Fair market rent in Skokie by bedroom size (FY2027)
HUD's fiscal-year 2027 Fair Market Rents are the baseline housing-voucher programs use in Skokie — and the only official bedroom-by-bedroom market-rent schedule published for this area. (How these figures compare with what current renters actually pay, size by size: rent by bedroom in Skokie.)
FY2027 fair market rent, studio to 4 bedrooms
Skokie is in a HUD Small Area FMR metro, so HUD publishes a separate figure per ZIP code — these, not the metro-wide number, are what local payment standards are based on.
| Unit size | 60076 South Skokie | 60077 North Skokie / Old Orchard | Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metro-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio / efficiency | $1,850 FY2026 $1,620 (+14.2%) | $1,740 FY2026 $1,500 (+16.0%) | $1,678 FY2026 $1,480 (+13.4%) |
| 1 bedroom | $1,970 FY2026 $1,730 (+13.9%) | $1,840 FY2026 $1,600 (+15.0%) | $1,780 FY2026 $1,581 (+12.6%) |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,220 FY2026 $1,950 (+13.8%) | $2,080 FY2026 $1,800 (+15.6%) | $2,011 FY2026 $1,781 (+12.9%) |
| 3 bedrooms | $2,850 FY2026 $2,510 (+13.5%) | $2,670 FY2026 $2,320 (+15.1%) | $2,586 FY2026 $2,294 (+12.7%) |
| 4 bedrooms | $3,260 FY2026 $2,900 (+12.4%) | $3,060 FY2026 $2,680 (+14.2%) | $2,954 FY2026 $2,653 (+11.3%) |
ZIP-level Small Area FMRs vs the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metro-wide figure. All amounts are monthly gross rent — rent plus tenant-paid utilities.
When the FY2027 figures apply
Federal fair market rents take effect on October 1 each year — HUD publishes them a few weeks ahead (the FY2027 schedule was published in the Federal Register on September 1, 2026, effective October 1, 2026). Housing authorities have up to three months after that date to revise their payment standards where the change is needed to stay within 90–110% of the new FMR (24 CFR 982.503(c)(3)), so the prior-year figures listed above can still be the ones a voucher holder is working from early in the fiscal year. The 2-bedroom figure moved from $1,800–$1,950 (FY2026) to $2,080–$2,220 (FY2027), +15.6% to +13.8% by ZIP.
How the FMR compares to Skokie's market rate
Today's Skokie market average is $2,371/month (all unit sizes blended), while the 2-bedroom FMR is $2,080–$2,220. The FMR is deliberately set at the 40th percentile of area rents — slightly below the middle of the market — so in a market like Skokie's it reads below the current average. Voucher holders typically need to look below the headline market rate, and units at or under these figures exist but take more searching. The two measures also differ in kind: the FMR includes utilities and is fixed for the fiscal year; the market average blends all unit sizes and moves monthly. Direction, not a precise dollar gap.
What a fair market rent actually is
- It's a standard, not a price. HUD estimates the 40th-percentile gross rent (rent + utilities) for recent movers, once per federal fiscal year. Nothing here is a listing or a promise of what you'll find.
- It's not exactly what Section 8 pays. Your local housing authority sets its payment standard between roughly 90% and 110% of these figures (per ZIP, in Small Area FMR metros like this one), and what a voucher covers also depends on household income — the range in dollars, and the arithmetic, below. Always confirm the current payment standard with the housing authority.
- It's not a rent cap. Landlords can ask more; the FMR only governs what assistance programs use as a baseline.
- It can't lawfully be refused. "No Section 8" is illegal in Skokie under both Illinois' source-of-income law and Cook County's Human Rights Ordinance — the law on refusing vouchers, the real exemptions, and what it costs →
Do you qualify? FY2026 Section 8 income limits
Eligibility for a Housing Choice Voucher is about income, not luck: HUD sets annual limits for the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area as fractions of its median family income — $121,500/year for FY2026. Vouchers generally go to households under the very low income (50%) limit, and by federal law three-quarters of each year's new vouchers must go to households under the extremely low income (30%) limit. The 80% "low income" column governs admission to some other HUD programs, such as public housing.
| Household size | Extremely low (30% of median) | Very low — Section 8 (50% of median) | Low (80% of median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $25,550 | $42,550 | $68,050 |
| 2 people | $29,200 | $48,600 | $77,800 |
| 3 people | $32,850 | $54,700 | $87,500 |
| 4 people | $36,450 | $60,750 | $97,200 |
| 5 people | $39,400 | $65,650 | $105,000 |
| 6 people | $44,360 | $70,500 | $112,800 |
| 7 people | $50,040 | $75,350 | $120,550 |
| 8 people | $55,720 | $80,200 | $128,350 |
Annual gross household income, FY2026, Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area. HUD floors the "extremely low" figures at the federal poverty guideline, so some run slightly above a straight 30%. The housing authority applies these (plus deductions, asset rules, and local preferences) when it screens an application — this table tells you whether applying is worth your time, not whether you're approved.
For scale: the median Skokie household income is $93,550 (2019–2023 ACS 5-year) — above the very-low-income band at every household size. Vouchers here target households earning well below the middle of the market. (That compares household income against size-adjusted family limits — direction, not an eligibility ruling.)
How the two halves of this page fit together: a voucher household generally pays about 30% of its adjusted monthly income toward rent, and the voucher covers the difference up to the local payment standard — which is set from the fair market rents above, ZIP by ZIP in this metro. Income limits decide who gets in; FMRs decide how far the voucher reaches.
What a voucher actually covers in Skokie
The fair market rent is HUD's number. The number that decides your rent share is the housing authority's payment standard — "the maximum monthly subsidy payment" (24 CFR 982.505(a)). A housing authority may set it anywhere from 90% to 110% of the published FMR for each bedroom size without asking HUD (24 CFR 982.503(c)) — here, of each ZIP code's Small Area FMR. For FY2027 that range works out to:
| Voucher size | 60076 90%–110% of FMR | 60077 90%–110% of FMR |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / efficiency | $1,665–$2,035 | $1,566–$1,914 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,773–$2,167 | $1,656–$2,024 |
| 2 bedrooms | $1,998–$2,442 | $1,872–$2,288 |
| 3 bedrooms | $2,565–$3,135 | $2,403–$2,937 |
| 4 bedrooms | $2,934–$3,586 | $2,754–$3,366 |
Our arithmetic from HUD's FY2027 figures, rounded inward to whole dollars — the legal range, not Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC)'s actual schedule (that follows below). A housing authority can go above 110% only through HUD's exception rules (982.503(d)) and below 90% only with HUD's approval (982.503(e)).
The payment standards in force in Skokie today
Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) publishes its schedule. The one in force was set effective January 1, 2026, and it assigns 60076 to its range "P" and 60077 to its range "N":
| Voucher size | 60076 payment standard | 60077 payment standard |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / efficiency | $1,525 | $1,450 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,640 | $1,555 |
| 2 bedrooms | $1,870 | $1,780 |
| 3 bedrooms | $2,375 | $2,270 |
| 4 bedrooms | $2,830 | $2,685 |
Source: HACC — Payment Standards, effective January 1, 2026 (PDF) — a scanned two-page table; we read the Skokie rows by eye and typed them in, so check the PDF itself before relying on a figure. Monthly amounts, rent plus utilities.
These are due to rise. They were set for calendar 2026, when the FY2026 Small Area FMRs applied. In 60076 the FY2027 2-bedroom figure is $2,220, so the lowest standard the basic range allows becomes $1,998 — $128 above today's $1,870. In 60077 the FY2027 2-bedroom figure is $2,080, so the lowest standard the basic range allows becomes $1,872 — $92 above today's $1,780. A housing authority "must revise its payment standard amounts and schedule no later than 3 months following the effective date of the published FMR if revisions are necessary to stay within the basic range" (982.503(c)(3)) — that is, by January 1, 2027, unless HUD approves a lower standard. That is what the rule requires, not a schedule the housing authority has announced; we will replace the table when the new one is published.
The arithmetic, with one worked example
Your baseline share is the total tenant payment: the highest of 30% of your household's adjusted monthly income, 10% of its gross monthly income, or the housing authority's minimum rent (24 CFR 5.628(a)). The housing authority then pays the landlord the lower of (payment standard − your total tenant payment) or (gross rent − your total tenant payment), where gross rent is the rent plus the authority's allowance for any utilities you pay yourself (982.505(b)). Rent above the payment standard is yours on top.
The utility allowance is not a guess: Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) publishes a schedule by unit type, fuel and bedroom count, in force since February 1, 2026. The whole schedule, and the same arithmetic run with the allowance in it, is on the utility-allowance page.
Example — illustrative income, the real 60076 2-bedroom standard of $1,870, and a household whose adjusted income is $2,000 a month, so its total tenant payment is $600:
- Gross rent $1,770 (under the standard): the household pays $600; the voucher pays $1,170.
- Gross rent $2,020 ($150 over): the voucher stops at $1,270; the household pays $750 — 37.5% of its adjusted income.
- Gross rent $2,120 ($250 over): the household's share would be $850, or 42.5% — and the housing authority cannot approve the lease. At initial occupancy, when the gross rent is above the payment standard, "the family share must not exceed 40 percent of the family's adjusted monthly income" (24 CFR 982.508). For this household the ceiling is a gross rent of $2,070.
The 40% ceiling applies when a tenancy is first approved, not to later rent increases. When a payment standard rises during a lease, the housing authority must apply the higher figure no later than your next reexamination, a rent increase that would raise your share, or one year after the increase — whichever comes first (982.505(c)(4)); when one falls, a household that stays in its unit cannot have the lower figure applied for at least two years, and only after 12 months' written notice (982.505(c)(3)). Adjusted income is the housing authority's calculation after HUD's deductions — this example is arithmetic, not a determination of anyone's rent.
How to apply for Section 8 in Skokie
Skokie has no housing authority of its own — the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) administers the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program for suburban Cook County, Skokie included.
HACC's Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is not always open — it opens for application windows periodically (most recently by online lottery) and is closed the rest of the time, so the practical first step is checking HACC's site for current openings. Separate project-based and senior/public-housing lists open on their own schedules and are sometimes accepting applications even when the main voucher list is closed.
Applying is always free. HACC never charges to join a waiting list — anyone asking for money to "register" or "move you up the list" is not the housing authority. Waiting-list status changes — always confirm what's open on Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC)'s own site. Income-eligible and waiting? Our tenant rights page lists the free legal-aid and emergency rental-assistance resources for Skokie renters.
Source & caveats
All FMR and income-limit figures come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research — the public Fair Market Rents and Income Limits datasets, fiscal year 2027, for the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area. This site is not affiliated with HUD or any housing authority. Market-rate figures elsewhere on the page come from Zillow's ZORI index and measure something different — see the methodology for how the sources fit together, and the Skokie rent overview for the current market picture.
First published · Page last updated · rent index data through September 2026.
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