FIPS 25017 · population 1,638,365 · part of Boston, MA
The latest county-level Zillow ZORI is $3,260 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 | Middlesex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 1 bedroom | $2,476 | Middlesex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,941 | Middlesex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 3 bedrooms | $3,526 | Middlesex County, MA | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 4 bedrooms | $3,894 | Middlesex 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 25017. 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.
Middlesex County presents high entry value against modest pre-cost income: its $833,018 median home value and $3,260 monthly median asking rent produce the supplied 4.70% gross yield. Cash-flow-focused investors should investigate expenses and unit economics; appreciation-focused buyers should be cautious because rent leaves limited room for unmeasured costs. This is county evidence, not a property valuation or Boston-metro proxy.
Zillow’s county observation provides value and published asking-rent measures. HUD’s $2,941 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not a market-rent estimate, and must not replace asking rent in yield work. The 1.03% effective tax rate and $7,501 median tax make carrying costs a central diligence item, although insurance, maintenance, association-fee, and financing data are not published. FHFA’s distinct 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 3.56%. It supports positive price direction but is not a dollar home value and cannot be merged with Zillow into a single appreciation rate.
Realtor.com’s MLS snapshot shows 2,465 active listings, 15.08% more than a year earlier, while 14.84% of listings had price reductions. That combination signals more visible supply and concessions, but listings are asking-market evidence rather than closed-sale prices or standalone proof of buyer demand. Annual QCEW reports fewer covered jobs at county workplaces but higher covered-worker wages; it is neither resident employment nor a forecast. Tax-return migration records a net loss of 4,549 households, and departing movers reported higher average income than arrivals. Investor buyers accounted for 1,385 of 13,250 purchases, or 10.45%, a meaningful competitive segment but not evidence that investors set all prices.
Risk is concentrated in what county averages cannot resolve. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled climate loss equals 0.09% of building value per year; it is a modeled ratio, not a property-specific damage estimate. The central gaps are flood-zone and insurance quotes, building condition and operating statements, unit-level rents and vacancy, debt terms, and closed-sale comparables. Without them, an underwriter cannot determine net yield, debt coverage, replacement exposure, or whether MLS concessions translate into achieved prices. Verify property tax assessment and appeal status as well.
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.
The selected direct-evidence set shows a broad current asking-rent band rather than a single local level. Zillow's 2026-06 ZORI, a typical observed asking-rent index, ranges from $2,272 to $3,818 per month—a $1,546 spread—across the displayed matches. ZIP 01852 anchors the low endpoint and ZIP 02139 the high endpoint; county-level Zillow ZORI is $3,260. The practical question is therefore which observed asking-rent tier can be verified for a specific available unit, bedroom configuration, and lease, rather than whether a ZIP figure prices every property. The displayed ZIP/ZCTA matches account for 113,683 renter households, furnishing meaningful direct evidence while not defining a complete county inventory.
These measures should be compared as separate evidence, not merged into one rent statistic. The ACS 2024 five-year ZCTA median gross-rent estimates span $1,581 to $2,772 in the displayed set; they are survey estimates and median gross rent differs conceptually from an asking-rent index. HUD's FY2026 two-bedroom FMR is $2,311 for every displayed match. That is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not an observed asking rent. As a benchmark only, the Zillow index stands at 98.3% to 165.2% of that standard at the low and high observed endpoints. The range is useful for separating a unit-market search from program or screening thresholds, but it does not make the measures interchangeable.
ACS affordability and vacancy indicators introduce a different trade-off, but neither establishes cause or predicts availability. The share of renter households spending at least 30% of income on gross rent ranges from 35.3% to 57.5%. The highest-burden observation has a $2,668 Zillow index and a 3.4% vacancy rate, whereas the lowest-burden observation has $3,490 and 5.9% vacancy. Across all shown matches, survey vacancy reaches 11.7% at the high-vacancy observation, yet its $3,336 ZORI and 48.2% burden share caution against treating vacancy as a simple price signal. Using that same share as a gross-income screen, the selected asking-rent indices imply annual incomes from $90,880 to $152,720, a screening calculation rather than a finding about any particular household.
Geographic and coverage constraints are material. Census reports the ACS values for ZCTAs, which are statistical areas rather than USPS delivery ZIPs. A displayed ZIP was assigned to Middlesex County when it had the largest HUD residential-address share, but ZIPs can cross county lines. The direct-evidence selection is explicitly not exhaustive, so it should not be read as a countywide inventory. For any property decision, verify the street address and county assignment, current asking rent, bedroom count, utilities included, availability, and lease terms; then use the relevant HUD bedroom-specific standard only for its administrative purpose.
52 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02148 → | $2,803 | $2,204 | $2,311 | 48.6% | 6.6% | $112k | 99.5% |
| 02155 | $3,380 | $2,513 | $2,311 | 38.6% | 4.9% | $135k | 100.0% |
| 02149 | $2,818 | $2,076 | $2,311 | 52.4% | 7.2% | $113k | 96.6% |
| 02139 | $3,818 | $2,691 | $2,311 | 42.5% | 6.0% | $153k | 100.0% |
| 01702 | $2,334 | $2,019 | $2,311 | 52.3% | 5.1% | $93k | 100.0% |
| 02472 | $3,121 | $2,498 | $2,311 | 41.2% | 4.8% | $125k | 100.0% |
| 02143 | $3,490 | $2,475 | $2,311 | 35.3% | 5.9% | $140k | 100.0% |
| 01852 | $2,272 | $1,581 | $2,311 | 48.8% | 3.6% | $91k | 100.0% |
| 02138 | $3,336 | $2,772 | $2,311 | 48.2% | 11.7% | $133k | 100.0% |
| 02145 | $3,489 | $2,398 | $2,311 | 36.2% | 4.8% | $140k | 100.0% |
| 01752 | $2,668 | $1,871 | $2,311 | 57.5% | 3.4% | $107k | 100.0% |
| 01801 | $2,783 | $2,221 | $2,311 | 52.5% | 3.6% | $111k | 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 02144 rental reportMiddlesex County | Somerville, MA | $3,844 | ▲ 6.1% | 34.8% | 25,448 |
| ZIP 02139 rental reportMiddlesex County | Cambridge, MA | $3,818 | ▲ 4.3% | 42.5% | 40,033 |
| ZIP 02141 rental reportMiddlesex County | Cambridge, MA | $3,676 | ▲ 1.5% | 39.7% | 14,517 |
| ZIP 02143 rental reportMiddlesex County | Somerville, MA | $3,490 | ▲ 3.5% | 35.3% | 25,513 |
| ZIP 02145 rental reportMiddlesex County | Somerville, MA | $3,489 | ▲ 5.1% | 36.2% | 27,495 |
| ZIP 02140 rental reportMiddlesex County | Cambridge, MA | $3,485 | ▲ 3.4% | 39.4% | 21,204 |
| ZIP 02138 rental reportMiddlesex County | Cambridge, MA | $3,336 | ▲ 3.5% | 48.2% | 38,509 |
| ZIP 02148 rental reportMiddlesex County | Malden, MA | $2,803 | ▼ 0.4% | 48.6% | 65,906 |
| ZIP 01752 rental reportMiddlesex County | Marlborough, MA | $2,668 | ▼ 0.3% | 57.5% | 41,647 |
| ZIP 01702 rental reportMiddlesex County | Framingham, MA | $2,334 | ▼ 4.5% | 52.3% | 39,789 |
| ZIP 01852 rental reportMiddlesex County | Lowell, MA | $2,272 | ▲ 2.5% | 48.8% | 37,144 |
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.
0.094% of building value expected lost per year
$7,501 median annual bill
46,508 in · 51,057 out
$106,409 arriving · $125,881 leaving
1,385 of 13,250 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex County | 1,638,365 | $833k | $3,260 | 4.7% | inland flooding |
| Essex County | 813,054 | $737k | $2,632 | 4.3% | 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 $2,941 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard; the published market measure is the $3,260 monthly median asking rent.
It measures covered employment at workplaces in the county. It shows fewer covered jobs and higher covered-worker wages, not resident employment or a forecast.
Investor buyers made 1,385 of 13,250 purchases, representing 10.45% of total purchases.