ZIP 10029 presents a stark current-rent versus household-income tension. In June 2026, Zillow's ZIP-level ZORI is $3,591 per month, rising 6.2% from a year earlier. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than a quoted rent for one available home. At a 30% rent-to-income screen, that monthly figure converts arithmetically to $143,640 of annual income, versus the matched area's $38,695 median household income. This is a comparison of datasets and arithmetic, not advice, an applicant qualification rule, or evidence that any household can or cannot rent a specific unit.
The backward-looking ZORI history shows positive growth across each measured horizon: 6.2% on a one-year exact same-month basis, 4.3% over three years, and 7.5% over five years. The series contains 138 observations with full coverage. Monthly return variability measures 2.9% on an annualized basis, so a single current rent reading carries some sensitivity to the period selected. Separately, the deepest historical peak-to-trough decline reached 16.0%, showing that the longer path included a meaningful reversal. Recent growth confirms the positive long-run direction but trails the five-year pace. National discovery ranks are 300 for momentum, 1,450 for stability, and 369 for the balanced measure, where lower ranks place higher. These are retrospective measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
Different evidence universes materially change the affordability reading. The matched Census 2024 five-year survey reports median gross rent of $1,247, with a $78 margin of error; this is roughly 2.88 times lower than the current asking-rent index. A Census ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. ACS median gross rent describes occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, whereas ZORI reflects typical observed asking rents. Within the ACS renter universe, 31,242 renter-occupied homes are reported and 15,794 renter households, or 50.6%, spend at least 30% of income on rent. That broad survey burden measure cannot establish cost pressure for any particular occupied or vacant unit.
The bedroom figures are modelled monthly ZIP estimates, not measured bedroom rents. They scale the ZIP ZORI by the local HUD bedroom ladder: the HUD FMR/SAFMR two-bedroom standard is $2,616, producing the $3,591 two-bedroom modelled estimate. The resulting ladder is $2,605 for a studio, $3,021 for one bedroom, $4,399 for three bedrooms, and $5,068 for four bedrooms. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent, so these figures are useful for keeping bedroom sizing consistent with the local HUD relationship, not for claiming that available units transact or list at those amounts.
The matched ACS housing profile is overwhelmingly renter-oriented: the renter share is 92.8%, while the reported vacancy rate is 9.2%. The stock includes 28,546 large-multifamily units, placing that category at the center of the reported structure mix. There are 1,234 homes classified as vacant and for rent. Those figures describe the survey's area-level housing inventory and status categories; they do not identify the quality, lease terms, affordability, physical condition, or actual availability of any particular rental. Vacancy therefore provides context for the area, not proof that a specific unit will be obtainable or priced near an index.
For wider context, the city-scope New York ZORI is $4,133, the county-scope New York County ZORI is $4,833, and the metro-scope New York-Newark-Jersey City ZORI is $3,573. The ZIP index sits below the city and county context measures while remaining close to the metro context measure. These are wider-geography comparisons only: city, county, and metro values should not be treated as ZIP rental comps, as evidence of a listing's rent, or as substitutes for the matched ZCTA survey measures. Their value is in framing the ZIP's relative position across named geographic scopes.
The for-sale evidence creates a second, distinct tension. Redfin's direct rolling three-month ZIP resale observation reports a median sold price of $801,819, up 6.9% year over year, but only 14 homes sold and median marketing time was 161 days. Inventory was 61 homes and months of supply stood at 12.9. Sale-to-list signals were also subdued: the average sale-to-list ratio was 97.65%, and 7.15% of sales closed above list. The annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price is 5.37%, but that is only a cross-source screening ratio, not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield. The resale price increase confirms the rent history's positive direction, while slow marketing and substantial supply challenge a simple fast-market interpretation and do not resolve the income screen.
Several limits remain material. Zillow, ACS, HUD, and Redfin observe different populations, purposes, time windows, and housing concepts, so none can be substituted directly for another. Survey margins of error, index blending across rental types, modelled bedroom scaling, and a limited set of observed resales all constrain precision. Concrete property-level checks are the actual advertised rent, available date, bedroom configuration, included utilities, concessions, lease length, unit condition, building-specific fees, and comparable completed sales where relevant. The key question is whether those verified unit facts align with the broad ZIP signals without treating any area-level statistic as a promise about one property.
","findings":[{"body":"The ZIP-level ZORI is materially above both the matched area's median household income screen and ACS median gross rent. The required-income calculation is simple arithmetic at a 30% threshold, not a leasing rule. Because ZORI captures asking-rent conditions while ACS describes occupied renter homes, the gap is informative but does not establish the rent or affordability of a particular listing.","title":"Asking-rent affordability gap is the primary tension"},{"body":"Same-month rent changes are positive over one, three, and five years, with recent growth stronger than the three-year pace but below the five-year pace. The historical drawdown shows that the path has included a sizeable reversal, while return variability limits confidence in treating one current index value as a permanent level. The history is backward-looking rather than predictive.","title":"Rent history remains positive but is not uniformly stable"},{"body":"Studio through four-bedroom values are modelled estimates generated by scaling ZIP ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard designed around bedroom categories, not a measure of current asking rents. The estimates support consistent size comparisons, but they cannot replace verified bedroom-specific listings, leases, or completed rental transactions.","title":"Bedroom ladder is a HUD-scaled model, not a rent survey"},{"body":"The direct ZIP resale observation shows a higher median sold price year over year, yet it also shows few sales, long marketing time, substantial months of supply, and sale-to-list results below parity on average. That combination supports neither a rental transaction conclusion nor property-level economics. The rent-price calculation is only a cross-source screen and is not a return measure.","title":"Resale pricing and resale liquidity send mixed signals"}],"risks":["ZORI is a blended ZIP index across rental types, so it cannot verify an individual listing's condition, concessions, utilities, bedroom count, timing, or lease obligations.","The ACS figures come from a matched statistical ZCTA five-year survey of occupied renter homes, not a USPS delivery ZIP or a current inventory of asking rents.","Historical rent gains and discovery ranks are retrospective. Variability and the recorded drawdown mean past index behavior cannot establish a future rent level, trend, or investment outcome.","The rolling resale observation reports a limited set of ZIP sales and remains for-sale evidence only; it cannot serve as rental comparables, unit economics, or proof of buyer demand for any property."],"qa":[{"a":"It is Zillow's ZIP-level ZORI, a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. It is useful for tracking broad asking-rent conditions and historical movement, but it is not an advertised rent for a specified apartment, a lease transaction record, or a measure of included utilities.","q":"What does the Zillow rent figure measure?"},{"a":"ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey measure for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. ZORI is a current asking-rent index. The measures therefore differ in timing, household population, rental status, and cost definition. The matched ZCTA is also a Census statistical area rather than an identical USPS delivery ZIP.","q":"Why is ACS median gross rent much lower than the asking-rent index?"},{"a":"They are modelled monthly estimates created by scaling the ZIP-wide ZORI according to the local HUD bedroom ladder. They are not observed studio, one-bedroom, or larger-unit rents. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, so verified available listings remain necessary for unit-level comparisons.","q":"How should the bedroom estimates be interpreted?"},{"a":"It adds a separate direct ZIP for-sale market observation: sold prices, sales volume, marketing time, inventory, supply, and sale-to-list signals. These indicators can frame whether resale conditions appear consistent or in tension with rent trends, but they do not describe rental transactions, landlord revenue, net operating costs, or property-specific returns.","q":"What does the Redfin block add to the rental analysis?"}],"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 FY2026","pulledAt":"2026-07-26","url":"https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/usps_crosswalk.html"},{"key":"realtor_county","name":"Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventory","release":"county inventory 2026-06","pulledAt":"2026-07-28","url":"https://www.realtor.com/research/data/"},{"key":"redfin","name":"Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts","release":"metro tracker through 2026-05-01","pulledAt":"2026-07-26","url":"https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/"},{"key":"redfin_zip","name":"Redfin Data Center — ZIP resale activity and supply","release":"ZIP rolling 3 months through 2026-06-30; updated 2026-07-03","pulledAt":"2026-08-12","url":"https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/"},{"key":"zillow_county","name":"Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rents","release":"county ZHVI/ZORI 2026-06","pulledAt":"2026-07-26","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"},{"key":"zillow_zori","name":"Zillow ZORI — metro market rents","release":"Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csv","pulledAt":"2026-07-26","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"},{"key":"zillow_zori_city","name":"Zillow ZORI — city market rents","release":"zillow_zori_city.csv","pulledAt":"2026-07-29","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"},{"key":"zillow_zori_zip","name":"Zillow ZORI — ZIP market rents","release":"ZORI ZIP 2026-06","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"}],"history":[{"period":"2015-01-01","rent":2539.106677},{"period":"2015-02-01","rent":2547.444441},{"period":"2015-03-01","rent":2538.663257},{"period":"2015-04-01","rent":2549.632768},{"period":"2015-05-01","rent":2540.965922},{"period":"2015-06-01","rent":2560.161728},{"period":"2015-07-01","rent":2576.602891},{"period":"2015-08-01","rent":2572.219482},{"period":"2015-09-01","rent":2573.648696},{"period":"2015-10-01","rent":2576.976893},{"period":"2015-11-01","rent":2578.244398},{"period":"2015-12-01","rent":2591.556371},{"period":"2016-01-01","rent":2572.024255},{"period":"2016-02-01","rent":2574.100919},{"period":"2016-03-01","rent":2578.661424},{"period":"2016-04-01","rent":2585.965565},{"period":"2016-05-01","rent":2590.846113},{"period":"2016-06-01","rent":2575.41196},{"period":"2016-07-01","rent":2584.759893},{"period":"2016-08-01","rent":2606.234215},{"period":"2016-09-01","rent":2627.472801},{"period":"2016-10-01","rent":2622.220586},{"period":"2016-11-01","rent":2624.395921},{"period":"2016-12-01","rent":2603.76753},{"period":"2017-01-01","rent":2650.406914},{"period":"2017-02-01","rent":2657.538608},{"period":"2017-03-01","rent":2670.340629},{"period":"2017-04-01","rent":2647.705975},{"period":"2017-05-01","rent":2671.005235},{"period":"2017-06-01","rent":2714.330143},{"period":"2017-07-01","rent":2717.035217},{"period":"2017-08-01","rent":2734.013836},{"period":"2017-09-01","rent":2725.594675},{"period":"2017-10-01","rent":2740.040124},{"period":"2017-11-01","rent":2742.244606},{"period":"2017-12-01","rent":2755.640029},{"period":"2018-01-01","rent":2746.9667},{"period":"2018-02-01","rent":2741.155852},{"period":"2018-03-01","rent":2741.287867},{"period":"2018-04-01","rent":2760.107203},{"period":"2018-05-01","rent":2763.548532},{"period":"2018-06-01","rent":2757.293936},{"period":"2018-07-01","rent":2746.719488},{"period":"2018-08-01","rent":2743.246718},{"period":"2018-09-01","rent":2745.930248},{"period":"2018-10-01","rent":2761.094619},{"period":"2018-11-01","rent":2769.480326},{"period":"2018-12-01","rent":2775.529624},{"period":"2019-01-01","rent":2768.04785},{"period":"2019-02-01","rent":2789.238314},{"period":"2019-03-01","rent":2796.117471},{"period":"2019-04-01","rent":2804.855539},{"period":"2019-05-01","rent":2804.118264},{"period":"2019-06-01","rent":2804.558841},{"period":"2019-07-01","rent":2823.409674},{"period":"2019-08-01","rent":2828.349273},{"period":"2019-09-01","rent":2841.288336},{"period":"2019-10-01","rent":2838.87555},{"period":"2019-11-01","rent":2846.634852},{"period":"2019-12-01","rent":2855.011252},{"period":"2020-01-01","rent":2871.980797},{"period":"2020-02-01","rent":2872.967498},{"period":"2020-03-01","rent":2880.560696},{"period":"2020-04-01","rent":2859.897399},{"period":"2020-05-01","rent":2826.065062},{"period":"2020-06-01","rent":2764.673855},{"period":"2020-07-01","rent":2701.395163},{"period":"2020-08-01","rent":2640.648931},{"period":"2020-09-01","rent":2579.330223},{"period":"2020-10-01","rent":2520.877329},{"period":"2020-11-01","rent":2469.750923},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":2434.238755},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":2428.106735},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":2418.657256},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":2428.755024},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":2437.253603},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":2464.471987},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":2497.062766},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":2533.700071},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":2588.810698},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":2639.916561},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":2690.353314},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":2747.819047},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":2784.637088},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":2829.812458},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":2865.313775},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":2895.381677},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":2922.276608},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":2960.101462},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":3000.685577},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":3046.083575},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":3076.155842},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":3108.414266},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":3135.177745},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":3137.84776},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":3154.594079},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":3142.3664},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":3143.463601},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":3148.003456},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":3167.947247},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":3165.472137},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":3167.849465},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":3156.111183},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":3164.550949},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":3155.762298},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":3172.856653},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":3175.462307},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":3193.392829},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":3197.06565},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":3214.589163},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":3240.048412},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":3256.310051},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":3271.233724},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":3273.175342},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":3279.290055},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":3265.867363},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":3247.478529},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":3255.385265},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":3292.437619},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":3337.336415},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":3371.243253},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":3384.173051},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":3366.383426},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":3346.030683},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":3358.078791},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":3379.823458},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":3400.595698},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":3429.472316},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":3471.044091},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":3480.38188},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":3478.79989},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":3461.687906},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":3467.334406},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":3480.846028},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":3514.690943},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":3553.397924},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":3572.786854},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":3590.606902}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":138,"firstPeriod":"2015-01-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":138,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":3379.823458,"endRent":3590.606902,"change":0.06236522310095172,"cagr":0.06236522310095172},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":3167.849465,"endRent":3590.606902,"change":0.13345250197991976,"cagr":0.04264014301931662},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":2497.062766,"endRent":3590.606902,"change":0.43793217811329943,"cagr":0.07534465428160475}},"maxDrawdown":-0.16035192059705872,"annualizedVolatility":0.029090597545750805,"consecutiveReturnCount":137}}