Knox County, TN

Across the 12 selected direct-evidence ZIP/ZCTA matches assigned to Knox County, Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI—the typical observed asking-rent index—runs from $1,228 in 37912 to $2,062 in 37932. The selected-set median is $1,685.50, producing an $834 spread; the county-level ZORI is $1,768. This is a materially dispersed search market rather than a single price point. The decision question is therefore not which label is “best,” but whether a household’s actual bedroom need, monthly budget, and lease terms can be matched to current listings around the relevant part of this range. Index movement and ZIP-level figures should guide initial comparison, not substitute for a unit quote.

Keep the three rent measures in separate roles. The ACS 2024 five-year survey reports median gross rent from $1,108 to $1,805 among these ZCTAs; it is survey evidence, not Zillow’s June asking-rent index. FY 2026 HUD Fair Market Rent is a two-bedroom administrative standard, with values from $1,330 to $2,090, rather than an asking-rent observation. The ratio is useful only as a side-by-side screen: ZORI is 142% of HUD’s two-bedroom standard in 37920 but 85% in 37922. Those contrasts identify where the two systems diverge; they do not convert one measure into another or state what a particular home will rent for.

ACS burden and vacancy estimates describe another set of trade-offs, not live listing conditions. The share of renter households spending at least 30% of income on rent ranges from 34.5% to 56.2% across the shown ZCTAs. Their vacancy estimates span 4.5% to 12.1%, while renter shares run from 15.5% to 52.9%. A lower vacancy estimate signals less estimated vacant stock in the ACS data, but it cannot confirm that an appropriately sized unit is available today. Likewise, a larger burden share indicates more renters above the stated threshold, not that any applicant will be burdened at the same rate. Read the measures together as historical context: affordability pressure, tenure mix, and vacancy are distinct dimensions, and the reported ranges do not establish why they differ.

Coverage and geography constrain how far these comparisons travel. The display includes 12 of 15 eligible direct-ZORI matches and covers 56,764 renter households under the selection rule, so it is not a complete county or property inventory. ACS geography here is ZCTA, which is statistical geography rather than USPS delivery ZIP geography. Separately, the HUD–USPS crosswalk assigns each display ZIP to its largest county residential-address share; those shares range from 97.1% to 100%. Before acting, verify the live asking rent, bedroom count, utility and recurring fees, concessions, deposit, lease length, income screening, availability date, and the property’s actual address. Match those itemized terms to the household’s own income and expected move timing rather than treating an index, a survey estimate, or an administrative standard as a quoted lease.