For ZIP 07087, the decision question is whether a market-wide current asking-rent benchmark is suitable for evaluating a specific advertised home, or whether the property calls for a different comparison. In June 2026, Zillow’s ZIP-level ZORI is $2,419 per month, a 2.03% increase from one year earlier. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than the quote for a particular layout, address, or lease. 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. That distinction makes the index useful as a ZIP market frame, while leaving the actual unit’s terms to property-level verification.
ACS answers a different question from Zillow. In the 2024 five-year ACS for the matched ZCTA, median gross rent is $1,537, with a ±$48 90% margin of error, among occupied renter homes; gross rent includes selected utilities. The June Zillow index stands 57.4% above that survey median. That comparison does not measure appreciation in the same homes or a premium for any unit, because it sets a current asking-rent index beside a multiyear occupied-home statistic. HUD’s FY2026 two-bedroom FMR is $2,616. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent; the $2,419 ZORI is 7.5% below that standard. Each source should remain in its own evidence universe.
At the ZCTA housing-stock level, 27,408 housing units are counted, including 1,683 vacant units, for a 6.1% vacancy rate. Of the vacant stock, 691 units are classified for rent; remaining vacant units include for-sale, seasonal, and other statuses. Specified structural categories report 2,066 single-family units and 6,505 units in large multifamily structures. These counts characterize the survey’s stock and vacancy composition rather than a live inventory. They do not establish that a particular vacant unit is currently marketed, what it will rent for, whether it matches a desired layout, or whether it is available when needed. Occupied and vacant classifications are therefore context for the ZIP, not proof about a property.
Bedroom comparisons require an explicit model rather than a readout of observed bedroom rents. The local HUD FY2026 ladder is $1,898 for a studio, $2,202 for one bedroom, $2,616 for two bedrooms, $3,205 for three bedrooms, and $3,693 for four bedrooms. Scaling ZIP ZORI by that local HUD ladder produces modelled estimates of $1,755, $2,035, $2,419, $2,963, and $3,414, respectively. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents: the two-bedroom value equals the ZIP index by construction, while the other values inherit HUD’s relative spacing. They do not establish an actual advertised rent, utility treatment, size, or availability for any bedroom count. The ladder is useful for a consistent comparison framework only.
Household income and burden provide a separate affordability screen. The matched ZCTA’s ACS median household income is $64,310. Applying a 30% required-income screen to the $2,419 monthly ZORI produces $96,760 in annual income; annualized ZORI equals 45.1% of that median income. This screen is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. Renters occupy 20,818 homes, representing 80.9% of occupied homes. In the ACS occupied-renter universe, 10,704 renter homes, or 51.4%, have gross-rent burdens at or above the screen threshold. That observed burden cannot prove what any current listing costs or how a particular household will experience its own payment obligations.
For wider rent context only, Union City city context has a rent benchmark of about $2,421, Hudson County county context has $3,072, and the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metro context has $3,573. The ZIP index is nearly the same as the city-context figure but lower than both county- and metro-context figures. These are comparisons across named geographies, not substitutes for the ZIP result or a property quote. The city, county, and metro observations are wider context aggregates rather than ZIP/ZCTA measures. Their role is to locate the current ZIP index within wider context, without transferring city, county, or metro averages to a specific building or asserting why levels differ.
This report cannot reconcile the differing timing, population, and construction of the three rent measures, and the survey values carry sampling uncertainty. The ZIP and ZCTA labels also do not guarantee an identical postal delivery boundary. Before relying on any comparison, property-level checks should confirm the exact advertised monthly rent, bedroom count, lease term, availability date, landlord-paid versus tenant-paid utilities, recurring charges, one-time charges, concessions and their duration, and any occupancy or eligibility conditions. Confirm whether the unit is actually being offered and whether its address falls within the intended geography. Those checks preserve the distinction between a blended asking-rent index, an occupied-home survey measure, an administrative standard, and the facts of a particular lease.
","findings":[{"body":"The June 2026 ZIP ZORI is $2,419 and rose 2.03% year over year. It is a blended, typical observed asking-rent index across rental types. It frames current market asking conditions, but it cannot identify the rent, condition, availability, utilities, or bedroom configuration of any individual unit.","title":"Current asking-rent frame"},{"body":"The ACS matched ZCTA median gross rent is $1,537 for 2024 five-year occupied renter homes, while FY2026 HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $2,616. The first includes selected utilities and survey timing; the second is an administrative standard. Neither should be relabeled as a current asking rent or directly merged with Zillow’s index.","title":"Three rent measures remain separate"},{"body":"The local HUD ladder scales the ZIP index to modelled estimates from $1,755 for a studio to $3,414 for a four-bedroom; the modelled two-bedroom figure is $2,419. These are calculated allocations of the blended ZIP index using HUD ratios, not measured bedroom rents, lease quotes, or evidence of unit-level availability.","title":"Bedroom figures are modelled"},{"body":"ACS reports a renter-majority occupancy base: 20,818 renter-occupied homes represent 80.9% of occupied homes. It also estimates that 10,704 renter homes, or 51.4%, have gross-rent burdens at or above the threshold. This is an observed population-level burden measure, not evidence that a particular available unit will impose the same burden.","title":"Income and burden are population measures"}],"risks":["Because the ZCTA is a statistical area rather than a USPS delivery ZIP, geographic matching can be imperfect; a property address should be checked rather than inferred solely from the 07087 label.","The asking-rent index, ACS gross rent, and HUD FMR use different timing, populations, and constructions. Treating their gaps as a single rent trend could create a misleading comparison.","Vacancy statistics are survey classifications of housing stock. The for-rent count does not confirm listing status, availability date, lease terms, pricing, condition, or suitability for any identified unit.","The required-income calculation is based on a 30% arithmetic screen and the ZIP index, while observed burden uses ACS gross rent. Neither result determines eligibility, affordability, or payment experience for a specific household."],"qa":[{"a":"Zillow uses 07087 as a ZIP market identifier, while ACS data are supplied for the matched Census ZCTA. A ZCTA is created for statistical tabulation and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, so address-level assignment can differ from the statistical match.","q":"Why does the ZIP label not fully define the census geography?"},{"a":"The ACS $1,537 statistic is a median gross-rent estimate from occupied renter homes over the 2024 five-year survey period and includes selected utilities. Zillow’s $2,419 ZORI is a current typical observed asking-rent index across rental types. The gap compares distinct universes, not a measured rent change for the same homes.","q":"Why is ACS median gross rent lower than Zillow ZORI?"},{"a":"No. They are modelled monthly estimates produced by scaling ZIP ZORI with relative amounts in the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent. The estimates give a consistent framework but cannot substitute for measured bedroom rents or listing quotes.","q":"Are the bedroom figures observed rents?"},{"a":"Confirm the advertised monthly rent, precise bedroom configuration, utility responsibility, lease length, availability date, recurring and one-time charges, and concession terms. Also confirm that the unit is actually available and that its address fits the intended geography. These checks are necessary because market indexes, ACS, HUD standards, and vacancy totals do not describe a particular lease.","q":"What must be confirmed for a particular 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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