Cities / Pennsylvania / Spans 2 counties / Bethlehem
RentMarker city housing analysis
City housing brief · Incorporated place

Bethlehem, PA

City evidence stays city-level. County, metro and national records appear separately to explain the wider market without changing the city figures.

City gross yield6.3%ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI · before costs
Direct city rent answer

What does rent cost in Bethlehem, PA?

The latest city-level Zillow ZORI for Bethlehem is $1,916 per month in 2026-06. It measures a typical asking-rent market across rental types—not an arithmetic average or an address-level rent estimate.

City Zillow ZORI$1,9162026-06 · up 3.7% year over year
City ACS gross rent$1,382ACS 2024 5-year occupied-renter survey
HUD two-bedroom contextn/aCity intersects 2 counties; no county selected
How to read the rent answer for Bethlehem
MeasureCurrent valueGeographyMeasurement boundary
Zillow ZORI$1,916Bethlehem cityTypical observed asking-rent index; not a unit quote.
Census ACS gross rent$1,382Bethlehem citySurvey estimate for occupied renter homes, including specified utilities.
HUD 2BR FMRn/aNo single countyAdministrative bedroom standard; wider context, never substituted as city rent.

For a property decision, match bedroom count, condition, utilities, concessions, lease timing and nearby comparable listings. Wider county and metro evidence below stays explicitly labelled.Zillow pulled 2026-07-29

City market snapshot

Four figures that frame the city

Typical home value
$367k
▲ 3.7% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · 2026-06
Observed market rent
$1,916
▲ 3.7% year over year
Zillow ZORI · 2026-06
Entry affordability
5.3x
home value ÷ household income
Zillow + Census ACS
Population
77,956
▲ 3.3% between ACS vintages
ACS 2024 5-year
Current measured evidence

Use the source-dated charts while the narrative is refreshed

The city facts below remain available because they are generated directly from the current public records. The written interpretation will return only after it matches the same evidence set.

Housing system

Market movement and the stock underneath it

Five-year path

Price and rent, rebased to 100

ZHVI +33.4%ZORI +27.7%
13311495202120222023202420252026
Each series starts at 100 so their direction can be compared without pretending that a home value and a monthly rent share the same unit.
Housing stock

Tenure and vacancy

ACS
50.1%RENTER
Owner occupied49.9%
Renter occupied50.1%
Vacant units4.0%

Median structure year 1957

Tenure uses occupied units; vacancy uses all housing units.
Measurement matrix

Two sources, two different questions

SourceHome valueMonthly rent
Zillow market index$366.7K$1.9K
ACS occupied housing$260.4K$1.4K
Zillow measures current market indexes. ACS reports surveyed owner value and gross rent for occupied housing. The rows are context, not interchangeable estimates.
Direct city depth

Households and housing form behind the medians

Median household income$69k

Annual ACS household measure.

Rent-to-income screen33.4%

Annual ZORI divided by ACS median income.

ACS rent burden52.5%

Renters paying at least 30% of household income toward gross rent.

Average household size2.30

People per occupied housing unit.

Single-family stock63.9%

Detached and attached one-unit structures.

Large multifamily stock9.5%

Housing in structures with 20 or more units.

Vacant and for rent36.5%

Share of vacant units listed by ACS as for rent, not a market vacancy rate.

Unemployment6.6%

Share of the civilian labor force.

Poverty15.7%

ACS population for whom poverty status is determined.

These are citywide context measures. They cannot tell you the rent, vacancy, expenses or tenant demand for a particular neighborhood or property.
Closest market alternatives

Three useful contrasts, not a synthetic winner

The peer set broadens the decision without mixing geographies. Price, rent and housing characteristics remain city-level for every place.

Comparable market profile

Entry price, rent and gross yield

Bethlehem, PAAllentown, PAReading, PAKissimmee, FL
Typical home valueZillow ZHVIBethlehem$366.7KAllentown$320.9KReading$268.7KKissimmee$359.5KObserved market rentZillow ZORI / monthBethlehem$1.9KAllentown$1.7KReading$1.4KKissimmee$2KGross yieldZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVIBethlehem6.3%Allentown6.5%Reading6.2%Kissimmee6.8%
Bars begin at zero within each measure. Gross yield is a screening ratio before financing, taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance or management costs.
Same metro01

Allentown, PA

Compared with Bethlehem, typical home value is $46k lower, monthly rent is $184 lower, and gross yield is 0.2 percentage points higher.

Rent burden 30%+
60.9%
Renter share
56.8%
One-unit stock
61.9%
20+ unit stock
10.7%
Same state02

Reading, PA

Compared with Bethlehem, typical home value is $98k lower, monthly rent is $521 lower, and gross yield is 0.0 percentage points lower.

Rent burden 30%+
60.4%
Renter share
59.4%
One-unit stock
64.1%
20+ unit stock
9.2%
Closest data profile03

Kissimmee, FL

Compared with Bethlehem, typical home value is $7k lower, monthly rent is $130 higher, and gross yield is 0.6 percentage points higher.

Rent burden 30%+
69.8%
Renter share
53.7%
One-unit stock
54.3%
20+ unit stock
9.1%

These are analytical alternatives, not recommendations. The structural measures come from Census ACS; price and rent use the Zillow releases shown on each card and in the source ledger below.

Wider market context

What surrounds the city without being mistaken for it

The layers below answer different questions. County records describe listing, migration, financing and hazard conditions around the city; metro records describe jobs, supply and permits; the mortgage rate is national.

Same measure, wider boundary

City marker against intersecting counties

CityCounty range
Typical home value$369.6K$379.5K$366.7KObserved market rent$1.8K$1.9K$1.9K
Both levels use Zillow indexes, but the county records cover land and housing outside the city. The comparison supplies context; it does not replace the city value.
Same Zillow index families

City limits versus the linked metro

BethlehemMetro
Observed market rentMetro $1.9KCity $1.9K · +2.9%Typical home valueMetro $370.2KCity $366.7K · -0.9%Gross yieldMetro 6.0%City 6.3% · +4.0%
Zillow ZORI and ZHVI use the same release month at both boundaries. Gross yield is rent × 12 ÷ home value; the metro contains the city and is context, not a substitute.

Search all direct city–metro gaps in the interactive atlas.

COUNTY LAYER

All 2 intersecting counties

Rows stay separate; no unweighted county average is presented as a city fact.

2026-06
Active listings
406
Listing DOM
24 days
FHFA one-year
▲ 6.1%
Net migration
-333
Investor share
13.1%
Effective property tax
1.55%
Top hazard
inland flooding
Expected loss ratio
0.11%
2026-06
Active listings
325
Listing DOM
29 days
FHFA one-year
▲ 6.2%
Net migration
367
Investor share
11.5%
Effective property tax
1.52%
Top hazard
inland flooding
Expected loss ratio
0.13%
METRO LAYER

Allentown, PA

Open metro analysis →
Job growth▲ 1.1%12m to 2026-06
Permitted units1,6122026 YTD through M06
Permits / 1,0001.9broader metro population
Months of supply1.62026-05-01
Median DOM12 daysRedfin metro tracker
Price drops27.0%Redfin metro tracker
Wider-context figures are not inputs to the city gross yield and are never used to fill a missing city price, rent or ACS measure.
Sources and geography

What belongs to this city page

Census recognizes this as Bethlehem city. The place intersects 2 counties (Lehigh County, Northampton County); population and ACS measures are place-wide.