they do not replace the authority’s unit and household review.

How rents in Los Angeles County have moved

Typical county rent

$2,806

September 2026

One-year change

+1.4%

Since September 2025

Five-year change

+17.7%

Since September 2021

Los Angeles County typical rent, last published month of each year. Source: Zillow Observed Rent Index (all home types, smoothed and seasonally adjusted), refreshed monthly. Each percentage compares the same month one year earlier. The index covers all home types, rather than a specific bedroom count.

The chart retains each observation’s date. Its latest year may be incomplete, while earlier points are year-end observations. The table’s annual change compares the same month a year earlier, where available. This is countywide, all-home-type evidence; it does not measure appreciation for a particular two-bedroom apartment or justify assuming that rent will rise next year.

Which local costs belong in the budget?

The annual city bill depends on the unit’s coverage. LAHD’s June 2026 annual-bill explanation lists $38.75 per RSO unit and $67.94 per SCEP unit. For a unit subject to both, that is $106.69 annually before any penalties or other charges. Use the actual bill and exemption status. Do not automatically add the JCO charge to an RSO-covered unit or assume tenant recovery.

LAHD’s RSO property search is an address-level starting point. A “Yes” can mean that only some units on the property are covered. Establish the status of the specific unit, its lawful rent and registration requirements before using a higher asking rent in the forecast. City registration and code enforcement are separate from voucher approval.

Property taxes need a separate acquisition check. The county’s new-owner guidance explains reassessment and supplemental bills, which can arrive outside the lender’s impound process. A seller’s old bill is not a reliable estimate of a buyer’s future tax cost. Obtain the parcel’s assessment and full bill, including applicable debt levies and direct assessments; keep any supplemental catch-up payment in the acquisition cash plan.

For the operating example below, annual property taxes are an assumed $7,200, not a local tax quote or a purchase-price formula. Insurance, repairs and owner-paid utilities are also explicit allowances awaiting property evidence. Obtain a current landlord-insurance quote, utility bills and component condition before relying on the remaining cash.

What this means if you own a rental in Los Angeles

• Check the local comparison set. The highest tracked ZIP index is 7.3 times the lowest. Check unit type and bedroom-matched comps before using that spread to price a property.
• Verify the voucher calculation independently. HUD references and all-size ZORI describe different things. Obtain the housing authority's payment standard and utility allowance, then check rent reasonableness for the actual unit. The table cannot determine a voucher premium, turnover rate or collection outcome.
• Test the deal without future rent increases. County rents are up 1.4% from a year ago. That observation does not establish the increase available on a particular lease. Compare a flat-rent case before choosing a growth assumption.

A complete operating year at $2,800 rent

This hypothetical budget covers one existing two-bedroom rental unit. Shared building costs, if any, are allocated to that unit. It uses the $2,800 total owner rent from the example above, with 5% combined vacancy/collection loss and management at 8% of collected rent. It assumes an existing $150,000 loan amortized over 30 years at 7%, not financing for a newly purchased Los Angeles property.

The visible result is about $290 a month before income tax. The full table separates operating income from debt and reserves. It assumes no HOA dues or additional owner charges; add them when applicable. Purchase funds, closing costs, rehabilitation, tax on income and supplemental acquisition taxes are outside this operating year. Calculations retain the $106.69 fee and unrounded mortgage payment; rounded rows can differ by $1.

A lower approved or achievable rent can consume almost all of that margin. At $2,600 rent and 8% income loss, with the same fixed costs, management rule, debt and reserve, annual cash falls to about $526, or $44 a month. That is about $2,959 less cushion before an unplanned repair. Neither the voucher nor an index removes the need to test collection and vacancy.

Rebuild the case in the single-family and 2-4-unit calculator. Its itemized expense method includes the CapEx reserve in displayed NOI, so the same assumptions would show about $15,460 after reserves, before the loan payment. Our NOI guide explains that convention. Do not subtract the reserve a second time. Use the pro forma guide to record which inputs still need evidence.

Cash needed before the first lease

A stabilized annual margin does not pay the bills during make-ready. Using the same loan and fixed operating allowances, budget about $2,157 a month for carrying costs plus the reserve contribution while this unit is empty. Management here is charged only on collected rent. Actual tax and insurance bills may be lumpier than this monthly allocation.

The following cash calendar assumes $2,500 of one-time make-ready work at the start, no rent or deposit available in months 1-2, and the full $2,800 owner rent collected in month 3. It applies the actual two empty months rather than adding the annual 5% vacancy allowance again.

This is a funding scenario, not HACLA’s processing timetable. Budget about $6,814 before the first assumed receipt in this case, plus any acquisition cash and separate contingency. Each additional empty month adds roughly $2,157. The positive third month starts replenishing the amount already funded; it does not erase it.

Confirm the sequence of rent approval, required inspection, lease and HAP contract with the agency. Record the actual assistance-payment date separately from the approved lease start. A refundable security deposit is not operating income or a substitute for the owner’s cash buffer. The capital-reserve guide helps separate planned component replacement from make-ready work.

Where these numbers come from

RentalCalcs editorial reviewed the local sources on October 17, 2026. This revision adds authority scope, adopted ZIP standards, a utility reconciliation and a first-lease budget. The tables remain live; their observation dates can differ from this editorial review date.

• Market series: Zillow research data, with each loaded ZIP observation dated. The ZIP median is unweighted across available ZIP indices, not a citywide estimate.
• Federal references: HUD FMR and SAFMR datasets. The county is FIPS 06037; the HUD year shown in the table is separate from HACLA’s adoption date.
• Adopted local schedule: HACLA’s September 1, 2026 payment standards and December 1, 2025 utility schedule, linked beside the examples. No countywide payment standard is inferred from the selected ZIPs.
• Owner costs: LAHD’s current annual-bill explanation and LA County’s new-owner guidance. Apart from the stated city fees, the budget costs are assumptions, not observed quotes or city averages.

No signed comparable leases, property inspection or agency approval are claimed. Confirm material changes in the adopted schedules before using this dated example for a later lease. Send corrections through our contact page, identifying the source, effective date and section involved.

Use the Los Angeles rent lookup to gather references, then the Section 8 analyzer to test property assumptions. Its HUD benchmarks are not a live HACLA approval service. The California HUD-to-rent-index comparison is broader research context, not a property-level premium forecast. Keep your authority, comp and cost records together in the Los Angeles rent worksheet.