In June 2026, ZIP 19711's Zillow ZORI is $2,283 per month, while the ACS 2024 five-year matched ZCTA reports median gross rent of $1,636, a 39.5% gap. 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. These measures should not be merged: Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, whereas ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The spread therefore identifies different populations and rent concepts, rather than a discrepancy that can be assigned to any given advertised home.
Rent history makes the current snapshot more nuanced. Exact same-month annualized ZORI changes were 4.3% over one year and 4.0% over three years, after 6.2% over five years. Thus recent direction confirms the longer upward path, but it breaks from—not reverses—the faster pace embedded in the five-year record. Annualized monthly-return variability was 3.4%, and maximum drawdown was -2.9%; these backward-looking measurements mean a current index reading is a useful observed level, not a fixed future quote. Coverage is 100% through the endpoint, supporting confidence that the series is continuous rather than sparsely sampled. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 557 for momentum, 2,157 for stability, and 1,063 for the balanced measure, where lower rank is higher. None are forecasts or investment recommendations.
Bedroom detail is a model, not a bedroom-rent observation. Scaling the ZIP ZORI by the local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,759 for a studio, $1,921 for one bedroom, $2,283 for two, $2,732 for three, and $3,056 for four. The underlying HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder runs from $1,410 for a studio to $2,450 for four bedrooms. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent; it supplies proportions for the model and does not measure what a current unit can command. Actual bedroom pricing can differ with property attributes, included costs, availability, and lease terms that these ZIP-level series do not report.
Income and burden offer a different lens, but not a unit-level eligibility test. The matched ZCTA's median household income is $95,403. Applying the arithmetic 30% required-income screen to the $2,283 ZORI yields $91,320 annually, or 28.7% of that area median; this screen is not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. In the ACS occupied-renter sample, 3,311 of 6,688 renter households, or 49.5%, reported gross-rent burdens at or above 30%. That share describes surveyed households and selected-utilities gross rent, not the financial condition of a prospective tenant or affordability of a particular listing. It nonetheless frames why a ZIP-wide asking-rent index and household experience can point to different pressures.
Housing counts point to a stock with multiple tenure and structure types rather than a pure apartment series. Of 20,515 housing units, 14,554 are single-family and 1,509 are in large multifamily structures. The ZCTA counted an 8.3% overall vacancy rate, including 759 units vacant for rent; renters occupy 35.5% of occupied homes. These are area-level counts, not a live inventory: a for-rent vacancy does not establish that a suitable home is available now, what its asking rent is, or whether its condition and lease terms fit a particular search. Likewise, occupancy and structure counts cannot identify quality, bedroom mix, concessions, or utility responsibility at one property.
The current Zillow ZIP index sits above each named wider benchmark, but scope matters: the Newark city-scope context is $2,113, the New Castle County county-scope context is $1,940, and the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro-scope context is $1,928. Those city, county, and metro values are context only, not alternate readings of the ZIP. The city figure reflects city scope, the county figure county scope, and the metro figure metro scope; none converts a broader-area average into a ZIP or property value. Their common directional contrast with the ZIP index is useful for orientation, while the source definitions, stock mix, and asking-versus-occupied-rent distinction keep them from being interchangeable.
Use this report as a ZIP-level comparison frame, not a quote, forecast, or recommendation. Before acting on any listing, verify the advertised monthly charge, exact bedroom count, address and ZIP assignment, availability date, lease length, required deposits and fees, utility inclusions, parking or other recurring charges, household-income method, and whether any subsidy or program standard applies. Ask whether the listing's rent is asking, effective after concessions, or a renewal amount, because the index, ACS survey, and HUD standard answer different questions. The practical unresolved question is simple: after those property-level checks, which rent definition most closely matches the home and lease actually under review?
","findings":[{"body":"The ZIP asking-rent index materially exceeds the matched ZCTA median gross-rent figure. This is not a direct overpricing test. ZORI reflects typical observed asking rents across rental types, while ACS summarizes occupied renter homes in a multiyear survey and includes selected utilities. A reader comparing listings should therefore treat the two values as distinct reference points, then verify what is included in the advertised monthly charge.","title":"Current index and survey rent are different measures"},{"body":"The ZIP's same-month history remains positive over each reported horizon, yet the recent pace is below the longer-horizon pace. The record is complete through the endpoint and reports a past drawdown alongside monthly-return variability. Those results support using current ZORI as a timely index observation while avoiding claims that it sets a future rent or predicts an investment outcome.","title":"History remains positive but has decelerated"},{"body":"The studio-through-four-bedroom figures are modelled estimates created by scaling ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder. They are not observed bedroom rents. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than an asking-rent survey, so the ladder conveys relative sizing within this model. A property search still needs the actual unit's bedroom count, condition, included utilities, fees, and lease terms.","title":"Bedroom figures are modelled, not observed rents"},{"body":"Area burden, vacancy, tenure, and structure counts describe households and housing stock, not a particular vacancy or applicant. The broader city, county, and metro rent figures are useful context only and carry their own geographic scopes. They should not replace the ZIP index or establish availability. Confirm the listing address, advertised price, effective-rent treatment, charges, and eligibility terms before drawing a property-specific conclusion.","title":"Household and stock indicators need unit-level verification"}],"risks":["The Zillow ZIP identifier and Census ZCTA are aligned for this report, but their boundaries and populations are not delivery geography. Do not infer that every postal address belongs to the same statistical area or index universe.","A count of homes vacant for rent is a survey-area stock measure, not an active-feed result. It cannot establish unit availability, price, condition, timing, concessions, accessibility, or a landlord's acceptance criteria.","HUD ladder proportions can be useful for a modelled bedroom comparison, yet individual units may depart from them because the data do not observe unit condition, utilities, fees, lease design, or current marketing status.","Historical increases and discovery ranks are calculated from past observations. Even with complete coverage, they cannot identify future asking rents, tenant outcomes, changes to a listing, or financial suitability for a particular household."],"qa":[{"a":"They refer to different evidence universes. Zillow tracks a typical observed asking-rent index across rental types at ZIP scope. ACS reports median gross rent for occupied renter homes in the matched statistical area, using a multiyear survey and selected utilities. Neither figure alone establishes the price or monthly cost of one available home.","q":"Why should the asking-rent index not be equated with the survey rent?"},{"a":"It is a proportional model anchored to the ZIP index and the local HUD bedroom ladder. It can organize a cross-bedroom comparison, but it is not a set of measured market rents. Verify unit size, actual asking price, included utilities, concessions, fees, lease term, and availability directly with the property before comparing it with the modelled figures.","q":"How should the bedroom ladder be used?"},{"a":"A burden share summarizes surveyed renter households, while vacancy counts summarize area stock at the survey's scope. They do not reveal an applicant's income, the condition of a vacant unit, its rents, timing, or whether it meets a searcher's requirements. The income screen is only arithmetic and is not a qualification outcome.","q":"Do burden and vacancy figures show that a listing is affordable or available?"},{"a":"Same-month rent changes, drawdown, variability, and discovery ranks describe the observed record through its endpoint; they do not forecast future rents. City, county, and metro values provide named wider-area context, but their scope differs from the ZIP. Use them to frame comparisons, then rely on listing-level terms for an actual decision.","q":"What is the proper use of historical and broader-area comparisons?"}],"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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