The short version.
- Of 89 U.S. cities, the per diem cap covers a 4-star hotel or better in 2, a 3- or 3.5-star in 21, and nothing above 2.5-star in 66.
- Nationally, 2-star hotels were listed under the per diem cap 92% of the time, 3-star 60%, 4-star 36%, 5-star 3%.
- Cities with no GSA rate of their own fall to the $113 standard rate, which covers a 2.5-star at most in the cities we looked at.
What star class does the cap buy?
Share of hotel rates shown in searches over the past year that came in under the FY2027 per diem lodging cap, by star class.
Pick your city.
Each card shows the city's per diem cap and the share of hotel rates shown in searches that came in under it, by star class. The cap covers a class when that class and every cheaper one shown came in under it at least 70% of the time.
What you can book on per diem, city by city.
Which states fit under the per diem cap?
| Highest share | Rates under cap | Hotels under cap |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 76%of rates shown | 67%of hotels shown |
| Maryland | 74%of rates shown | 71%of hotels shown |
| Colorado | 73%of rates shown | 62%of hotels shown |
| Georgia | 73%of rates shown | 71%of hotels shown |
| Texas | 71%of rates shown | 74%of hotels shown |
| Oklahoma | 70%of rates shown | 73%of hotels shown |
| Lowest share | Rates under cap | Hotels under cap |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 32%of rates shown | 17%of hotels shown |
| New York | 41%of rates shown | 41%of hotels shown |
| Vermont | 45%of rates shown | 35%of hotels shown |
| Maine | 45%of rates shown | 31%of hotels shown |
| Massachusetts | 46%of rates shown | 42%of hotels shown |
| Wyoming | 49%of rates shown | 50%of hotels shown |
What changed for FY2027?
GSA raised the standard lodging rate from $110 to $113 and raised the average cap in 282 of its 295 named destinations. None fell on average, but 41 cut at least one month. San Francisco now caps April through August at $232, down from $259. The new caps lifted Albuquerque from 2.5-star to 3.5-star and moved 11 other cities up, including Tucson, Louisville, and New Orleans.
| Destination | FY2026 average | FY2027 average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard rate (counties with no listed destination) | $110a night | $113a night | +2.7% |
| Albuquerque, NM | $144a night | $181a night | +25.7% |
| Bakersfield / Ridgecrest, CA | $132a night | $164a night | +24.2% |
| Tucson, AZ | $135a night | $168a night | +24.1% |
| New London / Groton, CT | $124a night | $149a night | +20.2% |
| Stuart, FL | $143a night | $168a night | +17.3% |
| Big Spring, TX | $114a night | $133a night | +16.7% |
| South Lake Tahoe, CA | $184a night | $214a night | +16.4% |
| Louisville, KY | $142a night | $164a night | +15.2% |
| Oxford, MS | $127a night | $146a night | +15.0% |
How we did this.
The capThe FY2027 lodging per diem published by the U.S. General Services Administration, by destination and month, effective October 1, 2026. Counties with no named destination use the standard rate, which is how GSA applies it.
The citiesThe 100 largest U.S. cities by the Census Bureau's 2025 population estimates, minus Anchorage and Honolulu, which use separate federal rate tables. We also left out nine cities where Engine customers booked fewer than 20 hotels: Cape Coral, Garland, Gilbert, Glendale, Jersey City, Newark, North Las Vegas, Port St. Lucie, and Riverside. A city means hotels with that city in their address, so Irving and Plano count apart from Dallas.
Two views of priceBooked prices make the cap look better than it is, because people on a per diem tend to book under it. So the numbers on this page use what travelers could have booked instead: every hotel rate shown in Engine searches for check-ins from October 2025 through September 2026, with each appearance of a hotel in a search counted once. A rate is the nightly room price plus fees paid at the hotel, such as resort fees, because GSA counts mandatory fees against the cap. Taxes are left out. The lookup also shows the share of booked nights under the cap over nearly the same 12 months. Leaving hotel fees out of both, booked nights came in under the cap more often than search rates in 77 of the 89 cities, by as much as 34 points in Frisco. We dropped search rates under $40 or over $1,800 a night, and booked rates under $30 or over $2,000, as outliers. Booked rates leave out hotel fees, so the booked share runs a little high where those fees are common, such as Las Vegas and New York.
Matching a rate to its capEach hotel gets the GSA rate for the county on its property record, or its state's standard rate if GSA doesn't name that county. A few GSA destinations cover only part of a county, such as Cambridge or Santa Monica. Hotels there get their county's rate. That mismatch affects none of the cities on this page. The D.C. rate includes the nearby Virginia and Maryland counties GSA names. GSA caps each night at the rate for that night's date. Search rates use one nightly price for the whole stay, so we apply the check-in month's cap. That only matters when a stay crosses into a new rate season. A rate counts as under the cap when it is at or below it.
Hotel class and what the cap coversClass is the hotel's published star rating. We show a class in a city only when at least three of its hotels showed up in searches there, across at least 1,000 rates shown, with no single customer making up more than half of them. The cap "covers" a class when at least 70% of that class's rates came in under it, and the same holds for every class below it.
What to keep in mindThe "hotels under cap" column in the state tables counts the hotels shown in searches whose rates came in under the cap at least half the time. States need at least 100 hotels shown to be ranked. Prices are from the past year and the caps are new, so if hotel prices rise this year, the shares will run a little high. Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories are excluded because they use separate federal rate tables. Treat the numbers as ballpark.
SourcesLodging and M&IE rates: GSA FY2027 per diem rates, pulled from the GSA Per Diem API. Rules on the standard rate, the 75% first and last day M&IE, taxes, and actual-expense approval: Federal Travel Regulation, 41 CFR Part 301-11. City populations: U.S. Census Bureau 2025 estimates. ZIP to county: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA to county relationship file. Search data: hotel rates shown in Engine searches, October 2025 through September 2026. Booking data: Engine, completed U.S. hotel stays, 12 months ending September 21, 2026.
Per diem questions.
What star hotel can you get on per diem?
The FY2027 lodging cap covers at least a 3-star hotel in 23 of the 89 U.S. cities we looked at, and a 4-star or better in 2 of them (Aurora and Arlington). Covers means at least 70% of that class's hotel rates shown in searches came in under the cap, and the same holds for every class below it. Of those cities, the ones on the $113 standard rate get a 2.5-star at most.
What is per diem?
A daily limit on what an employer pays for lodging, meals, and incidentals on a work trip. Under federal rules, lodging is repaid at actual cost up to the cap, and meals and incidentals are a flat daily amount. GSA sets the rates for the 48 contiguous states and D.C., and many companies use the same table. Your company's policy may set its own limits.
What are the FY2027 per diem rates?
The standard rate is $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for meals and incidentals. It applies across most of the continental U.S. from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. GSA lists 295 destinations with higher rates. Look yours up at the top of this page.
Why doesn't my hotel get my city's per diem rate?
GSA sets rates by county, not by the city in a hotel's address. A hotel with a city's name in its address can sit in a neighboring county with a different rate, or on the standard rate. Look up the hotel's ZIP code to see which rate applies.
Does the lodging per diem include hotel taxes?
No. Lodging taxes are reimbursed separately, on the allowable room cost. Mandatory hotel fees and service charges do count against the cap, so compare the room rate plus those fees, before tax, to the cap when you book.
How does the first and last day rule work?
Meals and incidentals pay 75% on the first and last day of a trip. On a $68 day that is $51. Lodging is not prorated. Each night is capped at the rate for its own date.
What if every hotel is over the cap?
With approval, federal travelers can be reimbursed actual expenses up to 300% of the full per diem rate, lodging plus meals and incidentals. Company policies vary. Many ask for manager approval or leave the traveler to pay the difference, which is why the share of hotel rates under the cap matters.