At the June 2026 endpoint, Zillow places the typical observed asking-rent index for ZIP 43207 at $1,371 per month. The latest same-month reading is essentially flat: -0.02% over one year, versus annualized gains of 4.10% over three years and 5.46% over five years. Thus the recent direction breaks from the longer upward path rather than confirming it. The supplied cooling label accords with that change. This is a backward-looking measurement, not a forecast or investment signal. The history is complete at 100% coverage, with 106 monthly observations and 105 consecutive monthly returns. Annualized monthly-return variability was 2.39% and maximum drawdown was -1.31%, which supports more confidence in the index's continuity than a sparse series would, while the recent pause means one current snapshot should not be read as a guaranteed listing price. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 1,571 for momentum, 514 for stability, and 893 for balanced history; lower rank is higher.
Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, whereas the ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes that includes selected utilities. For the matched Census ZCTA, the ACS 2024 five-year median is $1,161 per month, with a $48 margin of error; it is 18.1% below the Zillow index. 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 universes differ in timing, occupancy, included costs, and construction, so the gap is a source-scope comparison, not competing quotes for one home.
Bedroom figures turn the ZIP index into a ladder rather than separate measurements. Using the supplied local HUD ladder, the FY2026 modelled monthly ZIP estimates are $1,061 for a studio, $1,150 for one bedroom, $1,371 for two bedrooms, $1,647 for three bedrooms, and $1,846 for four bedrooms. They scale ZIP ZORI by the local HUD ladder; they are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. The HUD FMR/SAFMR two-bedroom standard is $1,240, making the modelled two-bedroom result 10.6% higher. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. The ladder can help align a broad index with bedroom size, but cannot describe a particular unit's lease terms, condition, utility treatment, or availability.
The mechanical 30% required-income screen turns the current ZIP index into $54,840 of annual income, while the ACS median household income is $63,310. The resulting asking-rent-to-income ratio is 26.0%. This screen is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule, and the area's median does not describe any household's earnings or budget. In the ACS renter-household universe, 3,390 of 7,913 renter households were reported as spending at least 30% of income on rent, a 42.8% share. That burden result summarizes surveyed households rather than today's listings or applications, and it cannot show whether a particular unit is affordable to a particular renter.
Housing stock adds another limit to a ZIP-wide rent reading. The matched ZCTA has 21,304 housing units, of which 19,307 are occupied, and its vacancy rate is 9.4%. Renters account for 41.0% of occupied units. The inventory includes 16,694 single-family units but only 528 large multifamily units, and 156 units classified as vacant for rent. This stock pattern is descriptive, not an explanation for the recent ZORI path. The vacancy rate is area-wide and includes classifications beyond units available to a prospective renter; even the vacant-for-rent count cannot establish current availability, price, fees, concessions, or condition for a named property.
For wider context, the City of Columbus citywide rent context is $1,456.49, Franklin County's countywide rent context is $1,510, and the Columbus, OH, metro-wide rent context is $1,528; each exceeds the ZIP index. The city, county, and metro figures are context only: they cover broader geographies and are not additional ZIP-level observations. The ZIP's reported vacancy rate is higher than the corresponding city and county context rates, while its renter share and reported burden share are lower than those wider context values. Those contrasts identify differences in aggregates; they neither explain them nor assign a rent or vacancy status to a specific property.
The principal limits are level, source, and timing. ZORI is an index rather than a signed lease, ACS is a survey with margins of error, and HUD is an administrative benchmark. A property-level comparison therefore needs the advertised monthly rent, confirmed bedroom count, lease length, utility responsibility, mandatory fees, concessions, availability date, occupancy status, and the particular unit's condition. It also needs clarity on whether the listing is being compared to an asking-rent index, a gross-rent survey median, or an FMR/SAFMR standard. Which advertised terms and actual unit facts align with the relevant source universe?
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow's current ZIP index is effectively unchanged from the same month a year earlier, even though its three- and five-year annualized paths remain positive. Complete monthly coverage, modest variability, and a limited recorded drawdown strengthen confidence that the series captures an actual recent pause. They do not establish how the next rent reading will move or what any individual advertisement should command.","title":"Recent flatness interrupts a longer positive history"},{"body":"The ACS result is lower because it represents a different universe: a five-year survey of occupied renter homes with selected utilities included, rather than observed current asking rents. Its matched ZCTA geography is statistical and only matched to the Zillow ZIP identifier. The difference is informative about benchmark scope, but not evidence that either source is wrong or that a lease will equal either figure.","title":"Zillow and ACS are not interchangeable rent measures"},{"body":"Studio through four-bedroom figures are modelled monthly ZIP estimates created by scaling the current ZORI with the supplied HUD bedroom ladder. The HUD FMR/SAFMR values are administrative standards, not rents observed in live listings. Consequently, the ladder can organize a comparison by bedroom count, but it cannot substitute for measured bedroom-specific asking-rent distributions, unit quality, included utilities, fees, or availability.","title":"The bedroom ladder is modelled rather than observed"},{"body":"The ZIP index sits below the stated citywide, countywide, and metro-wide rent contexts, while the matched ZCTA's vacancy rate is higher than its city and county context rates. These are geographic aggregates with distinct boundaries and stock mixes. They show that the ZIP differs from wider reference areas, but they do not identify why it differs or verify vacancy, price, or concessions for a specific rental.","title":"Wider rent contexts are higher, but remain aggregates"}],"risks":["The ZIP ZORI is a blended typical asking-rent index across rental types. A property with a different bedroom count, lease structure, condition, utility package, or fees can reasonably diverge from that index.","The ACS figures summarize occupied renter homes over five years and carry survey uncertainty. Their ZCTA boundary is statistical rather than a USPS delivery ZIP, so geographic and timing alignment is imperfect.","HUD FMR/SAFMR is designed as an administrative bedroom-specific standard. Scaling ZORI from that ladder produces modelled estimates only, so it cannot confirm asking rents observed for particular bedroom categories.","Vacancy and rent-burden figures are area-wide household and housing-stock measures. Neither can establish that a listed unit is available, affordable to a given applicant, vacant, or offered with a concession."],"qa":[{"a":"It serves as both Zillow's ZIP market identifier for ZORI and the matched Census ZCTA geography for ACS data. The ZCTA is a statistical area used for Census reporting, not a USPS delivery ZIP. The report therefore treats the match as useful geographic alignment, while recognizing that the two geographies are not identical.","q":"What does the 43207 label mean in this report?"},{"a":"The measures cover different universes. Zillow ZORI is a current typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, while ACS median gross rent summarizes occupied renter homes over five years and includes selected utilities. Differences in timing, occupied versus asking-rent status, included costs, and construction can create a gap without making either benchmark incorrect.","q":"Why is Zillow's asking-rent index higher than the ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"No. They are modelled monthly ZIP estimates generated by scaling the ZIP ZORI with the supplied local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard rather than asking rent. The modelled figures are useful for a standardized bedroom comparison, but they do not measure live asking rents, lease terms, fees, or unit-level quality.","q":"Are the bedroom-specific figures measured rents for local listings?"},{"a":"No. The required-income screen is arithmetic based on the ZIP index and a 30% share, not financial advice or an applicant qualification rule. ACS burden data summarize surveyed renter households, and vacancy data summarize area-wide housing classifications. Neither measure can verify a particular renter's finances, a particular unit's availability, its final rent, or concessions.","q":"Can the income screen, burden share, and vacancy rate determine whether one listing is affordable or available?"}],"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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