FIPS 25009 · population 813,054 · part of Boston, MA
The latest county-level Zillow ZORI is $2,632 per month in 2026-06. It is a typical asking-rent index across rental types—not an arithmetic average, signed lease or quote for one property.
| Bedrooms | HUD monthly FMR | Geography | Measurement boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $2,359 | Essex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 1 bedroom | $2,476 | Essex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,941 | Essex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 3 bedrooms | $3,526 | Essex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 4 bedrooms | $3,894 | Essex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
Zillow asking rent, ACS gross rent and HUD FMR describe different housing universes. They remain separate and no metro, city or neighboring-county value replaces missing county evidence.Zillow pulled 2026-07-26 · HUD pulled 2026-07-26
Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.
Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.
Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.
Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2021-2025; latest 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-08-02. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.
BEA per-capita personal income divides all personal income by the county population. It is broader than wages, but it is not household income or a measure of what renters can afford.
HUD CHAS separates renter households by income relative to local HAMFI. Moderate burden means housing costs above 30% through 50% of income; severe burden means more than 50%.
These Apartment List observations match the exact county Census code 25009. They are kept separate from Zillow asking rent, Census occupied-home rent and wider metro measures.
Monthly overall-rent index; missing observations are not filled from another geography.
Essex County’s decision tension is a high entry basis against a modest gross income return: Zillow’s 2026-06 median home value was $736,528, versus median asking rent of $2,632 per month and a published 4.29% gross yield before operating costs. Income-focused investors should investigate expense and financing coverage; buyers relying on appreciation should be cautious because this county-level evidence does not establish net cash flow. It is a screening frame, not submarket underwriting.
Zillow’s 2026-06 home-value measure rose 1.72% year over year. That direction is corroborated, but not on a common interval, by FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI, up 4.84% annually; the index is not a home value and should not be averaged with Zillow’s change. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not asking rent, so it cannot replace the measured market rent or generate another yield. The 1.04% effective property-tax rate further reduces the relevance of gross yield; insurance, maintenance, debt and vacancy costs are not published.
Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS listing market looks less tight, not necessarily weaker in closed sales: median listing price was down 2.71% year over year, active listings were up 20.41%, and 14.93% had price cuts. These are asking-price, visible-supply and seller-concession indicators, rather than sale prices or standalone proof of buyer demand. Tax-return migration showed a net outflow of 1,820 households, although incoming movers’ average AGI exceeded outgoing movers’ by $4,723. Investor purchase mortgages were 586 of 6,710 total purchase mortgages, an 8.73% share; most purchases remained outside the investor category.
The dominant inland-flood hazard pairs with modeled annual climate loss of 0.12% of building value; this is a modeled loss ratio, not a property-specific loss estimate. QCEW records annual-average covered employment at county workplaces in 2025, with education and health services the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. QCEW is neither resident employment nor a demand forecast. Next checks are parcel flood exposure and insurance, submarket rent and operating statements, debt terms, and closed-sale comparables. Missing vacancy, expense, insurance and closed-sale data prevent net-yield, debt-coverage and exit-price conclusions.
This view uses 12 direct Zillow ZIP markets matched to Census ZCTAs. Each ZIP is assigned by its largest HUD residential county share; this is not an exhaustive county inventory.
Zillow’s June 2026 typical observed asking-rent index across the 12 selected direct-evidence ZIP/ZCTA matches runs from $2,229 in 01832 to $2,846 in 01845, a $617 spread and a $2,526.50 median. Essex County’s Zillow index is $2,632 after 1.7% year-over-year growth. That county reading supplies broad context, not a substitute for a ZIP-specific index. The practical question is therefore not simply which selected area posts the lowest index, but whether the current asking-rent range for a suitable available unit fits the household’s budget, bedroom need, lease terms, and search timing. Zillow is an index of typical observed asking rents, rather than a quote for any one unit.
Zillow, ACS, and HUD answer different questions and should stay separate. ACS 2024 five-year survey estimates put selected-ZCTA median gross rent from $1,411 in 01930 to $2,223 in 01845, with $1,756 for the county. These gross-rent figures describe surveyed occupied units over the ACS period; they are neither June asking-rent indexes nor a measure of today’s advertised supply. Within the displayed ZIP rows, the FY2026 two-bedroom HUD standard is $2,311, while the county two-bedroom FMR is $2,941. Set beside the Zillow index, 01832 is about 3.5% below its ZIP HUD standard and 01845 about 23.2% above it. This is a side-by-side benchmark screen, not a bedroom-matched market-rent estimate, lease quote, or statement of likely contract rent.
ACS also provides distinct household-condition indicators for affordability and availability screening. Selected renter burden shares range from 45.4% to 64.5%, against 56.9% countywide, while ACS vacancy rates span 1.45% to 9.57%, against 5.04% for the county. The high-burden 01830 reading also carries a 6.80% vacancy estimate. This combination argues against using vacancy as a shortcut for affordability: burden and vacancy should be considered together as separate survey signals, not as cause and effect. A lower vacancy share is not proof that a particular unit cannot be found, and a higher share does not establish concessions, current availability, or a lower household rent burden.
Finally, this is a selected direct-evidence screen rather than an exhaustive county inventory. ZCTAs are statistical areas, not USPS delivery ZIPs, and ZIPs can cross county lines. The display assigns each ZIP to Essex County when it has the largest HUD residential-address share; that crosswalk rule does not mean every address in the ZIP is county-only. Before acting on a property, verify its exact address and county assignment, live asking rent, bedroom count, lease term, utilities and fees, current availability, and any relevant HUD-program or income-eligibility requirements. These property-level checks determine whether a listing actually fits the decision at hand.
22 ZIP profiles passed the county gate; the 12 with the most renter households are shown.
| ZIP / ZCTA | Zillow asking rent | ACS gross rent | HUD 2BR | Burden 30%+ | Vacancy | Income screen | HUD county share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01902 | $2,334 | $1,673 | $2,311 | 54.7% | 2.7% | $93k | 100.0% |
| 01970 | $2,742 | $1,836 | $2,311 | 52.1% | 5.7% | $110k | 100.0% |
| 01960 | $2,812 | $1,950 | $2,311 | 54.8% | 2.7% | $112k | 100.0% |
| 01843 | $2,399 | $1,746 | $2,311 | 52.1% | 2.2% | $96k | 100.0% |
| 01915 | $2,773 | $1,770 | $2,311 | 51.5% | 3.8% | $111k | 100.0% |
| 01844 | $2,507 | $1,749 | $2,311 | 45.4% | 2.6% | $100k | 100.0% |
| 01930 | $2,546 | $1,411 | $2,311 | 52.4% | 9.6% | $102k | 100.0% |
| 01830 | $2,274 | $1,644 | $2,311 | 64.5% | 6.8% | $91k | 100.0% |
| 01905 | $2,636 | $1,869 | $2,311 | 56.3% | 6.0% | $105k | 100.0% |
| 01832 | $2,229 | $1,648 | $2,311 | 52.7% | 3.4% | $89k | 100.0% |
| 01840 | $2,360 | $1,413 | $2,311 | 56.4% | 1.4% | $94k | 100.0% |
| 01845 | $2,846 | $2,223 | $2,311 | 50.3% | 4.7% | $114k | 100.0% |
Open a five-digit report for asking rent, affordability, rent history and resale liquidity. Each row keeps its ZIP/ZCTA measurement scope.
| ZIP report | City label | Zillow rent | 1Y change | ACS burden 30%+ | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZIP 01915 rental reportEssex County | Beverly, MA | $2,773 | ▲ 4.3% | 51.5% | 41,994 |
| ZIP 01970 rental reportEssex County | Salem, MA | $2,742 | ▲ 1.4% | 52.1% | 44,738 |
Zillow ZORI is an asking-rent index. ACS burden and population describe the Census ZCTA; missing observations remain n/a.
Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.
Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.
0.117% of building value expected lost per year
$6,430 median annual bill
16,132 in · 17,952 out
$105,193 arriving · $100,470 leaving
586 of 6,710 mortgages
Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.
A metro is an average of these. Which side of a county line a property sits on can change the tax bill, the hazard profile and the tenant pool.
| County | Population | Price | Rent | Yield | Hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County | 813,054 | $737k | $2,632 | 4.3% | inland flooding |
| Middlesex County | 1,638,365 | $833k | $3,260 | 4.7% | inland flooding |
| Suffolk County | 785,121 | $763k | $3,423 | 5.4% | inland flooding |
| Norfolk County | 730,082 | $786k | $2,970 | 4.5% | inland flooding |
| Plymouth County | 535,075 | $662k | $2,754 | 5.0% | inland flooding |
| Rockingham County | 319,082 | $637k | $2,563 | 4.8% | inland flooding |
| Strafford County | 132,575 | $519k | $2,164 | 5.0% | inland flooding |
No. The record identifies FMR as a payment standard, while the county rent measure is median asking rent.
It represents annual-average covered jobs at workplaces in the county, not resident employment or a demand forecast.
Vacancy, operating expenses, insurance costs, debt terms and property-level conditions are not published.