June 2026 puts the ZIP-level Zillow Observed Rent Index, or ZORI, at $1,256 for this market. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types; it is not a signed-lease price, an advertised price for every home, or a bedroom-specific observation. In wider-market context, Cedar Rapids citywide context rent is $1,288, Linn County countywide context rent is $1,281, and Cedar Rapids, IA metro-area context rent is $1,274, each a wider-area comparison rather than a ZIP result. The ZIP therefore reads lower than all three current context rents, while its time pattern carries the more consequential tension.
That tension is a sharp, backward-looking acceleration. The exact same-month ZORI change was 11.59% over 1 year, versus annualized 7.08% over 3 years and 6.09% over 5 years. Thus, recent movement confirms the longer path of rising asking rent but breaks from its slower prior pace; it does not establish a forecast or investment outcome. The history has 100% coverage, and its annualized monthly-return variability was 3.34%, with a maximum drawdown of 3.49%. Those measures make the series complete for the observed period, but month-to-month variation means one current index point deserves less certainty than a stable property-specific quote. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 35 for momentum, 2,085 for stability, and 453 for the balanced measure, where a lower rank is higher.
The survey picture is materially different, not contradictory. In the matched Census ZCTA, the ACS 2024 five-year survey reports a $1,054 median gross rent for occupied renter homes; gross rent includes selected utilities. Current ZORI is 19.2% above that survey median. The gap compares different populations, definitions, and periods rather than competing asking-rent quotes. The ZCTA’s median household income is $73,439, a survey estimate that describes households rather than renter applicants or a property’s affordability. Keeping ZORI’s blended asking-rent universe separate from ACS occupied-home gross rent avoids treating the gap as rent growth, discounting, or proof of an individual household’s costs.
Bedroom detail is modelled rather than measured. For FY2026, the local HUD ladder uses administrative monthly standards of $659 for a studio, $956 for a two-bedroom, and $1,348 for a four-bedroom. HUD FMR/SAFMR is a bedroom-specific administrative standard, not asking rent. Scaling ZIP ZORI by that local ladder produces modelled monthly ZIP estimates of $866 for a studio, $958 for one bedroom, $1,256 for two bedrooms, $1,592 for three bedrooms, and $1,771 for four bedrooms. These estimates inherit the ZORI level and HUD bedroom relationship; they are not observed bedroom rents, availability counts, lease offers, or evidence that a particular unit will price at any rung.
At the ZORI level, the 30% required-income screen equals $50,240 of annual household income. This is arithmetic based on the index, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule; it is also distinct from the ZCTA-wide income median. The current asking index is 20.5% of the reported median household income when annualized, an aggregate ratio rather than a household budget. In ACS burden data, 2,672 of 6,175 renter households, or 43.3%, paid 30% or more of income toward gross rent. That five-year survey result can frame area-level cost pressure, but it cannot show that any given unit, tenant, or prospective renter is burdened.
The housing-stock lens is also aggregate. The ZCTA contains 20,225 housing units, with a 6.6% vacancy rate and a 32.7% renter share. Its structure count includes 13,559 single-family units and units classed as large multifamily buildings; those categories do not reveal condition, location, tenure rules, or rent for any listing. The 424 units classified as vacant for rent are a census category, not verified currently available rentals; vacancy likewise does not establish concessions, landlord screening, or a renter’s chance of securing a particular home. Alongside this stock information, renter-share and vacancy figures describe measured area composition, not proof of supply or demand at a property.
Finally, the 52402 label serves both as Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and as the matched Census ZCTA. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, so an address-level listing can fall outside the survey boundary or index convention assumed here. The city, county, and metro figures remain context only, while the HUD standards and ACS estimates retain their separate purposes. Before relying on the snapshot, verify the listing’s actual asking rent, address and applicable market geography, bedroom count, included utilities, lease term, availability status, and any qualification or income calculation supplied by the property. Which of those property-level facts most changes the comparison between this blended asking-rent index, the modelled bedroom estimate, and the rent actually offered?
","findings":[{"body":"The latest same-month asking-rent change is above both multiyear annualized changes. That makes the most recent direction stronger than the longer observed climb, not a reversal of it. Full historical coverage supports the calculation, while measured monthly-return variation and drawdown mean the present index should be read as a backward-looking market signal rather than a promise of future rent movement.","title":"Acceleration exceeds the established pace"},{"body":"Current ZORI is a blended ZIP asking-rent index across rental types. ACS median gross rent instead surveys occupied renter homes over five years and includes selected utilities. The difference is useful for framing two distinct market lenses, but it cannot be read as unit-level discounting, a lease-rent trend, or evidence that either source is wrong.","title":"The main rent comparison is a source-definition gap"},{"body":"The HUD-scaled estimates organize the ZIP index into studio through four-bedroom reference points. They are modelled estimates built from the local HUD standard’s bedroom ladder, not rents measured separately by bedroom. A listing can differ because its actual rent, utilities, timing, condition, lease structure, and availability are property-specific facts that these area-level sources do not record.","title":"Bedroom ladder requires model interpretation"},{"body":"The income screen is an arithmetic benchmark at the index level, and the burden rate is an ACS aggregate of renter households. Similarly, vacant-for-rent stock is a survey category rather than live inventory. Verify address geography, asking rent, bedroom count, utilities, availability, lease term, and property-specific qualification terms before using any area indicator in a decision.","title":"Aggregate affordability and vacancy need unit verification"}],"risks":["ZORI is a typical blended asking-rent index, so it does not establish the rent, concessions, lease terms, utilities, or availability for a particular advertised home.","ACS estimates use the matched ZCTA and a five-year survey window; the statistical ZCTA boundary is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP or individual address.","HUD FMR or SAFMR values are administrative bedroom standards. Scaling them to ZORI produces modelled estimates, which must not be represented as observed bedroom rents or quoted listings.","Vacancy, renter burden, income, and housing-stock statistics are area aggregates. They cannot demonstrate a property’s condition, access, screening outcome, or cost for any specific household."],"qa":[{"a":"It represents the ZIP-level Zillow Observed Rent Index at the stated endpoint: a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. It is neither a transaction record nor a promise for a specific property. The surrounding city, county, and metro figures are broader context series and should not substitute for the ZIP result.","q":"What does the current Zillow figure represent?"},{"a":"ACS reports the matched ZCTA’s five-year survey median gross rent for occupied renter homes, and gross rent includes selected utilities. ZORI tracks a current ZIP-level asking-rent index instead. Different timing, populations, and rent definitions make divergence expected; neither measure independently verifies a listing’s current price or utility package.","q":"Why does ACS show a different rent?"},{"a":"No. The bedroom figures are modelled monthly ZIP estimates created by scaling ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative standard rather than asking rent. Use the ladder only as a consistent comparison framework, then verify the actual bedroom count, rent, utilities, and lease terms.","q":"Are the bedroom figures observed market rents?"},{"a":"The required-income screen is simple arithmetic at a stated share of income, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. ACS burden and vacancy readings are aggregate ZCTA survey statistics, not evidence about a particular unit or renter. Check the property’s price, availability, included utilities, qualification terms, address geography, and lease structure before drawing a property-level conclusion.","q":"How should the income, burden, and vacancy numbers be used?"}],"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":878.349463},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":869.153639},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":891.127396},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":889.235959},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":902.888897},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":920.133815},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":925.693377},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":934.387069},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":932.752957},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":934.838934},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":938.854839},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":938.353493},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":935.716662},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":938.046414},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":938.412078},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":955.415929},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":958.107596},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":958.004803},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":960.790215},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":963.172317},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":974.176578},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":985.533599},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":977.96106},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":996.859593},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":984.041107},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1007.711633},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":999.811557},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1003.384897},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1001.536939},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1007.153998},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1017.645146},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1023.024517},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1029.069169},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1033.57746},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1039.685697},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1051.70269},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1062.411277},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1066.057637},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1072.22947},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1075.007887},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1083.549787},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1073.806748},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1071.358536},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1067.561926},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1076.420342},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1067.302678},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1072.433451},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1045.693147},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1064.837493},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1069.904371},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1093.89321},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1088.189286},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1083.023615},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1104.289646},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1114.571776},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1125.45228},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1127.394443},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1144.369047},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1154.047596},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1181.143187},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1179.320066},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1185.326459},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1182.383351},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1203.172226},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1223.309844},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1230.094288},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1241.9053},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1255.929167}],"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":1125.45228,"endRent":1255.929167,"change":0.11593284701506845,"cagr":0.11593284701506845},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1023.024517,"endRent":1255.929167,"change":0.22766282345118038,"cagr":0.0707622086703823},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":934.387069,"endRent":1255.929167,"change":0.3441208773834177,"cagr":0.0609322845631417}},"maxDrawdown":-0.03493761011647911,"annualizedVolatility":0.033404649207414566,"consecutiveReturnCount":67}}