The chief issue in 36830 is the gap between two valid but non-interchangeable rent measures. The five-digit label is both Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and a matched Census ZCTA label; a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI is $1,835 per month, a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. The ACS 2024 five-year survey places median gross rent at $1,092 among occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The asking index is 68.0% higher, a source-universe difference rather than a rent change. ZCTA median household income is $70,188. A mechanical 30% income screen translates the current asking index to $73,400 annually and 31.4% of that median income; it is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule.
History gives the current index a documented but backward-looking path. Exact same-month ZORI changes show a 3.7% gain over one year, a 5.3% annualized gain over three years, and a 6.9% annualized gain over five years. The recent direction therefore confirms the longer upward path, while its latest pace is below each longer annualized measure. Annualized variability of monthly returns is 2.8%, and maximum drawdown is -3.0%. The series has 100% coverage across 92 observations. Its transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 507 for momentum, 1,233 for stability, and 416 for the balanced measure, where a lower rank is higher. Coverage makes this a complete index record, but the observed variability and drawdown limit the confidence warranted in a current rent snapshot. These measurements are not a forecast or an investment recommendation.
The bedroom ladder translates the ZIP index rather than samples completed or advertised rents by unit size. The modelled monthly estimates are $1,321 for a studio, $1,547 for one bedroom, $1,835 for two bedrooms, $2,290 for three bedrooms, and $2,699 for four bedrooms. They scale ZIP ZORI using the supplied local FY2026 HUD ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent; the supplied ladder may be ZIP SAFMR or county-derived. Accordingly, these are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents, and the alignment of the two-bedroom estimate with the overall index is a scaling result. The ladder supplies a relative size framework but cannot identify an individual property’s advertised price, utilities, or condition.
ACS also supplies a survey-period housing-stock frame for the matched ZCTA. It counts 24,396 units and estimates 3,270 vacant units, a 13.4% vacancy rate; renter share is 43.6%. Stock includes single-family and large multifamily structures. These are area-level stock and occupancy estimates, not a real-time inventory of marketable rentals. Vacancy includes categories that can be seasonal or for sale rather than for rent. It therefore cannot establish availability, condition, concessions, or price for a particular property. The renter share describes occupancy composition and does not convert the asking index into a renter-household median.
Burden is another ACS household measure that should not be merged with ZORI. In the matched ZCTA, 49.9% of renter households report gross-rent burden at 30% or more of income. Gross rent in this survey includes selected utilities and refers to occupied renter homes, not an advertised unit’s stated payment. The result documents how the survey definition classifies renter households; it does not show that a particular available home is affordable, burdensome, or leased at the asking index. The burden result and the mechanical income screen retain different household, timing, and utility treatment, so neither is evidence of an individual applicant’s outcome.
For broader rent context only, the City of Auburn has a city-scope asking-rent index of about $1,822, Lee County has a county-scope asking-rent index of $1,728, and the Auburn-Opelika, AL metro has a metro-scope asking-rent index of $1,728. The ZIP index sits above all three wider-geography readings, but they are context rather than substitutes for the ZIP observation. City, county, and metro figures are different geographic aggregates from the ZIP market identifier and cannot establish a property-level rent. They also should not be combined with the ZCTA gross-rent median or the HUD standard as though each were a single market price. The comparison is useful for scale only, with ZIP ZORI remaining the direct asking-rent reference.
Several limits remain before any property interpretation. ZORI is an index rather than a unit-level quote, ACS estimates are survey measures with sampling uncertainty, HUD is a standard, and the ZIP–ZCTA match does not make a ZCTA identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Property-level checks needed for a candidate are the live asking rent, exact location within Zillow’s market identifier, bedroom count and layout, property type, availability, lease term, included utilities, and recurring fees. Those details determine whether an advertised payment is comparable with an index or a modelled size estimate. The key closing question is: does the verified property-specific asking package match the relevant scope and bedroom framework, rather than being assumed from an area average?
","findings":[{"body":"The Zillow index is materially above the ACS median gross rent, but the figures do not contradict each other. ZORI is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index across rental types. ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The gap should first be read as a difference in rent concept, population, timing, and scope.","title":"The headline gap is methodological"},{"body":"The history is complete within its observed window and shows positive same-month growth at the recent, three-year, and five-year horizons. However, monthly-return variability and a past drawdown mean the current index is not a property-specific fixed price. National discovery ranks are descriptive history positions, with lower rank higher; they do not convert historic change into a forecast.","title":"History shows growth with measurable variation"},{"body":"Studio through four-bedroom figures are generated by applying the local HUD bedroom ladder to ZIP ZORI. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard rather than asking-rent evidence. The resulting values provide an internally consistent relative size pattern, but they remain modelled estimates. They should not be presented as measured bedroom rents, lease transactions, or a property’s advertised price.","title":"Bedroom values are a HUD-scaled model"},{"body":"ACS reports housing stock, vacancy, renter share, gross-rent burden, income, and median gross rent for the matched ZCTA. These measures frame area-level occupied households and units over the survey period. They do not establish that a vacant home is rentable, that a particular household faces burden, or that any candidate property carries the area’s statistical rent.","title":"Vacancy and burden remain area-level screens"}],"risks":["The Zillow value is a blended ZIP asking-rent index rather than a unit-level quote. An active property may differ by bedroom count, property type, lease term, utilities, fees, availability, and condition.","The Census ZCTA is a statistical reporting area rather than a USPS delivery ZIP, and its five-year ACS figures estimate occupied renter homes with sampling uncertainty rather than identifying current active listings.","HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard. Scaling ZORI with the HUD ladder produces comparative modelled estimates, but does not measure asking rents for bedrooms or individual properties.","Vacancy and rent-burden results describe area-level survey categories. They cannot prove a particular home is available, determine a household’s financial outcome, or establish the payment ultimately negotiated."],"qa":[{"a":"Zillow ZORI reports a typical observed ZIP-level asking-rent index blended across rental types at the stated endpoint. ACS median gross rent comes from the matched ZCTA’s five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. Different timing, populations, and rent definitions mean their dollar values answer different questions.","q":"Why does the Zillow asking-rent index differ from ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"No. The studio through four-bedroom values are modelled monthly estimates generated by scaling ZIP ZORI according to the local HUD ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is a bedroom-specific administrative standard, not asking rent. The estimates show a consistent size pattern but are not observed listings, leases, or measured bedroom rents.","q":"Are the bedroom-specific values observed rents for Auburn properties?"},{"a":"No. The history is backward-looking only. Exact same-month changes, monthly-return variability, maximum drawdown, coverage, and national discovery ranks summarize what Zillow observations recorded through the endpoint. A positive past path can confirm historical direction relative to longer periods, but it cannot establish future ZORI, an individual listing’s rent, or an investment outcome.","q":"Does the history predict future rent changes or investment results?"},{"a":"Area data cannot resolve a candidate unit. Relevant property-level facts are the live asking rent, exact bedroom count and layout, address relationship to the Zillow market identifier, property type, availability, lease term, included utilities, and recurring fees. Those facts establish comparability with the index or modelled estimate, while vacancy and burden do not.","q":"What facts are needed to compare a specific property with these area 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 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2026-06","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"}],"history":[{"period":"2018-11-01","rent":1226.977049},{"period":"2018-12-01","rent":1230.365326},{"period":"2019-01-01","rent":1213.799939},{"period":"2019-02-01","rent":1210.747861},{"period":"2019-03-01","rent":1220.658878},{"period":"2019-04-01","rent":1240.703415},{"period":"2019-05-01","rent":1229.704728},{"period":"2019-06-01","rent":1237.147509},{"period":"2019-07-01","rent":1222.400151},{"period":"2019-08-01","rent":1221.623529},{"period":"2019-09-01","rent":1221.78008},{"period":"2019-10-01","rent":1238.282383},{"period":"2019-11-01","rent":1242.698278},{"period":"2019-12-01","rent":1241.17909},{"period":"2020-01-01","rent":1230.540391},{"period":"2020-02-01","rent":1240.232028},{"period":"2020-03-01","rent":1255.332006},{"period":"2020-04-01","rent":1251.214911},{"period":"2020-05-01","rent":1246.973722},{"period":"2020-06-01","rent":1250.434909},{"period":"2020-07-01","rent":1256.201727},{"period":"2020-08-01","rent":1266.033024},{"period":"2020-09-01","rent":1263.324411},{"period":"2020-10-01","rent":1255.802543},{"period":"2020-11-01","rent":1241.017094},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":1260.945011},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":1277.243212},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":1294.045021},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":1290.337869},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":1305.07908},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":1309.063732},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":1316.216089},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":1326.317488},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1351.218132},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1372.605553},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1398.617554},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":1406.871267},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":1410.256033},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":1402.382758},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":1398.681291},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":1402.887202},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":1408.14447},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1429.957209},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":1439.524341},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":1459.240688},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":1477.381416},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":1505.412644},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":1511.009975},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":1509.536091},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1494.555463},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":1503.693006},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1513.511115},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1538.156753},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1546.56246},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1565.380556},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1570.893886},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1581.368375},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1553.557217},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1534.204164},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1538.046895},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1563.550074},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1598.430668},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1603.529536},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1626.725315},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1642.223656},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1660.364527},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1652.762398},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1665.029349},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1666.526139},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1691.544271},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1702.456038},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1713.867228},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1721.316126},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1726.085106},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1742.635227},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1744.780541},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1741.308808},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1744.009634},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1760.939314},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1769.939438},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1781.249307},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1793.029799},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1809.119515},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1816.645537},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1816.797779},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1817.091894},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1818.449415},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1820.978975},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1827.816702},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1831.703037},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1833.999487},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1834.786555}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":92,"firstPeriod":"2018-11-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":92,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1769.939438,"endRent":1834.786555,"change":0.03663804286618744,"cagr":0.03663804286618744},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1570.893886,"endRent":1834.786555,"change":0.16798885739631664,"cagr":0.053124136713192716},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1316.216089,"endRent":1834.786555,"change":0.39398581306963476,"cagr":0.06868981585156542}},"maxDrawdown":-0.029824936267616953,"annualizedVolatility":0.02791255348798733,"consecutiveReturnCount":91}}