The central measured tension in 43202 is that the current Zillow asking-rent index is $1,491 per month, while the matched ACS median gross rent is $1,183, a 26.0% gap. The ZIP’s ACS median household income of $69,524 exceeds the $59,640 annual income produced by applying a 30% screen to the current index, yet that arithmetic is not advice, a tenant qualification rule, or evidence that any individual household can afford a specific home. It instead frames a ZIP-level contrast: the current asking-rent measure sits above the survey-based occupied-renter benchmark even as the reported area-wide income measure clears the simplified threshold.
Backward-looking Zillow history shows continued rent growth but a slower recent pace than the longer path. The one-year exact same-month annualized change was 3.1%, compared with 3.4% over three years and 3.9% over five years. Thus, recent direction remains positive but does not fully confirm the faster multi-year pattern; it represents moderation rather than a reversal. Coverage was 100%, supporting the completeness of the historical series. Monthly movements showed 2.3% annualized variability, which supports more confidence in the current snapshot than a highly erratic series would, while still leaving room for ordinary month-to-month movement. The largest observed drawdown was 2.4%, a contained historical decline rather than proof against future changes. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 895 for momentum, 428 for stability, and 312 for the balanced measure, with lower ranks indicating a higher position. These are descriptive discovery measures, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so it is not the same universe as ACS or HUD values. The five-digit label 43202 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. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, whereas HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. The local two-bedroom HUD standard is $1,380, placing the current Zillow index 8.0% higher. Scaling ZIP ZORI through the local HUD bedroom ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,156 for a studio, $1,242 for one bedroom, $1,491 for two bedrooms, $1,783 for three bedrooms, and $2,010 for four bedrooms. They are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents.
ACS describes a renter-heavy occupied housing base: 6,870 renter-occupied homes represent a 69.7% renter share. Of renters with burden data, 2,679 households, or 39.0%, reported paying 30% or more of income toward gross rent. That burden statistic is a survey-based household condition, not proof that a particular advertised unit is unaffordable or that a prospective renter will face the same burden. The housing stock includes both single-family and large multifamily structures. There were 556 vacant homes, for a 5.3% vacancy rate, including 198 units classified as vacant for rent. Those figures establish aggregate availability categories, but they do not reveal unit condition, asking terms, leasing concessions, or immediate availability.
Wider comparisons provide context only and should not be treated as additional ZIP observations: the City of Columbus context asking-rent value was $1,456, the Franklin County context asking-rent value was $1,510, and the Columbus, OH metro context asking-rent value was $1,528. The ZIP therefore sits between the city and the wider county and metro figures on this asking-rent measure. Its renter share is higher and its vacancy rate lower than the corresponding city and county context measures, consistent with a more renter-concentrated local housing base but not evidence about any building. The Columbus, OH metro context rent-to-income figure was 22.4%, below the ZIP’s simplified current-rent screen, another indication that ZIP-level affordability arithmetic should not be substituted for broader-geography averages.
Redfin supplies a separate direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation, not rental transactions or rental comparables. Its median sold price was $394,911, up 6.0% year over year, with 65 homes sold and a median 34 days on market. Active listings increased while reported inventory edged down, producing mixed resale supply signals. Pending sales totaled 71 and months of supply stood at 2.8. The average sale-to-list ratio was 101.2%; 44.5% of sales closed above list price, and 71.9% went off market within two weeks. These resale indicators portray relatively active for-sale liquidity alongside the rent-history slowdown and the higher current asking-rent-versus-ACS comparison. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by the Redfin median sold price equals a 4.5% cross-source screening ratio only; it is not a cap rate, property yield, net return, expected return, or property-specific economics.
The apparent difference between Zillow’s current index and ACS gross rent should be read first as a difference in timing, construction, and covered homes. Zillow tracks typical observed asking rents in the ZIP market, while ACS surveys occupied renter households over a multi-year period and incorporates selected utilities in gross rent. HUD’s bedroom ladder serves a different administrative purpose again. Survey margins of error also mean that ACS values are estimates rather than a unit-by-unit rent census. Likewise, the Redfin sold-price and liquidity evidence belongs entirely to the ZIP’s resale market. Neither stronger resale pricing nor modest historical rent variability establishes a causal explanation for rents, vacancies, household burden, or the outcome for a particular property.
A property-level review should therefore separate the advertised base rent from utilities, parking, concessions, deposit requirements, lease length, bedroom count, condition, and actual availability. For a resale comparison, confirm the property type, sale date, condition, list history, and whether a reported transaction is comparable to the address under review. For rental analysis, verify current asking terms rather than assigning the modelled bedroom ladder to a specific unit. The historical series is complete and comparatively steady, but its positive growth measurements remain backward-looking. The practical unresolved question is whether an individual listing’s all-in monthly terms align with the broad ZIP snapshot and the household circumstances being evaluated?
","findings":[{"body":"The current ZIP Zillow asking-rent index is $1,491, while ACS median gross rent is $1,183. This 26.0% difference is informative but not a like-for-like rent comparison: Zillow tracks observed asking rents, while ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities.","title":"Current rent sits above the occupied-renter survey benchmark"},{"body":"Exact same-month Zillow rent growth was 3.1% over one year, 3.4% over three years, and 3.9% over five years. The recent positive direction therefore continues the upward path but is slower than the longer-horizon measurements. Historical variability and drawdown measures remain backward-looking rather than predictive.","title":"Growth remains positive but has moderated"},{"body":"Renter-occupied homes account for 69.7% of occupied housing in the matched ZCTA, and 39.0% of renters with burden data reported spending at least 30% of income on gross rent. Those statistics describe surveyed households in aggregate; they cannot establish affordability, vacancy, or lease terms for a particular unit.","title":"Renter concentration and reported burden are material"},{"body":"Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale data show a $394,911 median sold price, 6.0% annual appreciation, 2.8 months of supply, and an average sale-to-list ratio above 100%. Those signals concern for-sale liquidity, not rental transactions. The 4.5% rent-price screen is only a cross-source comparison ratio.","title":"Resale evidence is firm but belongs to another market universe"}],"risks":["The Zillow asking-rent index, ACS gross-rent survey, and HUD bedroom standards cover different populations, time structures, and rent concepts, so apparent gaps cannot be treated as direct evidence of a property-specific rent premium.","Historical rent growth was positive, but the one-year pace was below the three-year and five-year measures. A current rent snapshot should therefore be interpreted with the documented variability and past drawdown in mind.","The reported vacancy rate and vacant-for-rent count are area-wide classifications. They do not show whether a specific available home is habitable, competitively priced, concessioned, or available on the desired move-in date.","Redfin resale measures may indicate active for-sale conditions, but they do not establish rental demand, operating expenses, tenant payment capacity, unit-level pricing, or a financial return for any property."],"qa":[{"a":"The two figures are not designed to measure the same thing. Zillow ZORI is a current typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, while ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey estimate for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. Timing, unit mix, occupancy status, and utility treatment can all contribute to the difference.","q":"Why is Zillow rent higher than ACS median gross rent here?"},{"a":"No. The studio through four-bedroom figures are modelled monthly ZIP estimates created by scaling the overall Zillow asking-rent index using the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent, so the resulting estimates should not be assigned to a particular listing.","q":"Are the bedroom rent figures actual measured rents for 43202?"},{"a":"It is a simple arithmetic screen: annualized monthly Zillow rent divided by 30% produces an annual income figure of $59,640. It is not financial advice, an affordability determination, a tenant-screening standard, or a prediction of whether a particular household will qualify for a lease.","q":"What does the 30% required-income figure mean?"},{"a":"No. The 4.5% figure is annualized ZIP ZORI divided by Redfin’s ZIP median sold price, combining two different source universes for a limited screening comparison. It excludes property expenses, financing, taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, unit condition, transaction costs, and any address-specific income information.","q":"Does the Redfin rent-price screen show an investment return?"}],"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 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