The latest Zillow Observed Rent Index for 60645 is $1,855, a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types rather than a quote for any particular available unit. Its matched Census ZCTA reports a $1,440 median gross rent in the ACS 2024 five-year survey. That 28.8% asking-index premium is a source-universe difference as well as a price difference: ACS describes occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, while Zillow tracks asking rents. The ZIP label is also a Census ZCTA match, but a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP.
Rent history shows a continued upward path, although the recent pace is slower than the longer record. The one-year exact same-month annualized change was 5.1%, versus 6.4% over three years and 6.8% over five years. Thus, the latest movement confirms growth rather than breaking from it, but does not match the longer-run annual pace. Coverage was 100%, making the history complete for the supplied series. Monthly-return variability was 2.6% annualized, which supports somewhat greater confidence in the current index snapshot than a highly erratic series would; separately, the maximum drawdown was 2.0%, indicating a limited historical retreat. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 235 for momentum, 914 for stability, and 132 for the balanced measure, where lower ranks are stronger. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
The bedroom ladder translates the ZIP index into modelled estimates, not measured bedroom rents. Scaling ZIP ZORI through the local HUD ladder produces estimates of $1,538 for a studio, $1,644 for one bedroom, $1,855 for two bedrooms, $2,393 for three bedrooms, and $2,768 for four bedrooms. The local HUD two-bedroom standard is $1,930, placing the modelled two-bedroom figure below that administrative benchmark. HUD FMR or SAFMR is bedroom-specific and useful for constructing the ladder, but it is an administrative standard rather than asking rent; neither the HUD figure nor these scaled estimates establishes the rent of a specific home.
A 30% required-income screen converts the current ZIP asking-rent index into $74,200 of annual household income. The ZCTA ACS median household income is $76,045, and the corresponding asking-rent-to-income calculation is 29.3%. This is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule; actual affordability depends on income, household composition, utilities, debts, lease terms, and unit rent. The ACS burden measure supplies a different lens: 48.9% of surveyed renter households, or 3,849 of 7,866, reported spending at least 30% of income on rent. That burden statistic is a five-year survey result for occupied renter homes and cannot prove the cost burden or availability of any individual unit.
The ZCTA’s housing-stock picture adds supply context without identifying a vacancy at any particular property. Of 18,437 housing units, 1,411 were vacant, for a 7.7% vacancy rate. The stock included 5,054 single-family units and 3,437 units in the large-multifamily category, showing that both structure types are represented in the survey inventory. There were 444 units classified as vacant for rent. That designation describes a survey category, not a count of comparable current listings, lease-ready homes, concessions, or units matching a given bedroom need. It therefore complements, rather than substitutes for, the Zillow asking-rent index and direct property-level listing checks.
Broader benchmarks put the ZIP’s asking-rent index below each named comparison: the City of Chicago context rent was $2,408.80, the Cook County context rent was $2,336, and the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI metro context rent was $2,275. Those city, county, and metro figures are wider-geography context, not ZIP rental comps or evidence about a given building. The contrast can frame the ZIP’s position within those broader areas, but it cannot resolve why rents differ across locations or establish whether any specific ZIP listing is competitively priced. The direct ZIP index, ACS ZCTA survey, and HUD standard remain separate evidence universes.
Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation describes the for-sale market, not rental transactions. It recorded a $339,923 median sold price, up 3.0% year over year, with 101 homes sold and a median 45 days on market. Inventory stood at 103 homes and months of supply at 3.1. Sale-to-list evidence was firm in this resale universe: the average sale-to-list ratio was 101.0%, 44.9% of sales closed above list, and 56.8% went off market within two weeks. The annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price produces a 6.5% cross-source screening ratio only; it is not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield. Resale prices rose more slowly than the one-year rent index, yet the resale timing and sale-to-list signals show active for-sale liquidity, a tension that prevents either rent growth or resale evidence from standing alone.
The evidence has clear boundaries. Zillow does not provide unit-specific rent, ACS does not measure current asking rent, HUD does not measure market asking rent, and Redfin does not report rental transactions or property operating economics. Concrete property-level checks would include current comparable listings by bedroom count, lease start date, concessions, included and excluded utilities, fees, unit condition, square footage, and whether the advertised rent matches the lease terms. For a purchase-oriented comparison, sale date, property type, physical condition, list-to-sale history, and the distinction between active listings and completed sales also matter. These checks test how closely a particular property resembles the separate ZIP-level measurements rather than converting any one dataset into a conclusion about that property.
","findings":[{"body":"The ZIP’s Zillow asking-rent index is materially above the matched ACS median gross rent, but the figures answer different questions. Zillow represents a typical observed asking-rent index across rental types, while ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes with selected utilities included. The gap should be read as a market-and-methodology comparison, not as a direct estimate of a current unit’s utility-adjusted rent.","title":"Current rent sits above the occupied-home survey median"},{"body":"The supplied history shows positive exact same-month growth over one, three, and five years. The latest annual pace is lower than the multi-year rates, so the evidence indicates moderation within an upward historical path rather than a reversal. Complete series coverage and relatively contained variability improve confidence in the index reading, while the history remains backward-looking and cannot establish future rent movement.","title":"Longer-term rent growth remains intact, with a slower recent pace"},{"body":"The 30% income screen is a mechanical conversion of the current asking-rent index, and the local median household income sits near that threshold. ACS burden data instead describe surveyed occupied renter households reporting substantial rent burdens. Neither measure is a leasing rule, nor can either determine whether a particular household will qualify, afford a unit, receive concessions, or face a particular utility bill.","title":"Income screen and burden data describe different affordability tests"},{"body":"Redfin reports direct ZIP resale conditions, including completed sales, marketing time, supply, and sale-to-list outcomes. These signals help describe for-sale liquidity, not rental transactions, landlord expenses, or property cash flow. The rent-to-price figure is therefore only a cross-source screening ratio. Its usefulness is limited by the fact that Zillow rent and Redfin sold price measure distinct markets and timing windows.","title":"Resale evidence is active but must remain separate from rental evidence"}],"risks":["The Zillow index is a blended asking-rent measure, so it may not match the advertised rent, utilities, concessions, unit condition, lease duration, or bedroom configuration of a specific available property.","ACS gross rent, household income, vacancy, and rent-burden figures are ZCTA five-year survey measures with margins of error; they describe survey populations rather than current outcomes for a particular renter or unit.","Bedroom figures are modelled by scaling the ZIP index with the HUD ladder. They are not observed bedroom rents, and HUD administrative standards should not be interpreted as asking-rent comparables.","Redfin resale information concerns completed for-sale transactions and listing-market conditions. The rent-to-price screening ratio excludes financing, taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy experience, and all property-specific operating details."],"qa":[{"a":"It is Zillow’s ZIP-level Observed Rent Index, described here as a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. It is useful for tracking the ZIP’s asking-rent direction, but it is not a rent quote for a named apartment, a measure of occupied-home rent, or a guarantee that a comparable unit is currently available.","q":"What does the Zillow rent figure represent?"},{"a":"The two sources have different universes. ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and its gross-rent concept includes selected utilities. Zillow tracks asking rents rather than occupied leases. Differences in timing, household occupancy, utility treatment, rental mix, and survey versus index methodology can all separate the reported values without creating a contradiction.","q":"Why is the ACS median gross rent lower than the Zillow asking-rent index?"},{"a":"They should be treated as modelled ZIP estimates created by applying the local HUD bedroom ladder to the ZIP Zillow rent index. They are not measured rents for studios, one-bedroom homes, or larger units. Their primary use is to show the implied bedroom pattern; current listings, concessions, utilities, condition, and lease terms remain necessary for property-level comparison.","q":"How should the bedroom estimates be used?"},{"a":"Redfin adds direct rolling-three-month ZIP evidence on the for-sale market: sold prices, sales activity, marketing time, inventory, supply, and sale-to-list outcomes. It does not supply rental comparables or operating economics. Comparing annualized Zillow rent with median sold price creates only a cross-source screening ratio, not a cap rate, return estimate, or statement about a specific property.","q":"What does the Redfin section add to the rental analysis?"}],"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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