Kent County, RI

For a household choosing among the selected direct-evidence ZIP/ZCTA matches in Kent County, the immediately relevant asking-rent question is how much budget flexibility is needed across the current observed range. Zillow ZORI, a typical observed asking-rent index, ran from $1,901 in 02893 to $2,742 in 02818 in June 2026: an $841 spread, with a $2,150 median across the selected matches. The county Zillow ZORI was $2,289, so it is a countywide benchmark rather than a substitute for those local observations. The practical choice is not simply low versus high rent: households should test whether a specific available unit's monthly charge, bedroom count, and lease terms fit their own income and desired location within this spread.

The three rent series answer different questions and should not be blended. In the 2024 ACS five-year survey, ZCTA median gross rent ranged from $1,203 to $1,431, while the county ACS figure was $1,327; these are survey estimates of reported gross rent, not current Zillow asking-rent observations. Separately, the FY2026 HUD two-bedroom administrative standard is $1,729 in every shown match. Relative to that bedroom-specific standard, the Zillow index runs from 110% to 159%. This comparison identifies the scale of the difference between a typical asking-rent index and the HUD standard; it does not convert either series into the other or establish what a particular unit will lease for.

ACS measures also frame affordability and vacancy conditions as separate decision inputs. The share of renter households with gross-rent burden of at least 30% ranged from 41.4% in 02818 to 51.7% in 02886, versus 49.5% countywide. The corresponding ACS vacancy estimates span from 3.6% at that high-burden endpoint to 6.2% in 02816; the county rate is 4.8%. The pairing of higher burden and lower vacancy at one displayed endpoint is descriptive, not evidence that either caused the other, and vacancy is not a count of units now available. A renter comparing listings should weigh the actual all-in payment against income while separately confirming availability, utilities, fees, and occupancy timing.

Coverage and geography constrain the reading. The selected set contains every eligible direct-ZORI ZIP/ZCTA match under the stated rule and covers 17,585 renter households, but it is not an exhaustive county inventory. ZIPs may cross county lines; ZIP-linked labels are mapped to the county through the largest HUD residential-address share, and Census ZCTAs are statistical areas rather than USPS delivery ZIPs. Before acting, verify the property's exact address and county, current asking rent and bedroom configuration, utility and parking charges, deposits and fees, lease length, income or program eligibility, availability date, and the condition disclosed for that exact unit.