Multnomah County, OR

Across the 12 selected ZIP/ZCTA matches assigned to Multnomah County, Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI—its typical observed asking-rent index—runs from $1,523 in 97230 to $1,880 in 97206, a $357 span around the selected-set median of $1,671. The county ZORI is $1,688. This distribution makes the practical search question less about a single countywide rent and more about whether a household can find a currently marketed unit at its required price and size within the lower, middle, or upper portion of the observed ZIP-index range. The index gives a rent-market benchmark, not a quote for any one available home; unit type, lease terms, utilities, concessions, and timing still require direct verification.

ACS 2024 five-year ZCTA estimates answer a different question: median gross rent paid by occupied renter households. They run from $1,400 in 97233 to $1,829 in 97217 in this set and should not be substituted for the current Zillow index. HUD’s FY 2026 two-bedroom FMR is $1,922 throughout the shown records, an administrative program standard rather than an asking-rent observation. The ratio of Zillow ZORI to that HUD benchmark is 79.2% to 97.8%, useful only as a standardized two-bedroom reference. It neither converts ZORI into a bedroom-specific rent nor establishes a unit’s eligibility, affordability, or market price. Compare like with like: live asking-rent conditions with Zillow ZORI, past household payments with ACS, and program screening standards with HUD.

Affordability indicators point to a trade-off that must be read without assigning cause. The ACS share of renter households paying 30% or more of income for gross rent ranges from 43.2% in 97209 to 60.8% in 97233. That shows substantial burden even where the rent index is lower, so a lower asking-rent benchmark alone does not establish household affordability. ACS vacancy ranges from 3.7% in 97203 to 11.8% in 97201. Vacancy describes surveyed housing stock, not a real-time count of available rentals, and it cannot by itself tell a renter whether suitable units, a preferred bedroom count, or acceptable lease terms are available. Search strategy should therefore pair a price ceiling with live availability and income documentation rather than treat any ZIP-level average as a household outcome.

Coverage and geography narrow what these comparisons can support. The selected set has 12 of 28 eligible direct-ZORI ZIP/ZCTA matches, covering 93,754 renter households, so it is a selected evidence set rather than a complete county inventory. Within this Multnomah County display, USPS delivery ZIP labels and Census ZCTAs do not align one-for-one; the survey measures are mapped to ZCTAs while the labels used for rent data follow ZIP conventions. ZIPs that extend beyond county borders were displayed under the county holding the largest HUD residential-address share; the smallest such share here is 95.8%. Before acting, confirm the precise address, bedroom count, advertised rent, fees and utilities, lease length, income rules, availability date, and any program requirements with the property or administrator. These checks matter especially when translating an area-level index or FMR standard to a specific unit.