At June 2026, Zillow’s ZIP-level ZORI places the typical observed asking-rent index in 46140 at $1,562 per month. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so it is a current market signal rather than a survey of occupied households or a bedroom-specific quote sheet. 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. That geography caveat matters because the result is a ZIP-market index, not proof of the rent, availability, or characteristics of any individual dwelling.
That nearly unchanged latest reading is the key break in the historical pattern. Exact same-month annualized ZORI changes are 0.04% over one year, 3.35% over three years, and 5.79% over five years. The backward-looking series contains 62 monthly observations with 100% coverage; annualized monthly-return variability is 3.04%, and the maximum drawdown is −2.51%. Its momentum, stability, and balanced transparent national discovery ranks are 1,696, 1,685, and 1,918 among history-eligible ZIPs, where a lower rank is higher. These are measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations. The cooling endpoint therefore does not confirm the earlier multiyear pace; it interrupts it. The prior variability and drawdown also mean a single current snapshot deserves measured confidence, even with complete coverage.
Comparing current asking rent with the Census measure requires an explicit universe change. In the ACS 2024 five-year matched ZCTA survey, median gross rent is $1,154, with a reported margin of error of $61, versus the current asking-rent index, a 35.4% gap. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey statistic for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities; it is not a measure of live listings. HUD’s FY2026 administrative, bedroom-specific FMR/SAFMR standard is likewise not asking rent. Using that local HUD ladder to scale ZIP ZORI produces modelled monthly estimates—not measured bedroom rents—of $1,186 for a studio, $1,345 for one bedroom, $1,562 for two bedrooms, $2,018 for three bedrooms, and $2,474 for four bedrooms. Those estimates preserve the local ladder’s relative steps, not unit-level rent observations.
The income screen and burden result point to a different tension. Applying the 30% rule to the current index gives a required gross annual income of $62,480; this is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. The matched ZCTA’s median household income is $83,056, and the ZIP asking-rent-to-income screen is 22.6%. Yet ACS reports 2,191 of 4,740 renter households as spending at least that threshold on gross rent, a 46.2% burden share, with a reported margin of 396 households. This is a population-level survey result about occupied renters, not evidence that any particular lease is affordable or unaffordable. It also should not be merged with the ZORI listing index to infer a household’s actual utility-inclusive payment.
The ZCTA housing base sets limits on how much can be read from the rent and burden statistics. It contains 18,602 housing units, of which 426 are vacant, for a 2.29% vacancy rate. The structure mix is dominated by single-family units, while large multifamily buildings form a much smaller component; renter occupancy is also a minority of occupied housing. Units classified vacant for rent are a survey category at the ACS reference period, not a count of current Zillow listings, and vacancy does not establish a particular unit’s condition, price, lease terms, or immediate availability. Accordingly, aggregate stock describes composition and an observed vacancy snapshot rather than apartment turnover or property-level competitive supply.
Wider geographies frame the level but cannot substitute for the direct ZIP series. The Greenfield city context asking-rent index is $1,583.65, the Hancock County context asking-rent index is $1,695, and the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN metro context asking-rent index is $1,558. Thus the ZIP’s current index is below the named city and county context values while close to the named metro context value. These are city-, county-, and metro-scope context figures, respectively, rather than alternate measures for the ZIP. Their different geographic coverage and rental mixes prevent them from resolving the ACS-versus-ZORI difference or from supplying bedroom rents for this market identifier.
Resale evidence challenges any simple reading of rent cooling, but it must remain in its own for-sale universe. Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation shows a $299,427 median sold price, up 2.52% year over year, with 195 homes sold and a median 40 days on market. It records 380 active listings and 164 homes in reported inventory, with 2.6 months of supply; that months-of-supply reading is a for-sale inventory-to-sales-pace measure, not a rental vacancy measure. Average sale-to-list was 97.89%, 11.59% of sales closed above list, and 34.08% went off market within two weeks. Those are ZIP resale liquidity, pricing, inventory, and marketing signals—not rental transactions or rental comparables. The price increase contrasts with near-flat latest asking rent, challenging any effort to treat the cooling ZORI endpoint as a whole-housing-market conclusion.
One cross-source calculation is only a narrow screen: annualized ZIP ZORI divided by ZIP median sold price equals 6.26%. It is a cross-source screening ratio, not a measure of operating income, expenses, financing, property cash flow, or investment performance. Timing and scope are central limits: Zillow is a current asking-rent index, ACS is a five-year occupied-home survey, HUD is an administrative bedroom standard, and Redfin is a rolling resale observation. A property-level review would need the exact market identifier, current asking rents and concessions by bedroom and property type, included utilities, lease duration, vacancy and turnover status, unit condition, and recent comparable sale terms. The unresolved question is whether those unit facts align with the ZIP-level screens without treating any aggregate figure as a promise.
","findings":[{"body":"ZORI’s latest same-month movement is almost flat, while the three- and five-year annualized measurements remain positive. Complete historical coverage makes that slowdown observable rather than a missing-data artifact, but the prior drawdown and monthly-return variability mean the current level should be read as a dated index observation. The discovery ranks organize historical signals only; they do not predict rent direction.","title":"Cooling endpoint interrupts a stronger historical path"},{"body":"Zillow, ACS, and HUD are deliberately non-interchangeable. ZORI observes a blended asking-rent index, ACS summarizes occupied renter homes with selected utilities in a matched ZCTA survey, and HUD supplies bedroom-specific administrative standards. The bedroom figures are modelled by applying the HUD ladder to ZIP ZORI. They preserve relative scaling but are not observed bedroom rents, advertised unit rents, or ACS tabulations.","title":"Current listings and occupied-home rent answer different questions"},{"body":"Redfin’s rolling ZIP resale data show a for-sale market with a higher median sold price than a year earlier, along with reported inventory, marketing time, months of supply, and sale-to-list outcomes. Those signals can be compared directionally with rent history, but they are not rental transactions. The divergence between resale price movement and near-flat ZORI is the report’s central cross-universe tension.","title":"Resale is firmer than rent, but remains a separate evidence universe"},{"body":"The required-income calculation divides annualized current ZORI by the stated rent-share threshold; it does not assess an applicant. Aggregate renter burden is useful for recognizing that household outcomes vary around median income, yet it cannot determine affordability for a specific home. Resolve unit type, utilities, concessions, lease length, condition, and current availability before relying on ZIP-level screens.","title":"Income and burden screens need unit-level verification"}],"risks":["ZORI and ACS use different populations, timing, and rent concepts. The gap between them may reflect those measurement boundaries, so it cannot be treated as an error, a concession estimate, or a quote for an available unit.","The ACS ZCTA is a statistical approximation rather than USPS ZIP delivery geography, and its five-year survey estimates include sampling uncertainty. Results may not precisely map to the exact properties represented by the Zillow ZIP identifier.","Vacancy, renter burden, and structure mix are aggregate survey descriptions. They do not establish turnover, maintenance, utilities, lease concessions, tenant qualification, or availability for a particular property at the time of inquiry.","Redfin’s rolling resale series measures for-sale outcomes, not rental economics. Median sale price and the cross-source rent-price screen omit property operating costs, financing, taxes, insurance, condition, and deal-specific terms."],"qa":[{"a":"They describe different universes. Zillow reports a current ZIP-level blended asking-rent index, whereas ACS reports a five-year survey median for occupied renter homes in a matched ZCTA and includes selected utilities. The difference can therefore be real without indicating that either source is wrong or that one available unit should rent at either figure.","q":"Why is the Zillow figure higher than ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"No. The figures are modelled monthly ZIP estimates created by scaling ZORI using the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD is an administrative standard, not asking rent, so the sequence only represents relative bedroom sizing in the model. It is not a set of measured advertisements, executed leases, or property-specific quotes.","q":"Are the bedroom amounts observed rents for units in 46140?"},{"a":"Redfin’s direct rolling three-month observation covers ZIP resale transactions and marketing conditions. Its price, inventory, days on market, supply, and sale-to-list statistics can identify a for-sale tension against ZORI’s cooling endpoint. They cannot supply rental comparables, explain rent changes, or establish property operating economics.","q":"Why does Redfin resale evidence not settle the rental analysis?"},{"a":"The screen converts the current monthly ZORI to an annual amount and divides it by the stated share of gross income. It does not test an applicant or provide advice. A property-level decision still requires current asking rent, utilities, concessions, bedroom count, lease period, availability, condition, and sale or listing terms relevant to that property.","q":"How should the income and burden measures be interpreted?"}],"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":"2021-05-01","rent":1166.527812},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":1178.4477},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":1194.124638},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1224.461291},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1226.971781},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1234.46735},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":1230.496091},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":1260.130298},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":1267.79238},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":1284.284124},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":1281.724162},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":1297.31719},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1312.922376},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":1333.32316},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":1332.777106},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":1337.015374},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":1356.750541},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":1373.890162},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":1410.747647},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1389.079828},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":1396.42148},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1375.279413},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1398.824202},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1403.227144},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1412.735376},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1414.925058},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1418.928831},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1420.861871},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1418.061089},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1428.729924},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1428.710933},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1445.197655},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1458.876765},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1472.6257},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1467.730733},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1467.41133},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1473.444984},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1467.397148},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1477.348416},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1489.886476},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1507.776073},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1510.022475},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1489.923783},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1501.871437},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1496.705503},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1524.019112},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1536.982873},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1545.972875},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1557.509147},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1561.13973},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1566.155002},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1567.575417},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1563.944729},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1565.552},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1585.448448},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1582.508361},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1588.052964},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1572.696935},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1568.113609},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1566.897512},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1558.178774},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1561.754449}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":62,"firstPeriod":"2021-05-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":62,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1561.13973,"endRent":1561.754449,"change":0.0003937629593220304,"cagr":0.0003937629593220304},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1414.925058,"endRent":1561.754449,"change":0.10377185008479795,"cagr":0.033458649991784384},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1178.4477,"endRent":1561.754449,"change":0.32526411566673685,"cagr":0.05793865999035486}},"maxDrawdown":-0.02514144473352431,"annualizedVolatility":0.030361799450441335,"consecutiveReturnCount":61}}