ZIP 19701 is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match. A ZCTA is a Census statistical area, not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, so the shared label does not make every measure geographically or conceptually identical. The ZIP-level Zillow ZORI registered $2,453 in June 2026, a 3.61% same-month increase. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. Against the matched-ZCTA ACS median household income of $111,198, the annual-income amount produced by applying a 30% screen to the current index is $98,120. That screen is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule.
That spread is real but must be decoded by source universe. In the ACS 2024 five-year matched ZCTA survey, median gross rent is $1,827. It describes occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities; it does not represent a current advertised-rent sample. The current Zillow asking index is 34.3% above that ACS median, a comparison that can reflect timing, rental-type blending, occupancy and utility treatment rather than a literal change in a particular home. HUD FMR/SAFMR belongs in a third universe: it is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent.
Bedroom sizing adds a useful but deliberately modelled view. Scaling ZIP ZORI by the local FY2026 HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,889 for a studio, $2,055 for one bedroom, $2,453 for two bedrooms, $2,939 for three bedrooms and $3,282 for four bedrooms. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. The local HUD two-bedroom FMR is $2,220; FMR/SAFMR is the administrative ladder used for the scaling, not evidence that listings are offered at that standard. The ladder therefore improves consistency across bedroom labels without replacing actual unit asking terms.
The history is positive but not uniform in pace. Exact same-month annualized ZIP ZORI changes were 3.61% over one year, 2.86% over three years and 5.58% over five years. Thus the latest direction confirms an upward longer path and is firmer than the three-year pace, yet it breaks from the faster five-year pace rather than extending it. Annualized monthly-return variability was 3.24%, and the historical peak-to-trough maximum drawdown was -3.66%; these figures mean one current rent snapshot deserves measured confidence, not certainty. Reported coverage is complete. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 902 for momentum, 1,969 for stability and 1,344 for the balanced measure, where lower ranks are higher. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
The survey stock places the rent and burden results in a relatively owner-weighted setting, without making claims about any address. The matched ZCTA contains 17,077 housing units and a 2.8% vacancy rate. Its structure counts include 13,271 single-family units and 377 large-multifamily units. ACS reports 3,241 renter-occupied homes, with 222 vacant-for-rent units. It also places 1,540 renter households in the 30%-or-more rent-burden category, or 47.5% of renters. These are survey estimates and categories: vacancy is not proof that a particular unit is available, and burden is not proof of a particular household's payment pressure.
The wider rent benchmarks reinforce how elevated the ZIP asking index is, but they cannot serve as ZIP substitutes. The Bear city context rent is about $2,345, the New Castle County context rent is $1,940, and the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro context rent is $1,928; each is a wider-scope context value, not a direct 19701 observation. Their lower levels sharpen the geographic contrast, while different rental mixes and boundaries prevent treating the differences as a pricing rule. The ZIP, ZCTA, city, county and metro scopes should remain separate in a decision file.
Resale evidence provides the central counterweight and is strictly for-sale evidence. In Redfin's direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation, the median sold price was $422,405, down 0.61% year over year; 95 homes sold and median marketing time was 29 days. Inventory was 83 homes, 50.52% higher year over year, with 2.7 months of supply. Average sale-to-list was 99.77%, while 44.61% of sales closed above list. These are resale liquidity and pricing signals, not rental transactions or rental comps. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by the median sold price is 6.97%, only a cross-source screening ratio, not a property-level economic measure. The slightly lower resale price and sharply higher inventory challenge a simple reading of the current asking-rent increase and longer rent history, even as the sales and sale-to-list readings document direct resale activity.
Taken together, the evidence can frame questions but cannot characterize an individual home. The index has rental-type blending, ACS is a five-year survey with sampling uncertainty, HUD is an administrative standard, history cannot forecast, and Redfin describes only ZIP resale. A property-level review needs the exact address and geography match, the live advertised rent, bedroom count, utility responsibility, lease term, fees, concessions, availability, and the property's own list and sale record. It should also establish whether the relevant HUD ladder is ZIP SAFMR or county-derived. Can the specific property's documented rent terms and resale record support the broad signals without treating any one source as a unit-level fact?
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow's June 2026 ZIP ZORI is $2,453, with a 3.61% same-month annual increase. The index is a blended typical asking-rent measure, whereas the ACS matched-ZCTA median gross rent is $1,827 across surveyed occupied renter homes and selected utilities. The gap is informative about different populations, timing, and definitions; it is not a direct contradiction or a unit-level rent comparison.","title":"Asking index and survey rent measure different populations"},{"body":"The one-year ZORI change of 3.61% exceeds the three-year annualized pace of 2.86%, but remains below the five-year annualized pace of 5.58%. Full reported history coverage supports continuity of the series. Still, 3.24% annualized monthly-return variability and a -3.66% maximum drawdown mean the current reading should be treated as a point-in-time measurement rather than a stable trajectory.","title":"Rent growth remains positive but has slowed from its longer pace"},{"body":"The matched ZCTA reports a 2.8% vacancy rate, 222 vacant-for-rent units, and 3,241 renter-occupied homes. At the same time, 47.5% of renters are in the ACS 30%-or-more rent-burden category. These are area-level survey estimates, not evidence that any specific available unit is affordable or that any identified renter faces a particular payment condition.","title":"Survey burden is substantial despite a small reported vacancy rate"},{"body":"The direct ZIP resale observation shows a $422,405 median sold price, down 0.61% year over year, while inventory rose 50.52%. That contrasts with the positive latest asking-rent change. However, 95 homes sold, median marketing time was 29 days, and average sale-to-list was 99.77%. The 6.97% annualized-rent-to-price figure is only a cross-source screen, not a property-level return measure.","title":"Resale indicators challenge a simple rent-led interpretation"}],"risks":["The current asking-rent index and ACS gross rent differ in timing, population, utilities, and rental-type treatment. Comparing their levels can illuminate a spread, but cannot establish an asking price, expense load, or payment burden for one property.","ACS ZCTA estimates are survey-based and the ZCTA is not the same thing as a USPS delivery ZIP. Housing, vacancy, tenure, and burden figures therefore require caution when applied to a specific address or current listing.","Modelled bedroom values derive from ZIP ZORI scaled by a HUD administrative ladder. They are not measured bedroom rents and may not match a unit's features, included utilities, lease structure, fees, concessions, or actual advertised terms.","Redfin's rolling-three-month ZIP evidence concerns completed for-sale transactions, not rentals. Sale price, inventory, marketing time, and sale-to-list signals should not be used as rental comps or as proof of an individual property's economics."],"qa":[{"a":"Zillow ZORI is a current ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey measure for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The measures differ in time window, unit population, utility treatment, and methodology, so their difference is descriptive rather than an error or a direct unit comparison.","q":"Why is the Zillow-to-ACS rent gap not a discrepancy?"},{"a":"No. The studio-through-four-bedroom values are modelled monthly estimates created by scaling the ZIP ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative standard rather than asking rent. The estimates can organize the ZIP-level signal by bedroom label, but they cannot substitute for a listing's actual rent and terms.","q":"Are the bedroom figures measured rents for available units?"},{"a":"The history shows positive annualized changes across the one-, three-, and five-year windows, but the newest pace is below the five-year rate. Monthly-return variability and the documented maximum drawdown show that the series has moved around its trend. Full coverage supports continuity, while the measurements remain backward-looking and cannot forecast future rents.","q":"What does the rent history say about confidence in the current ZORI reading?"},{"a":"Redfin provides a direct ZIP rolling-three-month resale observation, including sale prices, sold-home count, marketing time, inventory, months of supply, and sale-to-list outcomes. It does not describe rental transactions. The decline in median sold price and increase in inventory complicate the positive latest asking-rent signal, while the annualized ZORI-to-price calculation remains only a cross-source screening ratio.","q":"How should the resale data be read alongside the rent measures?"}],"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":"2020-12-01","rent":1743.630896},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":1748.940603},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":1778.121485},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":1800.370557},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":1833.602885},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":1847.662767},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":1869.704262},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":1877.818208},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1907.100021},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1933.701547},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1976.797974},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":2018.478336},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":2046.75255},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":2079.680967},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":2102.664139},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":2139.377132},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":2168.765422},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":2197.60936},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":2229.373621},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":2255.19639},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":2267.906894},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":2288.116243},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":2280.312581},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":2277.625361},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":2265.442116},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":2262.666422},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":2247.647943},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":2228.959494},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":2218.941727},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":2241.774697},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":2253.972082},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":2273.974768},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":2256.105382},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":2238.050316},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":2204.329254},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":2207.869116},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":2227.388444},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":2262.426909},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":2283.374687},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":2278.53675},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":2265.824262},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":2252.054192},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":2238.399888},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":2232.852592},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":2244.017643},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":2255.383244},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":2280.582664},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":2294.535947},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":2315.733975},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":2302.757226},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":2254.287535},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":2277.261435},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":2311.489277},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":2358.679865},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":2367.397744},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":2375.578333},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":2390.37393},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":2403.005976},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":2417.072912},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":2420.299764},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":2412.104146},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":2420.776223},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":2467.227344},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":2469.597334},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":2464.758151},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":2442.816254},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":2452.912088}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":67,"firstPeriod":"2020-12-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":67,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":2367.397744,"endRent":2452.912088,"change":0.036121663213006805,"cagr":0.036121663213006805},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":2253.972082,"endRent":2452.912088,"change":0.08826196543813292,"cagr":0.02859517705425807},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1869.704262,"endRent":2452.912088,"change":0.31192517332989866,"cagr":0.05580037783618219}},"maxDrawdown":-0.03661832708732693,"annualizedVolatility":0.03242887287260968,"consecutiveReturnCount":66}}