For 30044, the distinctive decision is whether the current typical asking rent fits a household’s budget and required bedroom count despite substantial survey-reported renter burden. Zillow ZORI is $1,797 for June 2026, up 1.04% year over year. ZORI is a ZIP-level index of typical observed asking rent blended across rental types, not a quote for an available property. At that rent, the arithmetic 30% screen implies $71,880 in annual gross income. That translation is neither financial advice nor an applicant qualification rule. The 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.
Income and burden evidence shows why a near-threshold arithmetic result should not be mistaken for household-level affordability. In the ACS 2024 five-year survey, median household income was $77,321. Annualized ZORI equals 27.9% of that median, but the income measure covers all households and does not identify renter income or any applicant’s resources. Renters occupied 38.1% of occupied homes, representing 11,692 renter homes. The survey records 6,710 renter homes with gross rent at or above 30% of household income, a 57.4% burden share. That is an observed area-level distribution subject to survey uncertainty; it cannot show whether a particular renter or unit is burdened.
The main rent benchmarks are close in some cases, but they answer different questions. ACS median gross rent was $1,826, with a reported margin of error of $43. ZORI was 98.4% of that amount, yet the proximity does not make the measures interchangeable: ACS covers occupied renter homes over a five-year survey window and includes selected utilities, while Zillow tracks typical observed asking rent. The FY2026 local HUD two-bedroom benchmark was $2,110, with ZORI equal to 85.2% of it. HUD FMR or SAFMR is a bedroom-specific administrative standard, potentially ZIP-based or county-derived here, not an observed asking-rent measure.
Bedroom budgeting requires a model rather than a claim about measured unit rents. Scaling ZIP ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,567 for a studio, $1,635 for one bedroom, $1,797 for two bedrooms, $2,155 for three bedrooms and $2,572 for four bedrooms. The sequence preserves the relative spacing in the HUD ladder while anchoring the model to the blended ZIP ZORI. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. They do not adjust for property type, floor area, condition, utility responsibility, concessions, lease duration or availability, so an actual quote may differ materially from the corresponding modelled figure.
The ACS housing inventory helps frame what the area statistics represent. The ZCTA contained 32,063 housing units, of which 30,665 were occupied and 1,398 were vacant, producing a broad housing vacancy rate of 4.4%. The structure counts included 23,695 single-family units and 2,364 units in large multifamily structures, so a blended ZIP rent index spans a stock mix that may differ from a renter’s target property. Among vacancy classifications supplied, 908 units were for rent, compared with 63 for sale and 46 for seasonal use. Those categories do not account for every vacancy, and none demonstrates that a suitable rental is currently available.
Wider Zillow asking-rent context places the Lawrenceville city scope at about $1,881, the Gwinnett County scope at $1,848 and the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA metro scope at $1,854; the ZIP index sits below each, although none is a property quote. Separately, ACS renter share was 53.0% in the Lawrenceville city scope and 33.7% in the Gwinnett County scope, placing the ZIP between those wider geographies. ACS renter burden was 62.0% in the Lawrenceville city scope and 61.8% in the Gwinnett County scope, both above the ZIP result reported earlier. Each value retains its named geography and evidence universe rather than being blended into a ZIP estimate.
The report is limited by aggregation, timing and definition. ZORI cannot identify the asking rent of a specific listing; ACS estimates describe a statistical ZCTA over a multi-year survey period; HUD standards serve administrative purposes; and wider geographies are context only. Before evaluating a property, verify its exact USPS delivery ZIP, address, bedroom count, property type, advertised base rent, utility responsibility, mandatory recurring fees, deposits, concessions, lease term, availability date and qualification criteria. Compare the resulting recurring housing cost with the household’s own gross income rather than relying on an area median. If a HUD standard matters to the transaction, confirm the applicable geography and current bedroom-specific schedule directly.
","findings":[{"body":"The ZIP-level Zillow ZORI places typical observed asking rent at $1,797 in June 2026, with 1.04% year-over-year growth. That level is below the Lawrenceville city asking-rent context of about $1,881, the Gwinnett County context of $1,848 and the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA metro context of $1,854. The narrow spread makes property-specific quote checks more decisive than broad geographic averages.","title":"Current asking-rent position"},{"body":"The studio through four-bedroom figures are modelled estimates created by scaling the ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder. They run from $1,567 for a studio to $2,572 for four bedrooms. They are useful for consistent budget comparisons, but they are not measured bedroom-specific asking rents and cannot substitute for a live quote tied to a unit’s size and terms.","title":"Modelled bedroom ladder"},{"body":"ACS reports that 6,710 of 11,692 occupied renter homes had gross rent at or above 30% of household income, a 57.4% share. This area-level survey result indicates that burden was common among observed renter homes, even though annualized ZORI equals 27.9% of overall median household income. The measures use different populations and cannot determine affordability for a particular applicant.","title":"Observed renter burden"},{"body":"The ZCTA’s broad housing vacancy rate was 4.4%, based on 1,398 vacant units among 32,063 total units. Of the supplied vacancy classifications, 908 units were designated for rent, while much smaller counts were for sale or seasonal use. These aggregate survey categories do not identify unit size, rent, condition, timing or whether any vacancy matches a renter’s requirements.","title":"Vacancy requires composition checks"}],"risks":["Zillow ZORI, ACS median gross rent and HUD FMR or SAFMR use different definitions, time frames and purposes; treating them as interchangeable can produce a misleading property budget.","The ACS evidence is survey-based and subject to sampling uncertainty, while the matched ZCTA is a statistical area that may not align exactly with USPS delivery boundaries.","Bedroom figures are modelled estimates derived from ZIP ZORI and the local HUD ladder; they may diverge from actual quotes because property attributes, fees and concessions are absent.","Aggregate vacancy and burden statistics cannot prove availability, competitiveness, affordability or qualification for a particular unit, household or application at the time of a search."],"qa":[{"a":"ZORI is a ZIP-level index of typical observed asking rent blended across rental types at the stated month. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey measure for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. Their numerical proximity does not erase differences in occupancy status, timing, coverage or cost definition.","q":"Why are Zillow ZORI and ACS median gross rent not interchangeable?"},{"a":"They are modelled monthly estimates created by anchoring the local HUD bedroom ladder to the ZIP’s blended Zillow ZORI. They preserve HUD’s relative bedroom spacing but are not observed bedroom-specific asking rents. A property quote can differ because of structure type, size, utilities, fees, concessions, condition and lease terms.","q":"What do the bedroom figures actually represent?"},{"a":"At the current ZORI, the arithmetic screen produces required annual gross income of $71,880. It is only a rent-to-income calculation using 30%, not financial advice, a guarantee of affordability or an applicant qualification rule. Actual recurring costs, household obligations and landlord criteria are not represented.","q":"How should the 30% required-income screen be interpreted?"},{"a":"Confirm the exact address and USPS delivery ZIP, then obtain the current base rent, bedroom count, property type, utility allocation, mandatory recurring fees, deposits, concessions, lease length and availability date. Compare the full recurring cost with the household’s own income and verify any applicable HUD geography separately.","q":"Which checks matter most for a specific rental?"}],"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":1014.277312},{"period":"2015-02-01","rent":1031.68249},{"period":"2015-03-01","rent":1045.312306},{"period":"2015-04-01","rent":1043.650993},{"period":"2015-05-01","rent":1041.617464},{"period":"2015-06-01","rent":1039.37122},{"period":"2015-07-01","rent":1044.243074},{"period":"2015-08-01","rent":1042.826826},{"period":"2015-09-01","rent":1052.836392},{"period":"2015-10-01","rent":1062.750636},{"period":"2015-11-01","rent":1076.497107},{"period":"2015-12-01","rent":1078.928418},{"period":"2016-01-01","rent":1069.834076},{"period":"2016-02-01","rent":1069.216683},{"period":"2016-03-01","rent":1069.40609},{"period":"2016-04-01","rent":1072.855911},{"period":"2016-05-01","rent":1081.853026},{"period":"2016-06-01","rent":1089.87464},{"period":"2016-07-01","rent":1095.294645},{"period":"2016-08-01","rent":1107.228809},{"period":"2016-09-01","rent":1111.944882},{"period":"2016-10-01","rent":1121.335151},{"period":"2016-11-01","rent":1120.542133},{"period":"2016-12-01","rent":1129.530532},{"period":"2017-01-01","rent":1137.690893},{"period":"2017-02-01","rent":1140.494634},{"period":"2017-03-01","rent":1141.760943},{"period":"2017-04-01","rent":1152.556661},{"period":"2017-05-01","rent":1161.270694},{"period":"2017-06-01","rent":1173.60837},{"period":"2017-07-01","rent":1182.178392},{"period":"2017-08-01","rent":1183.254367},{"period":"2017-09-01","rent":1182.436037},{"period":"2017-10-01","rent":1181.393939},{"period":"2017-11-01","rent":1192.041909},{"period":"2017-12-01","rent":1198.32767},{"period":"2018-01-01","rent":1209.554678},{"period":"2018-02-01","rent":1213.915998},{"period":"2018-03-01","rent":1221.670576},{"period":"2018-04-01","rent":1220.538195},{"period":"2018-05-01","rent":1227.204836},{"period":"2018-06-01","rent":1228.154432},{"period":"2018-07-01","rent":1236.652797},{"period":"2018-08-01","rent":1242.70544},{"period":"2018-09-01","rent":1256.481168},{"period":"2018-10-01","rent":1266.463987},{"period":"2018-11-01","rent":1272.435472},{"period":"2018-12-01","rent":1272.484922},{"period":"2019-01-01","rent":1271.852366},{"period":"2019-02-01","rent":1278.803685},{"period":"2019-03-01","rent":1284.878477},{"period":"2019-04-01","rent":1292.42774},{"period":"2019-05-01","rent":1293.476028},{"period":"2019-06-01","rent":1297.167903},{"period":"2019-07-01","rent":1296.958451},{"period":"2019-08-01","rent":1300.975979},{"period":"2019-09-01","rent":1300.766842},{"period":"2019-10-01","rent":1302.397955},{"period":"2019-11-01","rent":1302.857674},{"period":"2019-12-01","rent":1307.999146},{"period":"2020-01-01","rent":1311.306797},{"period":"2020-02-01","rent":1312.690854},{"period":"2020-03-01","rent":1314.350745},{"period":"2020-04-01","rent":1320.620721},{"period":"2020-05-01","rent":1324.991143},{"period":"2020-06-01","rent":1340.980548},{"period":"2020-07-01","rent":1355.672716},{"period":"2020-08-01","rent":1370.330309},{"period":"2020-09-01","rent":1376.198714},{"period":"2020-10-01","rent":1390.635777},{"period":"2020-11-01","rent":1403.112629},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":1415.848115},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":1446.330526},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":1494.499256},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":1522.649676},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":1545.704675},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":1557.053946},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":1568.265296},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":1586.917102},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1618.143695},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1661.2168},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1706.531779},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":1735.889607},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":1744.005772},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":1722.215699},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":1699.06027},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":1701.203183},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":1695.387206},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1719.152233},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":1736.079572},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":1764.962879},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":1767.822215},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":1776.042793},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":1766.247212},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":1760.571544},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1768.460171},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":1779.495802},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1809.077246},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1828.960341},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1857.255063},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1856.493218},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1850.59461},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1832.037169},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1823.498219},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1806.638931},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1804.708909},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1807.426748},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1823.389901},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1831.465446},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1817.295542},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1794.586302},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1792.485496},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1801.496634},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1816.726854},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1808.024826},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1802.045823},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1808.136631},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1811.440746},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1816.15041},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1806.197272},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1805.441299},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1813.724893},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1827.612029},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1813.085222},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1801.837365},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1778.658648},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1787.189145},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1793.735093},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1793.688692},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1792.311342},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1787.382416},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1785.20279},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1780.23425},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1775.604979},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1772.347082},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1779.688647},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1784.615745},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1797.124595}],"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":1778.658648,"endRent":1797.124595,"change":0.010381951039770243,"cagr":0.010381951039770243},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1850.59461,"endRent":1797.124595,"change":-0.028893424151927083,"cagr":-0.009725418527271046},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1568.265296,"endRent":1797.124595,"change":0.14593149487126067,"cagr":0.027618066936704766}},"maxDrawdown":-0.04571691992743809,"annualizedVolatility":0.026818878036106948,"consecutiveReturnCount":137}}