Summit County, OH

Across the selected direct-evidence ZIP/ZCTA matches in Summit County, Zillow’s current ZORI, a typical observed asking-rent index, runs from $936 to $1,712, with a $1,186 median and a $776 spread. That range brackets the county’s $1,260 ZORI, rather than indicating one countywide asking price. The immediate decision question is therefore not simply where rent is lowest: it is whether the current asking-rent band for a particular available unit fits the household budget, bedroom need, lease terms, and its own market alternatives. The selected matches represent 51,282 renter households in the supplied selection.

Zillow, ACS and HUD answer different questions and should not be blended. Zillow’s ZIP ZORI describes observed asking rents, whereas ACS five-year ZCTA median gross rent is a survey estimate and ranges from $824 to $1,183 in this selection. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is an administrative standard, not an asking-rent measure, and ranges from $1,070 to $1,500. The asking-index-to-HUD comparison spans 79.3% to 118.3%: 44306’s $936 ZORI is below its $1,180 two-bedroom standard, while 44203’s $1,337 index exceeds its $1,130 standard. The contrast may help structure a unit-specific search or program screening, but it cannot establish that a listing has two bedrooms, matches HUD assumptions, or is affordable.

Budget pressure and vacancy are separate, not opposing, signals. The ACS share of renter households spending 30% or more of income on rent ranges from 32.5% to 64.2%, while ACS vacancy ranges from 4.1% to 19.1%. At the higher-burden end, 44320 combines a 64.2% burden share with 11.2% vacancy; 44319 posts 32.5% burden and 4.1% vacancy. More vacancy can widen the set of units to check, but neither it nor ZIP-level burden demonstrates availability, affordability, or comparable unit quality. For a household screening an advertised unit, these indicators should be read alongside the actual all-in monthly cost and its own income, not as a guarantee about a particular lease.

The geographic and coverage frame limits any ZIP-level conclusion. Census ZCTAs are statistical areas rather than USPS delivery ZIPs, and ZIPs can cross county lines. The packet assigns each displayed ZIP to Summit County based on the largest HUD residential-address share, rather than asserting every address lies in the county. Its direct-evidence set is selected, not an exhaustive county or neighborhood inventory, so absent places cannot be ranked or treated as having no rental activity. Before choosing a property, verify the advertised asking rent and whether utilities are included, bedroom count, lease duration, availability date, application and other fees, deposit, income qualification, program eligibility, and the exact delivery address.