At $1,293 in June 2026, the 43228 Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) sets a focused decision question: whether a property’s current advertised monthly rent is being compared with the right ZIP-level benchmark. The index declined 1.98% from a year earlier, which is a direction-of-change reading rather than evidence about an individual listing. Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. 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. The shared label makes comparison possible, but the ZIP-index and ZCTA-survey evidence retain separate definitions, coverage, and timing.
The bedroom view is deliberately a model, not a rent survey. Scaling ZIP ZORI by the supplied local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,006 for a studio, $1,082 for one bedroom, $1,293 for two bedrooms, $1,552 for three bedrooms, and $1,743 for four bedrooms. The local HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder behind that scaling is $1,050, $1,130, $1,350, $1,620, and $1,820 in the corresponding bedroom order. These figures inherit the ladder’s relative bedroom pattern from the ZIP-wide index; they are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent, so neither the ladder nor its scaled estimates establishes a particular unit’s advertised rent.
For wider context only, the City of Columbus (city scope) context rent figure is $1,456, Franklin County (county scope) is $1,510, and Columbus, OH (metro scope) is $1,528. Each is above the ZIP ZORI, but the wider geographic scopes mean they are comparison context rather than substitutes for the ZIP reading. Vacancy-series scope differs as well: the city and county values cover housing units, while the metro value is apartment-specific. That measurement distinction means even the vacancy context cannot be treated as an interchangeable supply reading. These scope differences make the comparison useful for scale, not for establishing availability, pricing, or vacancy at any ZIP property.
In the matched Census ZCTA, ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent is $1,233. It summarizes occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, so it is a survey measure rather than an asking-rent series. The difference from the ZIP ZORI should be read through those differing universes, not merged into a single rent level. Separately, the FY2026 local HUD two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR is $1,350. The ZIP index is below that administrative benchmark, but the arithmetic contrast does not convert an all-types asking-rent index into a two-bedroom standard or indicate a property’s rent.
Income and burden add a different household lens. The matched ZCTA’s ACS median household income is $61,713, and renter-occupied homes make up 55.8% of occupied homes. Applying a 30% share of income to the $1,293 monthly ZIP index yields a required annual income of $51,720; the index’s annualized amount equals 25.1% of that median income. This required-income screen is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. In the ACS renter-household burden base, 5,944 of 13,751 renter households, or 43.2%, reported gross-rent burden at or above the threshold. That observed share describes surveyed households, not the burden of a specific unit or prospective renter.
Housing counts show the ZCTA survey’s stock and vacancy composition rather than a live inventory. Of 26,189 housing units, 24,653 were occupied and 1,536 were vacant, producing a 5.9% vacancy rate. Within reported vacant units, 644 were classified as for rent, 25 as for sale, and 133 as seasonal use. Those designations separate reported vacancy statuses, while the total also contains other vacancy categories not itemized here. The for-rent classification is not a count of active listings, and no category demonstrates that a particular building, unit type, or lease term is available. Survey composition is useful context but cannot prove availability or a price for a specific unit.
Several limits govern any property use. ZORI is a ZIP-level blended index; ACS is a sampled ZCTA survey of occupied renter homes; and HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard. Their different geographies, timing, populations, and rent definitions prevent a unit-level conclusion. For a specific property, check the advertised base rent, every required utility charge, the bedroom designation, lease term, concessions, availability date, and the current listing or occupancy status. Confirm whether the quote is monthly and whether any income calculation uses the actual lease payment rather than an index or standard. These checks keep a market comparison separate from a property fact and keep the arithmetic screen separate from qualification.
","findings":[{"body":"The ZIP ZORI is a current asking-rent index, while ACS median gross rent summarizes occupied renter homes and selected utilities over a five-year survey. Their gap is informative as a difference in construction and timing, not as a conversion factor. A property quote should be compared with its own base-rent and utility terms rather than treated as interchangeable with either series.","title":"ZIP index versus survey rent"},{"body":"The studio-through-four-bedroom figures are modelled by applying the local HUD bedroom ladder to the ZIP-wide ZORI. They are not observations from a bedroom-level rent sample. HUD FMR/SAFMR provides the administrative ladder used for scaling, so the figures help frame relative bedroom differences but cannot verify a unit’s advertised rent.","title":"Bedroom figures are scaled estimates"},{"body":"Median household income provides a broad ZCTA income reference, and the required-income figure is a mechanical rent-to-income calculation. The observed burden share instead reports renter households whose reported gross rent met the burden threshold in the ACS survey. Neither measure identifies a particular household, lease, payment arrangement, or property.","title":"Income and burden answer different questions"},{"body":"Vacancy counts distinguish units classified for rent, sale, or seasonal use within the ZCTA survey. Those status categories are useful for describing the composition of reported vacant housing but do not show real-time availability, list price, lease concessions, condition, or whether a specific address is vacant. Property-level confirmation remains necessary.","title":"Vacancy is not live availability"}],"risks":["The ZIP label and ZCTA match for reporting, but ZCTA boundaries are statistical and do not equal USPS delivery ZIP boundaries; an address-level geography check remains essential before applying ZIP results.","ZORI is a blended asking-rent index rather than a property sample, and the ACS survey’s occupied-home median includes selected utilities; treating either as a lease quote can misstate the actual payment basis.","The bedroom estimates inherit the local HUD ladder’s structure and the ZIP-wide ZORI level, not observed bedroom-specific transactions or listings; bedroom, utility, lease, and unit-condition differences remain unresolved without property records.","ACS vacancy and burden are survey measures whose classifications do not establish active marketing, a current lease, or a renter’s payment at any named property; interpreting them as unit-level proof creates material error."],"qa":[{"a":"ZORI provides a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index and a year-over-year directional change. Because it blends rental types and is not an inventory of current offerings, it can frame a comparison but cannot identify a unit’s bedroom-specific rent, utility treatment, availability, or lease terms.","q":"What does the current ZIP rent represent?"},{"a":"ACS median gross rent and ZORI answer different questions. ACS is a multi-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, whereas ZORI is a current asking-rent index. The values may be compared descriptively, but their populations, timing, and definitions should remain separate.","q":"Why are there both Zillow and ACS rent figures?"},{"a":"No. They are modelled estimates created by scaling the ZIP-wide ZORI with the supplied local HUD FMR/SAFMR bedroom ladder. The process represents relative bedroom differences from an administrative standard; it does not collect bedroom-level asking rents or establish what an individual owner is seeking.","q":"Can the bedroom estimates be used as measured rents?"},{"a":"Verify advertised base rent, utility obligations, concessions, lease term, bedroom designation, availability date, and current listing status for the exact property. Then use the actual monthly lease payment for any affordability arithmetic. These checks resolve issues that ZIP indices, survey medians, standards, and vacancy categories cannot answer.","q":"What should be verified for a specific property?"}],"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":"2020-11-01","rent":1001.631555},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":992.575195},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":994.505418},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":985.992983},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":996.384535},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":1005.622992},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":1022.424597},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":1032.023211},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":1053.621911},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1068.221203},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1090.534559},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1097.219124},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":1101.742797},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":1119.462654},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":1123.485915},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":1135.901356},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":1135.636968},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":1143.415951},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1157.259714},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":1180.589333},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":1193.827357},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":1200.662761},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":1195.879137},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":1201.648679},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":1216.718192},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1229.620736},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":1232.639597},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1228.161683},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1243.232513},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1253.567134},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1250.860534},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1232.760084},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1235.002052},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1245.557403},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1260.055335},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1263.120076},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1259.089166},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1260.870195},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1276.870121},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1292.77413},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1289.865753},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1297.370358},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1315.341842},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1330.341109},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1321.98212},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1317.028513},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1320.223347},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1325.031867},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1325.490255},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1324.86556},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1319.642844},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1322.501076},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1331.05036},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1333.755586},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1330.490443},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1319.538483},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1328.367487},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1331.273437},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1327.37338},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1325.336339},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1327.277434},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1326.266542},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1323.392777},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1314.985236},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1307.164008},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1298.831909},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1291.704566},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1293.424867}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":68,"firstPeriod":"2020-11-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":68,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1319.538483,"endRent":1293.424867,"change":-0.019789961669499978,"cagr":-0.019789961669499978},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1232.760084,"endRent":1293.424867,"change":0.04921053478886006,"cagr":0.016141559750893375},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1032.023211,"endRent":1293.424867,"change":0.2532904814676693,"cagr":0.04618947905956117}},"maxDrawdown":-0.031528280324668034,"annualizedVolatility":0.027299967089369267,"consecutiveReturnCount":67}}