The distinctive question for 11226 is whether its current ZIP-level asking-rent signal can serve as a screening benchmark without being mistaken for a household’s actual experience. Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI is $3,034 per month, a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, following a 2.9% year-over-year increase. At that index, the 30% required-income screen is $121,360 annually. That screen is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule: it annualizes the index against the stated share. Its value is to flag a property-level verification question, not to establish what a particular household pays, earns, or can afford. That distinction keeps a ZIP-wide signal from becoming an unsupported estimate for any available home.
Income, tenure, and aggregate burden make the screen worth interrogating, but none validates it for a specific renter. In the matched Census ZCTA, the ACS 2024 five-year median household income is $81,014, with a reported survey margin of error. Renter households occupy 32,796 homes, or 86.0% of 38,130 occupied homes. The same ACS survey records 15,830 renter households—48.3% of the renter total—with gross rent at or above the threshold share of household income. This is observed aggregate burden among surveyed occupied renter homes; it neither identifies a current listing nor proves that a unit will impose a given burden. Household income also spans types that do not map directly to ZORI observations. It is a distributional signal rather than an applicant-level outcome.
The supplied FY2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder is useful for relative bedroom sizing, yet it is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. Its local two-bedroom standard is $2,616. Scaling ZIP ZORI by the local HUD ladder yields modelled estimates of $2,201 for a studio, $2,553 for one bedroom, $3,034 for two bedrooms, $3,716 for three bedrooms, and $4,282 for four bedrooms. These are modelled estimates, not measured bedroom rents: the two-bedroom result is the ZORI anchor and every other result inherits HUD’s relative step. A property’s advertised bedroom count, configuration, lease terms, and included charges may not follow this modelled schedule. No direct bedroom-level asking-rent observations are supplied in this packet.
The numerical gap across Zillow and ACS needs a separate reading rather than a blended conclusion. The ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent is $1,790; it is a survey measure for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. ZORI is 69.5% above that ACS median, but the contrast is not rent inflation, a quality adjustment, or a conversion from one series to the other. Separately, ZORI is 16.0% above the supplied two-bedroom HUD standard. HUD FMR/SAFMR does not measure observed asking rent, and Zillow does not sample the same occupied-home universe as ACS. Each measure can inform a different check, but none replaces another.
Within the ACS ZCTA housing snapshot, there are 43,525 housing units: 38,130 are occupied and 5,395 vacant, for the reported 12.4% all-housing vacancy rate. Of the vacant units, 2,367 are classified for rent, 169 for sale, and 341 seasonal. Those classifications are components of vacancy, not a listing inventory, proof of availability, or evidence about a particular unit. The stock contains 29,186 units in large multifamily structures, making that category the dominant recorded structure type. This composition describes survey classification and occupancy status; it does not establish condition, turnover, concessions, or suitability. It also cannot reveal which vacant classifications correspond to currently marketed homes.
At wider scope, the New York city context rent is $4,133, the Kings County context rent is $3,808, and the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metro context rent is $3,573; all exceed the ZIP index. The New York city context renter share is 67.2%, below the ZIP share, while the Kings County context renter share is likewise below the ZIP share. The metro context’s 5.2% apartment vacancy is sector-specific and therefore is not interchangeable with the ZIP’s ACS all-housing vacancy rate. City, county, and metro figures provide comparison context only and do not redefine the ZIP, ZCTA, Zillow, ACS, or HUD measures.
Limits matter before translating these aggregates into a property decision. This five-digit label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a matched Census ZCTA; a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. The index period, the ACS survey period, and the HUD fiscal-year standard are different, and ACS estimates carry survey uncertainty. The HUD ladder may be ZIP SAFMR or county-derived under the supplied source scope. Check the exact unit’s advertised monthly rent, bedroom count, availability, building type, lease term, utility responsibility, and mandatory recurring charges. Also verify whether the unit’s location is served by the relevant identifier rather than assuming the statistical match controls delivery boundaries.
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI of $3,034 is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index, not a lease quote. The corresponding $121,360 annual figure at a 30% screen is only a transparent calculation. It highlights why a listing’s actual rent, fees, utilities, and lease structure must be checked before comparing that listing with a household’s circumstances.","title":"The index is a screening reference, not a lease quote"},{"body":"The supplied HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder establishes relative bedroom steps, not measured asking rents. Applying those steps to the ZIP index produces modelled estimates from $2,201 for a studio to $4,282 for a four-bedroom unit, with $3,034 as the two-bedroom anchor. These outputs are useful for a consistent scenario comparison but cannot substitute for observed asking rents by bedroom.","title":"Bedroom figures are modelled rather than observed"},{"body":"The matched ACS ZCTA reports an income median of $81,014, an 86.0% renter share among occupied homes, and 48.3% of renter households at or above the burden threshold. These are five-year survey aggregates for households and occupied renter homes. They establish a ZIP-area affordability context, but they cannot determine an individual renter’s income, utility bill, or burden in a particular home.","title":"Renter concentration and burden are aggregate signals"},{"body":"The ACS snapshot counts 5,395 vacant units, including 2,367 classified for rent, alongside a 12.4% all-housing vacancy rate. These are classification and occupancy estimates, not a live listing count. The figures do not identify building condition, timing of availability, or whether any particular vacant unit can be rented on terms comparable with ZORI.","title":"Vacancy classifications do not establish availability"}],"risks":["ZORI, ACS gross rent, and HUD FMR/SAFMR have different populations, timing, and purposes; treating their differences as a single price trend would create a false comparison.","The ZCTA is a statistical Census area matched to the Zillow ZIP identifier, not a USPS delivery ZIP, so identifier matching alone cannot confirm an exact property location.","Vacant-for-rent classifications and the reported all-housing vacancy rate are survey estimates rather than live availability; they cannot show whether a specific unit is currently listed or leasable.","Modelled bedroom estimates inherit the local HUD ladder and ZORI anchor, while actual advertised rents can differ with bedroom configuration, lease terms, utility responsibility, and recurring charges."],"qa":[{"a":"The screen annualizes the ZIP ZORI and divides by 30%, producing a mechanical benchmark. The ACS median is a separate five-year household-income estimate for the matched ZCTA. Neither figure represents the same household, so the difference is context, not an affordability finding for an applicant.","q":"Why does the income screen exceed the ZCTA median income?"},{"a":"No. The studio through four-bedroom figures are modelled estimates created by scaling the ZIP ZORI with the supplied local HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder. HUD standards are administrative and bedroom-specific, while ZORI is a blended asking-rent index. The packet supplies no direct observed ZIP bedroom-rent series.","q":"Are the bedroom figures observed rents?"},{"a":"No. ACS vacant-unit classifications summarize the ZCTA’s survey-based housing stock and include categories such as for rent, for sale, and seasonal use. They are not a live feed of advertised units. A property check still needs the exact unit’s availability date, rent, lease terms, and charges.","q":"Does the vacancy figure measure current rental availability?"},{"a":"Start with the listing’s advertised monthly asking rent, bedroom count, stated utilities, mandatory recurring charges, lease term, and availability. Then use ZORI only as a ZIP-level asking-rent reference and the ACS and HUD figures for their separate contexts. Confirm the property’s delivery ZIP rather than relying solely on the ZCTA match.","q":"What should be compared with a property 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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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":1965.303847},{"period":"2015-02-01","rent":1995.493253},{"period":"2015-03-01","rent":2083.690373},{"period":"2015-04-01","rent":2075.206682},{"period":"2015-05-01","rent":2085.404589},{"period":"2015-06-01","rent":2068.194909},{"period":"2015-07-01","rent":2077.511467},{"period":"2015-08-01","rent":2092.49011},{"period":"2015-09-01","rent":2116.851834},{"period":"2015-10-01","rent":2138.317347},{"period":"2015-11-01","rent":2137.766492},{"period":"2015-12-01","rent":2148.15613},{"period":"2016-01-01","rent":2155.44622},{"period":"2016-02-01","rent":2148.377034},{"period":"2016-03-01","rent":2172.766824},{"period":"2016-04-01","rent":2186.544814},{"period":"2016-05-01","rent":2207.723672},{"period":"2016-06-01","rent":2229.19215},{"period":"2016-07-01","rent":2252.043168},{"period":"2016-08-01","rent":2254.840836},{"period":"2016-09-01","rent":2230.733824},{"period":"2016-10-01","rent":2227.693247},{"period":"2016-11-01","rent":2265.512424},{"period":"2016-12-01","rent":2299.180446},{"period":"2017-01-01","rent":2305.5877},{"period":"2017-02-01","rent":2299.372712},{"period":"2017-03-01","rent":2279.384448},{"period":"2017-04-01","rent":2270.467696},{"period":"2017-05-01","rent":2266.796046},{"period":"2017-06-01","rent":2285.199594},{"period":"2017-07-01","rent":2292.593264},{"period":"2017-08-01","rent":2288.152301},{"period":"2017-09-01","rent":2285.815489},{"period":"2017-10-01","rent":2288.759203},{"period":"2017-11-01","rent":2281.04857},{"period":"2017-12-01","rent":2284.845148},{"period":"2018-01-01","rent":2287.334925},{"period":"2018-02-01","rent":2321.268085},{"period":"2018-03-01","rent":2325.679226},{"period":"2018-04-01","rent":2355.666336},{"period":"2018-05-01","rent":2351.541411},{"period":"2018-06-01","rent":2356.317879},{"period":"2018-07-01","rent":2354.754698},{"period":"2018-08-01","rent":2370.903024},{"period":"2018-09-01","rent":2389.362676},{"period":"2018-10-01","rent":2389.804454},{"period":"2018-11-01","rent":2394.533576},{"period":"2018-12-01","rent":2394.608079},{"period":"2019-01-01","rent":2403.376539},{"period":"2019-02-01","rent":2398.698632},{"period":"2019-03-01","rent":2411.759555},{"period":"2019-04-01","rent":2405.159322},{"period":"2019-05-01","rent":2419.859893},{"period":"2019-06-01","rent":2417.684254},{"period":"2019-07-01","rent":2423.973582},{"period":"2019-08-01","rent":2425.972319},{"period":"2019-09-01","rent":2429.658732},{"period":"2019-10-01","rent":2439.943484},{"period":"2019-11-01","rent":2444.235472},{"period":"2019-12-01","rent":2446.081627},{"period":"2020-01-01","rent":2448.009075},{"period":"2020-02-01","rent":2446.953396},{"period":"2020-03-01","rent":2466.644941},{"period":"2020-04-01","rent":2450.769932},{"period":"2020-05-01","rent":2446.364534},{"period":"2020-06-01","rent":2427.268059},{"period":"2020-07-01","rent":2412.187564},{"period":"2020-08-01","rent":2381.342097},{"period":"2020-09-01","rent":2345.434214},{"period":"2020-10-01","rent":2327.852701},{"period":"2020-11-01","rent":2330.143477},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":2320.627886},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":2288.071322},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":2288.180426},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":2292.613523},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":2324.244814},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":2331.760935},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":2349.329874},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":2373.166227},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":2400.974222},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":2445.509238},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":2467.013175},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":2497.556278},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":2529.418654},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":2568.944137},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":2605.460434},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":2623.049744},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":2641.45948},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":2663.701488},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":2699.47976},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":2720.714901},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":2730.641158},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":2742.933035},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":2768.849389},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":2785.252675},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":2777.600094},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":2777.74446},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":2776.654205},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":2800.402014},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":2805.929302},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":2808.163045},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":2804.476678},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":2797.612928},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":2809.988166},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":2806.366733},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":2821.442668},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":2824.625138},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":2854.508839},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":2867.265405},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":2870.13383},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":2847.933818},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":2846.129204},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":2855.328579},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":2863.471871},{"period":"2024-0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