# StayRentals

> Affordable rental data for US renters: HUD Fair Market Rents, Section 8 and subsidized housing search with verified property contacts, and plain-language renting guides.

Every figure derives from a named federal source and is reproducible from it: HUD Fair Market Rents and Income Limits, HUD's LIHTC and Insured Multifamily property databases, Census American Community Survey, BLS Consumer Price Index, and EIA residential energy prices. Government data carries a one to two year lag depending on the source. StayRentals is not a landlord, agent, or property manager, and does not track live vacancy or per-unit pricing.

## Data & tools

- [Affordable rental search](/affordable-rentals): subsidized and income-restricted properties with contact details, from HUD's LIHTC and Insured Multifamily records — Section 8 project-based, Section 202 senior, and Section 811 disability buildings, with AMI eligibility tiers and Small Area FMR
- [City rent data](/rentals): median rent, median household income, rent burden, and vacancy rate per city from Census ACS, alongside HUD Fair Market Rent by bedroom count
- [City comparisons](/compare): two cities set against each other on the same ACS and HUD measures, including the rent and income gap between them
- [Rent affordability calculator](/calculators/rent-affordability): the rent a given income supports at the 30 percent threshold, against the local median rent

## Guides

- [The 30 percent rule for rent](/guides/30-percent-rule-for-rent-explained): where the 30 percent threshold comes from, and which recurring costs it leaves out
- [Average rent in the United States, 2026](/guides/average-rent-in-the-united-states-2026): national and state median rent from Census ACS, with the BLS rent CPI trend behind it
- [How to budget for rent](/guides/how-to-budget-for-rent): the costs that sit alongside contract rent, including utilities and insurance
- [What renters insurance is, and whether you need it](/guides/what-is-renters-insurance-and-do-i-need-it): what a policy covers, what landlords typically require, and when it is not needed

## About

- [Methodology](/methodology): how each figure is derived, which vintage of each dataset is used, and the known limits of the source data
- [How we make money](/how-we-make-money): affiliate partnerships, which partners are active, and why revenue does not affect rankings or data
- [Contact](/contact): data corrections and questions