At $2,628, Zillow’s ZIP-level ZORI sets the current typical observed asking-rent index for 02150. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so it is an index rather than a lease-price observation for one specified unit. It rose 2.7% from the same month a year earlier. The five-digit label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match; a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. The matched Census ZCTA’s ACS five-year median gross rent is $1,956 for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. ZORI is 34.4% above that survey median, a cross-universe comparison rather than evidence that like-for-like rents changed by that amount.
At the 2026-06-01 endpoint, exact same-month annualized change was 2.7% over one year, 3.0% over three years, and 5.7% over five years. The recent series therefore continues the longer upward direction but at a slower pace: it confirms the direction while breaking from the longer-run rate of advance. History contains 110 observations and 100% coverage. Annualized variability of monthly returns is 3.7%, while the observed maximum drawdown is 9.5%. That high-variability profile means one current rent snapshot deserves less confidence as a stable market summary than it would in a steadier series, even though the index itself is directly observed. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 1,054 for momentum, 2,367 for stability, and 1,779 for balanced performance; lower ranks are higher. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
Bedroom reporting requires a separate construct. The local FY2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. Scaling the ZIP ZORI by that local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly ZIP estimates of $1,855 for a studio, $2,003 for one bedroom, $2,628 for two bedrooms, $3,285 for three bedrooms, and $3,480 for four bedrooms. The two-bedroom estimate is the base scaling rung. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents: they translate one blended ZIP index through a standard rather than observe asks by unit size. Their apparent precision should not be mistaken for a bedroom-level rent survey.
The clearest arithmetic tension is income. Applying the 30% required-income screen mechanically to the current monthly index produces $105,120 in annual income, compared with ZCTA median household income of $72,179. The annualized index amount is 43.7% of that median income. This screen is arithmetic, not affordability advice, an applicant qualification rule, or a household budget. ACS reports 5,864 renter households with rent burdens of at least 30% out of 10,148 renter households, a 57.8% share. That burden measure is a five-year survey result for occupied renter homes, not a statement about the current circumstances or payment capacity of any particular household or unit.
The matched ZCTA housing stock totals 14,165 units, including 13,716 occupied units and 449 vacant units, for a calculated 3.2% vacancy rate. The vacancy inventory includes 302 units classified as vacant for rent. Renter-occupied homes are the larger tenure category, and the stock includes both single-family and large-multifamily units. These figures describe aggregate housing stock and a survey-era vacancy classification, not the condition, price, turnover, bedroom count, or immediate availability of an individual rental. In particular, the vacant-for-rent count cannot prove that a specific listing is open, competitively priced, or comparable with the ZORI index.
As wider rental context, the Chelsea city-context rent is $2,627.71, the Suffolk County context rent is $3,423, and the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro-context rent is $3,210. The city-context reading is nearly equal to the direct ZIP index, while the county and metro context values are higher. City, county, and metro values are context only; they are not alternate ZIP observations and do not replace the direct 02150 ZORI, the matched ZCTA ACS survey, or the local HUD ladder. Their differing geographic scopes make them useful for framing relative levels, but not for revising the ZIP bedroom model or inferring the rent of a particular property.
The source limits remain material. Zillow ZORI summarizes current observed asking-rent conditions across rental types; ACS summarizes occupied renter homes over a five-year survey period and includes selected utilities; HUD supplies an administrative bedroom standard. None substitutes for listing-level terms. Before comparing a property with these aggregates, check its advertised monthly asking rent, bedroom count, which utilities are included, mandatory fees, concessions, availability date, lease term, and whether the quoted price applies to the actual unit. Neither aggregate vacancy nor aggregate rent burden proves anything about a specific home. The practical closing question is whether the listing’s documented terms make comparison with ZORI, ACS gross rent, or the HUD ladder appropriate at all.
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow’s current $2,628 ZORI is a blended typical observed asking-rent index, whereas the matched ACS median gross rent is $1,956 among occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The 34.4% difference is useful for recognizing source separation, but it is not a measured premium for the same unit, bedroom count, lease, or utility package.","title":"Current asking index exceeds the ACS survey median"},{"body":"At the latest history endpoint, exact same-month change is 2.7% over one year, versus annualized gains of 3.0% over three years and 5.7% over five years. The direction remains positive, but the pace has eased. Full coverage, 3.7% annualized monthly-return variability, and a 9.5% maximum drawdown limit confidence in a one-month snapshot.","title":"History remains positive but is not smooth"},{"body":"HUD does not measure advertised rents. Applying the local FY2026 HUD ladder to ZIP ZORI yields modelled estimates ranging from $1,855 for a studio to $3,480 for four bedrooms, with $2,628 for two bedrooms. They are a proportional translation of a blended index through an administrative standard, not observed bedroom-specific asking rents.","title":"Bedroom figures are HUD-scaled model outputs"},{"body":"The 30% required-income arithmetic reaches $105,120, above ZCTA median household income of $72,179, while the resulting 43.7% ratio is not an applicant test. ACS reports 5,864 burdened renter households out of 10,148. The aggregate inventory shows 302 units vacant for rent, but it cannot establish current availability, price, condition, or concessions for a listing.","title":"Income screen and aggregate rental stock show tension"}],"risks":["ZORI, ACS, and HUD figures are not interchangeable because they differ in universe, timing, rent definition, and bedroom treatment. Combining them as if they were three readings of one identical market price creates comparability risk.","The history is categorized as high variability, with a 9.5% maximum drawdown despite positive multi-year changes. Backward-looking momentum and rank results should not be treated as forecasts of next month’s rent or investment performance.","ACS survey estimates carry uncertainty: median gross rent’s 90% margin of error is $96 and household income’s is $7,994. That uncertainty compounds any comparison between the annualized index and a median-income screen.","A 3.2% aggregate vacancy rate and 302 units vacant for rent do not prove that a particular property is available, competitively priced, habitable, or suitable for a given lease start date."],"qa":[{"a":"Here, 02150 is simultaneously Zillow’s ZIP market identifier for ZORI and the label matched to the Census ZCTA. The ZCTA is a statistical area used for survey tabulation, not a USPS delivery ZIP, so it provides a matched statistical geography rather than a delivery-boundary guarantee.","q":"What does 02150 represent in this report?"},{"a":"ZORI is a current typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. ACS median gross rent comes from a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. Different timing, unit mix, occupancy status, and rent definitions mean the gap is contextual; it cannot identify the current asking rent for an equivalent unit.","q":"Why is Zillow ZORI above the ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"The bedroom figures scale the ZIP ZORI using the local HUD FMR/SAFMR bedroom ladder. HUD is an administrative bedroom-specific standard rather than an asking-rent source, so the resulting studio through four-bedroom values are modelled estimates. They should never be treated as measured rents observed separately for each bedroom count.","q":"How were the bedroom estimates formed?"},{"a":"History documents past ZIP ZORI behavior through its stated endpoint, while Chelsea city, Suffolk County, and metro values are broader context only. Aggregate vacancy describes stock, not a listing. A property comparison still requires its actual asking rent, bedroom count, utility treatment, fees, concessions, availability date, and lease terms.","q":"How can historical, geographic, and vacancy figures be used for a specific listing?"}],"sources":[{"key":"apartment_list_time_on_market","name":"Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidity","release":"Apartment List 2026-07","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/category/data-rent-estimates"},{"key":"apartment_list_vacancy","name":"Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancy","release":"Apartment List 2026-07","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/apartment-list-vacancy-index-methodology"},{"key":"census_zcta_facts","name":"Census ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and income","release":"ACS 2024 5-year ZCTA","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs5.html"},{"key":"hud_zip","name":"HUD USPS crosswalk and Small Area FMRs — ZIP rent 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