Duluth’s current Zillow measures frame a headline relationship, not a net return: ZHVI puts the typical city home value at $303,635, while ZORI puts typical observed monthly market rent at $1,458. Their implied gross yield is 5.8%, before every operating cost, financing, vacancy, repairs and capital work. The Zillow price is 4.4x ACS median household income, and annualized ZORI equals 25.4% of that income, indicating that acquisition affordability and tenant affordability both deserve property-specific stress tests.
The city has 39,978 housing units; the citywide vacancy rate is 6.3%, and renters occupy 40.6% of occupied units. ACS reports a $242,700 median home value and $1,087 median gross rent for surveyed occupied housing, with gross rent including contract rent and selected utilities. Those ACS medians differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical city value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged or treated as a direct discount. Tenure and vacancy describe the citywide stock, not lease-up odds for one unit.
Direct city depth is mixed. Among relevant renter households, 54.0% are rent-burdened; single-family structures comprise 62.3% of units and large multifamily structures 15.5%. ACS classifies 400 vacant units as for rent and 609 as seasonal, but these survey categories do not measure investable or immediately available inventory. Population increased 1.4% between overlapping ACS vintages, subject to possible boundary changes. Median household income is $68,807, while poverty is 16.8% and unemployment 4.7%; these are descriptive demand constraints, not causes or guarantees of rent performance.
In St. Louis County, county listings show a median 41 days on market, while 19.7% had price reductions; county property tax context is 1.03%, but it is not a parcel tax quote. In the Duluth, MN metro, metro employment declined 0.55% year over year and metro permits totaled 548, signaling broader labor softness alongside measured construction activity without identifying city supply. The national Freddie Mac mortgage rate for a thirty-year loan is 6.66%, a financing benchmark rather than Duluth borrowing terms.
Treat the headline yield as a first-pass screen. Key unknowns are achievable unit rent, occupancy, owner-paid utilities, parcel taxes, insurance and climate exposure, maintenance, capital work, management, legal compliance and financing. Verify tax and insurance quotes; inspect roof, foundation, heating, plumbing and electrical systems; review leases, concessions, arrears and utility bills; compare similar unit-level rent comps; and model vacancy, turnover and major repairs. City, county, metro and national evidence cannot replace title, zoning, permit, condition or cash-flow diligence.