Douglas County, NE

The shown direct-Zillow ZIP evidence, a typical observed asking-rent index, has a broad current range from $1,041 to $1,819: a $778 spread around a $1,339 median. That dispersion makes a single county figure an incomplete screen. Douglas County’s Zillow ZORI is $1,448, while ZIP-level annual index changes range from 0.8% to 5.2%, versus 3.2% countywide. The decision is not simply to seek the lowest index. It is to compare the index and its recent movement with a specific unit’s asking price, size, lease terms, and household budget, then weigh those checks against separately measured burden and vacancy. The range supports multiple price positions in the selected evidence, not a countywide ranking of every ZIP.

Zillow, HUD, and ACS values should remain on separate tracks. Across shown ZIPs, HUD’s two-bedroom standards run from $1,180 to $1,700. At the low and high observed-index ends, the Zillow index is respectively 79% and 124% of the corresponding HUD FMR. These are bedroom-specific administrative benchmarks, so the ratios do not mean that available units at the Zillow index have a matching bedroom count or qualify under HUD rules. Separately, ACS five-year ZCTA median gross rent ranges from $1,046 to $1,400, against $1,201 for the county ACS measure. This survey estimate should not be averaged with Zillow into a single current market rent.

Burden is distributed across the shown rent range rather than limited to the high-index end. ACS rent-burden shares span 43.1% to 60.0%, with the county at 49.5%. In ZIP 68111, median household income of $42,185 is below the $52,200 annual income required under a 30% rent-to-income screen; ZIP 68106 has $69,806 versus $72,760 under the same screen. These comparisons use a current index alongside ACS income and are screening ratios, not household-level affordability findings. Estimated ACS vacancy runs from 2.7% to 15.2%, compared with 5.2% countywide. A higher survey vacancy can be a lead to inspect listings, but cannot establish real-time availability, concessions, unit condition, or a less burdensome rent.

Coverage and geography constrain the reading. The selected direct-evidence set covers 60,065 renter households but is expressly not an exhaustive county or subcounty inventory. ZIP display assignment follows the county holding the largest HUD residential-address share, although ZIPs may cross county lines. ACS figures describe Census ZCTAs, statistical areas that are not identical to USPS delivery ZIPs. Before acting on any comparison, verify the property address and county assignment, current advertised rent, bedroom count, utilities and fees, lease duration, income and credit rules, availability date, concessions, and whether the pertinent HUD program uses the applicable standard. Those property-level checks prevent an index, survey estimate, or administrative standard from being treated as a quote.