In this ZIP, the decision question is how to use a current ZIP asking-rent signal without treating it as a quote for a specific property. 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. In June 2026, the ZIP-level Zillow Observed Rent Index, or ZORI, is $1,989 per month, following a 6.02% year-over-year rise. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so the immediate comparison point is a unit's actual terms, type, and timing rather than a presumed ZIP-wide lease price.
ZORI should not be merged with the ACS measure. For the matched ZCTA, the ACS 2024 five-year survey places median gross rent at $1,713, with a $29 margin of error. That survey describes occupied renter homes and its gross-rent definition includes selected utilities; it is not a current asking-rent series. The current ZORI is 16.1% above this ACS statistic, but that numerical gap compares measures with different timing and universes. Separately, the FY2026 HUD two-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,050, putting ZORI 3.0% below that standard. HUD FMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent.
Bedroom comparisons need a separate translation, not an assertion of observed bedroom rents. Scaling the ZIP ZORI by the local HUD ladder yields modelled monthly estimates of $1,737 for a studio, $1,756 for one bedroom, $1,989 for two bedrooms, $2,755 for three bedrooms, and $3,250 for four bedrooms. The underlying HUD ladder runs from $1,790 for a studio to $3,350 for four bedrooms, producing the wider modelled spread at larger sizes. These are modelled estimates based on the ZIP index and local HUD relationship, never measured bedroom rents; differences in size, condition, lease terms, and included costs can make a listing depart from them.
Household and renter indicators raise a different screen. The matched ZCTA's ACS median household income is $69,040, with a $4,173 margin of error, and it is an area-wide household measure rather than a renter-only income measure. Meanwhile, 13,200 of 28,527 occupied housing units are renter occupied, a 46.3% renter share. ACS observes 7,861 renter households spending at least 30% of income on gross rent, or 59.6% of renter households in its burden tabulation. At the ZORI level, $79,560 of annual household income is the arithmetic amount associated with a 30% rent screen, and the annualized index equals 34.6% of reported median household income. That screen is arithmetic only, not advice or an applicant qualification rule; neither metric establishes any household's cost or eligibility.
Stock and vacancy figures describe composition, not a count of units that can be leased today. The ZCTA has 30,290 housing units, including 1,763 vacant units, for a 5.8% overall vacancy rate. Of the reported vacant units, 859 are for rent, 168 are for sale, and 136 are seasonal; remaining vacancies fall in other reported categories. The structure mix includes 19,859 single-family units and 3,197 units in large multifamily structures. This supports a distinction between all-unit vacancy and rental-purpose vacancy, but it does not prove availability, condition, price, or concessions for a particular property.
Broader figures are reference context rather than substitutes for ZIP evidence: at the city scope, Virginia Beach has reported context rent of about $2,065; at the county scope, Virginia Beach City has reported context rent of $2,065 and a two-bedroom HUD FMR of $1,713; and at the metro scope, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC has reported context rent of $1,878, a 4.1% apartment vacancy measure, and a 27.4% rent-to-income measure. Thus, the city- and county-scope context-rent figures sit above the ZIP index, while the metro-scope figure sits below it. The metro apartment measure is a different universe from the ZIP's all-housing-unit vacancy rate, and none of these broader values replaces ZIP-level listing verification.
Important limits remain. ZORI is an index of typical observed asking rents, ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renters, and HUD FMR is an administrative standard; their differing coverage, timing, and cost definitions prevent a unit-level conclusion. The ZIP and ZCTA label match does not erase the ZCTA's statistical, non-USPS character. Before relying on any benchmark, verify the advertised base rent, exact bedroom count, lease length, availability date, included and required utilities, recurring charges, one-time fees, concession duration, unit condition, and the applicable HUD standard. Confirm the unit's actual vacancy rather than inferring it from an area vacancy statistic, and calculate a household-specific budget separately from the screening arithmetic.
","findings":[{"body":"At $1,989 in June 2026, ZIP ZORI is a current typical observed asking-rent index, not an offer price. The 6.02% annual change describes the index's movement. A decision based on it still requires matching a specific listing's rental type, lease timing, included costs, and actual advertised terms.","title":"Current asking-rent signal"},{"body":"ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent is $1,713 for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. It is not directly interchangeable with current ZORI. The FY2026 two-bedroom HUD FMR is $2,050, an administrative standard rather than asking rent. The reported 16.1% ZORI-over-ACS difference and 3.0% ZORI-below-HUD comparison are descriptive, not a merged market measure.","title":"Three distinct rent universes"},{"body":"The studio-through-four-bedroom series is modelled by applying the local HUD ladder to ZIP ZORI. It ranges from $1,737 to $3,250, while the supporting HUD standards range from $1,790 to $3,350. These outputs describe a scaled relationship, not measured bedroom rents. A unit can differ because the model does not observe its size, utilities, condition, or lease terms.","title":"Modelled bedroom spread"},{"body":"Renter households account for 46.3% of occupied housing units, and 59.6% of renter households are observed in the ACS burden tabulation at or above 30% of income spent on gross rent. The $79,560 figure is only the arithmetic income associated with a 30% screen at ZORI. It neither determines affordability for a household nor establishes qualification for a unit.","title":"Aggregate affordability indicators"}],"risks":["The largest comparability risk is treating ZORI, ACS gross rent, and HUD FMR as interchangeable prices despite their different timing, coverage, utility treatment, and administrative purposes.","Bedroom figures may be overread as listings: they are modelled from the ZIP index and HUD ladder, so they do not observe a unit's size, utilities, fees, or lease.","Area vacancy composition cannot confirm that a particular unit is available, rentable at its advertised price, free of required charges, or offered under the assumed lease terms.","The income screen and burden share are aggregate arithmetic and survey indicators; they omit an individual household's income definition, debts, savings, program status, and property-specific requirements."],"qa":[{"a":"The ZIP label serves both as Zillow's ZIP market identifier and as a matched Census ZCTA in the supplied data. A ZCTA is a statistical area, while a USPS delivery ZIP is an operational delivery geography. The crosswalk permits contextual comparison here, but it does not make those geographic constructs identical.","q":"Why does the ZIP label require a geography caution?"},{"a":"The $1,989 ZORI and $1,713 ACS median gross rent produce the stated 16.1% numerical difference. It does not identify a cause or establish that a listed unit should command either figure. ZORI is a current typical observed asking-rent index, while ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes that includes selected utilities.","q":"What does the difference between ZORI and ACS median gross rent show?"},{"a":"No. The studio through four-bedroom amounts are modelled by scaling ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder. They should be used only as a standardized translation of the index. They do not measure actual rents by bedroom and cannot encode a particular unit's floor area, included costs, lease terms, or condition.","q":"Are the bedroom estimates observed rents?"},{"a":"No. The burden share is an ACS aggregate observation among renter households, and vacancy figures describe area housing-unit composition. Neither identifies the cost, availability, required fees, household income, or qualification terms of a specific property. Verify the listing and lease directly before applying any benchmark to a household-level decision.","q":"Do renter burden or vacancy confirm a property's affordability or availability?"}],"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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