At the reported ZORI period, five-digit ZIP label 04101’s Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) is $2,389 per month. It is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, not a rent quoted for a specified property, a leasing concession, or a record of executed leases. For wider context, Portland city’s Zillow context rent is $2,429, Cumberland County’s Zillow context rent is $2,445, and the Portland-South Portland, ME metro’s Zillow context rent is $2,352. Those are city-, county-, and metro-scope context values, respectively, rather than replacements for ZIP evidence. The immediately useful tension is that this current ZIP asking-rent signal sits near surrounding ZORI context, while a separate renter-survey universe reports a much lower median for homes already occupied. That divergence makes the comparison of source definitions more important than a superficial ranking of the places.
Direct Zillow ZIP ZORI observations through June 2026 place the ZIP in the supplied stable-growth category. Exact same-month annualized change was 2.63% at 1 year, 3.80% at 3 years, and 5.60% at 5 years. The recent pace is positive but below each longer trailing rate: it continues the upward path rather than breaks it, while not confirming the faster growth embedded in the longer record. The series reports 100% coverage across the available historical window. Annualized monthly-return variability is 2.73%, and its maximum drawdown is 3.33%. These are backward-looking measurements rather than a forecast, causal account, or investment recommendation. The reported variation and drawdown support more confidence in a current index snapshot than a highly erratic series would, but they cannot settle the price or condition of a live listing.
Transparent nationwide discovery ranks are 909 for momentum, 1,118 for stability, and 687 for the balanced measure among history-eligible ZIPs; lower ranks are higher. They are a compact discovery device for the same historical record, not an estimate of future rent or investment return. For bedroom orientation, the local HUD ladder scales the ZIP ZORI into modelled monthly estimates—never measured bedroom rents—of $1,760 for a studio, $1,945 for one bedroom, $2,389 for two bedrooms, $3,199 for three bedrooms, and $3,682 for four bedrooms. The calculation preserves the local HUD relative bedroom steps around the ZIP’s all-rental-types index. It does not observe separate bedroom submarkets, identify individual building quality, or make a claim about any available unit.
That bedroom exercise should not be conflated with either ACS or HUD evidence. The matched Census ZCTA’s ACS 2024 5-year median gross rent is $1,566. This is a survey estimate for occupied renter homes, includes selected utilities, and carries reported survey uncertainty, rather than representing a contemporaneous asking-rent measure; the current ZORI is 52.6% higher. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, even though this five-digit label is both the Zillow ZIP market identifier and the Census ZCTA match. The FY2026 HUD two-bedroom FMR is $1,716 and is the ladder’s reference standard. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, using a ZIP SAFMR or county-derived ladder in this packet, not asking rent or a measured contract-rent series.
Affordability is most usefully framed as a mechanical screen, not as a conclusion about eligibility. Applying a 30% required-income screen to the current monthly ZORI yields $95,560 in annual income, compared with the matched ACS ZCTA median household income of $63,880. That screen is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant-qualification rule; it does not test an individual household’s actual income, utility bill, or lease terms. In the ACS renter-household universe, 50.0% are recorded as paying gross rent at or above 30% of income. This population-level burden statistic does not prove what a particular unit costs, which utilities it includes, what a specific household earns, or what rent share an individual tenant will actually face.
Housing stock reinforces that the renter universe is central here, but it does not map directly to listings. The ACS ZCTA counts 11,818 housing units, with renter occupancy at 77.3%. Its overall vacancy rate is 10.2%, yet the vacant inventory includes 181 units identified as for rent and 719 seasonal units. The structure record separately identifies 3,708 units in large multifamily buildings alongside a smaller single-family component. These classifications describe housing and vacancy categories in the survey, not advertised inventory or turnover at a specified building. Neither the total vacancy rate nor the seasonal count establishes availability, condition, price movement, or landlord terms for a particular home; nor does the renter-heavy occupancy mix identify the type of a current listing.
Every series here has a different unit of observation and timing: ZORI is a ZIP-level index as of the stated month; ACS is a retrospective survey of occupied renter homes; HUD is an administrative standard; and city, county, and metro figures serve only as broad context. The modelled ladder therefore cannot replace a listing-level comparison. Concrete property-level checks are the advertised asking rent, confirmed bedroom count, which selected or other utilities are included, whether the unit is actually available, the lease term, concessions, and the date the price was observed. The useful final question is not whether one aggregate number wins, but whether the specific property’s documented terms fit the source universe being used for comparison.
","findings":[{"body":"At $2,389 in June 2026, ZIP-level ZORI is lower than Portland city’s $2,429 and Cumberland County’s $2,445 context rents, while above the Portland-South Portland metro’s $2,352. These are comparisons across Zillow context values, not across ACS or HUD measures. The ZIP’s immediate positioning is therefore close to the wider ZORI geography, despite a distinct survey-rent profile.","title":"Asking-rent signal trails city and county context"},{"body":"Same-month annualized ZORI gains step down from 5.60% over five years to 3.80% over three years and 2.63% over one year. A 2.73% annualized monthly-return variability and 3.33% maximum drawdown describe a comparatively contained historical path. This is backward-looking history, so the slowing comparison neither predicts next year’s rent nor substantiates an investment outcome.","title":"Growth persists but has cooled relative to longer history"},{"body":"ACS reports a $1,566 median gross rent for occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA, whereas the ZIP ZORI is $2,389. ACS includes selected utilities and is a five-year survey; ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index. The $1,716 HUD two-bedroom FMR is a separate administrative standard. None is interchangeable with a listing’s quoted rent.","title":"Survey rent, HUD standard and asking-rent index differ"},{"body":"Although the ACS ZCTA vacancy rate is 10.2%, only 181 units are classified as vacant for rent and 719 as seasonal. Meanwhile, 50.0% of renter households are burdened at or above 30% of income. These are aggregate survey results. They cannot establish whether a named unit is available, includes utilities, or produces a particular household’s rent burden.","title":"Vacancy and burden require a property-level bridge"}],"risks":["ZORI reflects a blended ZIP asking-rent index, whereas ACS covers occupied renter homes and selected utilities; their difference should not be interpreted as a listing-level markup.","Bedroom values are modelled by scaling ZORI with the local HUD ladder. They are not observed studio through four-bedroom rents and may not match a property’s configuration.","ACS figures are matched-ZCTA five-year survey estimates with sampling uncertainty, and the ZCTA is statistical geography rather than an identical USPS delivery ZIP; boundaries and occupancy status therefore limit direct listing comparisons.","Total vacancy, seasonal vacancy, and rent burden are aggregate classifications. They cannot demonstrate a unit’s availability, asking price, included utilities, applicant eligibility, or landlord terms."],"qa":[{"a":"The figures observe different universes. The June 2026 Zillow ZORI is a typical ZIP-level asking-rent index blended across rental types. ACS 2024 5-year median gross rent summarizes occupied renter homes, includes selected utilities, and has survey uncertainty. The matched ZCTA is statistical geography, not precisely the same thing as a USPS delivery ZIP.","q":"Why is the Zillow figure higher than the ACS rent figure?"},{"a":"No. They are modelled monthly estimates formed by scaling the all-rental-types ZIP ZORI with relative values in the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. The method offers consistent orientation across sizes but does not measure rents actually advertised or signed for any bedroom type.","q":"Are the bedroom values observed rents?"},{"a":"Stable growth labels the historical ZORI path through its endpoint, not a forward view. The 1-year same-month gain of 2.63% is below the 3-year 3.80% and 5-year 5.60% rates. Alongside 2.73% annualized variability and a 3.33% maximum drawdown, it describes history with contained movement, not a rent forecast.","q":"What does stable growth say about the rent path?"},{"a":"Check the advertised asking rent and observation date, exact bedroom count, utility treatment, actual availability, lease length, and any concessions. Then compare those documented property terms only with the relevant series: ZORI for ZIP asking-rent context, ACS for occupied-home survey context, and HUD for an administrative bedroom standard. Aggregate vacancy and burden do not answer those listing-specific questions.","q":"Which property details are needed before comparing a 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 fallback","release":"ZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR 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