The 2 bedroom fair market rent in Lake Elmo (Washington County) is $1,770 for FY2026, and typical market asking rent is $1,958. Rents here moved +1.1 percent year over year. ZIP 55042 sits in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area.
| Unit size | FY2026 FMR | Vs FY2025 | ACS median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,290 | +1.6% | |
| 1 bedroom | $1,460 | +2.1% | |
| 2 bedroom | $1,770 | +1.1% | |
| 3 bedroom | $2,350 | +0.9% | |
| 4 bedroom | $2,630 | +0.8% |
FMR is the HUD Fair Market Rent for this ZIP, the 40th percentile of gross rents. It anchors Section 8 payment standards and runs below top of market. ACS median is the Census survey estimate where available.
Market asking rent runs about $188 above the 2 bedroom FMR, a 11 percent premium. For an investor that gap is a cushion: underwrite at or near FMR and the market gives you room, and Section 8 tenants at payment standard are competitive with market rate here.
Zillow ZORI is a smoothed index of asking rents across all unit sizes. HUD FMR is a 2 bedroom 40th percentile estimate. They measure different things, so treat the spread as a signal, not a price.
The HUD fair market rent for a 2 bedroom in ZIP 55042 is $1,770 for FY2026. Typical market asking rent is around $1,958 per Zillow as of 2026-05. Actual rents vary by unit size, condition, and location within the ZIP.
The 2 bedroom fair market rent rose 1.1 percent from FY2025 to FY2026, moving from $1,750 to $1,770.
Fair Market Rent is HUD's estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent for a ZIP. It sets Section 8 payment standards, so it is the rent a voucher will support here. Investors use it as a conservative floor when underwriting rental income.
Rent level is only one input. Run the numbers: at $1,770 for a 2 bedroom, a deal in Lake Elmo pencils or it does not based on price, taxes, insurance, and financing. Pencilwrite computes cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, and true ROE from a few inputs.
Pencilwrite turns an address, a price, and these rents into a full underwrite, cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, true ROE, taxes, and an offer you can send. Join the early access list.
