The 2 bedroom fair market rent for every Stearns County ZIP code HUD publishes, the typical market asking rent where Zillow covers the ZIP code, and the gap between them. Where the fair market rent meets or beats the market, a voucher tenant is the stronger offer.
4 of the 5 Stearns County ZIP codes with both signals are voucher competitive, 80 percent of them, and the county median spread is -1.8 percent, or -$22 against a median 2 bedroom fair market rent of $1,170.
The range inside the county matters more than the median. Saint Cloud 56304 runs -20.8 percent, fair market rent $1,520 against market rent $1,204, while Sartell 56377 runs +9.9 percent at $1,390 against $1,527. A voucher that is the best offer on one side of the county can be short by a few hundred dollars on the other.
Zillow reaches 5 of the 29 Stearns County ZIP codes with HUD data, so the rest of the table carries a fair market rent and no market comparison. That is a coverage limit, not a signal that those ZIP codes are cheap or expensive: Zillow publishes only where listing volume supports an index. For those ZIP codes the fair market rent is still the number a payment standard is built from, and you should pull real comps for the rest. Every market rent on this page is the 2026-07 Zillow reading, so the column is one vintage and the medians below are comparable to each other.
Payment standards are not in this data. Vouchers in Stearns County run through a county or regional housing authority rather than any of the three large metro agencies. Each authority sets its own payment standard, normally between 90 and 110 percent of the published fair market rent, and can ask HUD to approve more. Nothing on this page adjusts for that. Check the payment standard with the housing authority: Metro HRA, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, and Saint Paul Public Housing Agency.
| ZIP | City | 2BR FMR | Market rent | Zillow month | Spread | Spread % | Voucher fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56304 | Saint Cloud | $1,520 | $1,204 | 2026-07 | -$316 | -20.8% | Voucher competitive |
| 56303 | Saint Cloud | $1,170 | $1,064 | 2026-07 | -$106 | -9.1% | Voucher competitive |
| 56387 | Waite Park | $1,250 | $1,228 | 2026-07 | -$22 | -1.8% | Voucher competitive |
| 56301 | Saint Cloud | $1,310 | $1,297 | 2026-07 | -$13 | -1.0% | Voucher competitive |
| 56377 | Sartell | $1,390 | $1,527 | 2026-07 | +$137 | +9.9% | |
| 56320 | Cold Spring | $1,360 | no data | ||||
| 56374 | Saint Joseph | $1,290 | no data | ||||
| 56302 | Saint Cloud | $1,240 | no data | ||||
| 56395 | Saint Cloud | $1,240 | no data | ||||
| 56398 | Saint Cloud | $1,240 | no data | ||||
| 56321 | Collegeville | $1,220 | no data | ||||
| 56340 | Holdingford | $1,220 | no data | ||||
| 56316 | Brooten | $1,210 | no data | ||||
| 56335 | Greenwald | $1,190 | no data | ||||
| 56352 | Melrose | $1,190 | no data | ||||
| 56356 | New Munich | $1,130 | no data | ||||
| 56362 | Paynesville | $1,110 | no data | ||||
| 56331 | Freeport | $1,060 | no data | ||||
| 56371 | Roscoe | $1,050 | no data | ||||
| 55353 | Kimball | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56307 | Albany | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56310 | Avon | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56312 | Belgrade | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56325 | Elrosa | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56368 | Richmond | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56369 | Rockville | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56375 | Saint Stephen | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56376 | Saint Martin | $1,040 | no data | ||||
| 56378 | Sauk Centre | $1,040 | no data |
Sorted from the most voucher friendly spread to the least, with ZIP codes that have no market rent at the end. Spread is market rent minus the 2 bedroom fair market rent, and the Zillow month column is the reading month behind that market rent. Click any ZIP code for its bedroom table, its rent trend, and the six nearest ZIP codes, or open the Stearns County rent page for the wider rent picture.
In 4 of the 5 Stearns County ZIP codes that carry both a HUD fair market rent and a Zillow market rent, the 2 bedroom fair market rent meets or beats typical asking rent. The county median 2 bedroom FMR is $1,170 for FY2026 against a median market rent of $1,228 as of 2026-07, a median spread of -1.8 percent. That is a screening signal, not a payment standard.
On this data it is Saint Cloud 56304, where the 2 bedroom fair market rent of $1,520 sits -20.8 percent against a typical asking rent of $1,204. Sartell 56377 is the other end at +9.9 percent. Unit condition, bedroom count, and the specific block still decide the actual rent.
This data does not include payment standards. A public housing authority sets its own payment standard, normally between 90 and 110 percent of the published fair market rent, and can ask HUD to approve more. None of that is in this data. Confirm the standard with the housing authority that administers the voucher. Applied to the Stearns County median 2 bedroom FMR of $1,170, a 90 to 110 percent band works out to roughly $1,053 to $1,287, which is a wide enough range to change whether a deal works.
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. Limited beta access spots open. Sign up for the beta, opening in the next two months. Free.
