At the June 2026 reading, Zillow’s ZIP-level ZORI is $1,930 per month. The five-digit 66061 label is both Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and a matched Census ZCTA; a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so it is neither a posted price for a particular unit nor a median of occupied rentals. In the separate ACS 2024 five-year survey, median gross rent is $1,217, with a reported sampling margin of error. That measure covers occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The asking index is 58.6% greater than that ACS median, a source, timing, and population difference rather than a direct contradiction.
History places the current reading in a longer but still non-predictive record. The direct Zillow ZIP series through this endpoint has full 100% monthly coverage. Its exact same-month annualized change is 6.4% over one year, 5.4% over three years, and 6.7% over five years. The latest pace exceeds the three-year rate but remains below the five-year rate, so recent direction confirms the longer upward path rather than breaking from it. Annualized monthly-return variability is 2.7%, and the maximum drawdown was 3.8%. The transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 169 for momentum, 1,021 for stability, and 131 for balanced performance, with lower ranks higher. These backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations, provide more context than one current snapshot; nonetheless, nonzero variability means that snapshot deserves measured confidence.
Bedroom sizing requires a separate construct. HUD’s FY2026 FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. The local HUD two-bedroom standard is $1,280, while the ZIP ZORI is 50.8% higher. Scaling ZIP ZORI by the local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly ZIP estimates—not measured bedroom rents—of $1,553 for a studio, $1,704 for one bedroom, the index-level amount for two bedrooms, $2,518 for three bedrooms, and $2,985 for four bedrooms. These outputs preserve HUD’s relative bedroom steps around the blended ZIP index; they cannot establish an advertised rent for a unit of that size, its utility terms, or its condition.
The current index creates an affordability screen, not a tenant-level finding. At the 30% share-of-income benchmark, the current monthly index requires $77,200 in annual income. This is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. The matched ZCTA’s ACS median household income is $110,176. It does not describe the income of a renter household. Separately, ACS reports 2,414 of 5,430 occupied renter homes at or above the burden threshold, a 44.5% share. That survey burden statistic is useful context about reported households, but it cannot prove affordability or payment stress for a particular available unit.
Housing structure and vacancy give a different view again. The ACS stock includes 20,842 single-family units and 1,697 large-multifamily units. The reported vacancy rate is 3.4%, including 366 units categorized as vacant for rent. These are ZCTA survey stock statuses rather than live listing counts: vacancy does not show that a particular property is available, and the structure mix does not show condition, lease pricing, or comparability. They do not identify when a vacancy was recorded or whether it has since been leased. The measures nonetheless distinguish a broad inventory backdrop from the ZIP-level asking-rent index.
Wider geographies provide reference, not substitutes for the ZIP. The Olathe city-context rent reading is about $1,900, the Johnson County county-context reading is $1,815, and the Kansas City, MO-KS metro-context reading is $1,545; each is a wider-area context measure, not a ZIP estimate. They offer a directional geographic reference only and cannot identify which rental types or utility terms underlie a given figure. The ZIP index therefore sits slightly above the city and county context readings and farther above the metro context reading. Different geographic boundaries and underlying source universes prevent these comparisons from being a hierarchy of interchangeable rents. They also should not be merged with the ZCTA ACS median or with HUD’s administrative standard.
Before treating any advertised unit as comparable, verify the address and applicable rental geography rather than assuming a delivery ZIP automatically maps to the ZCTA. Confirm the actual asking rent, bedroom count, utility inclusions, lease term, concessions, deposits, mandatory fees, availability date, and whether the cited comparable is active rather than already rented. Those checks matter because ZORI is blended, the bedroom ladder is modelled, ACS is a five-year survey, and HUD is a standard. Neither the historical record nor vacancy and burden statistics resolves those address-level terms. The practical closing question is: which listing terms make this particular unit genuinely comparable with the broad ZIP measures?
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow’s June 2026 ZIP ZORI is $1,930, while the matched ACS 2024 five-year ZCTA median gross rent is $1,217. The 58.6% difference is decision-relevant but not a like-for-like price gap: ZORI summarizes observed asking rents across rental types, whereas ACS summarizes occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities.","title":"Asking-index and ACS gap"},{"body":"The direct history reports 6.4% one-year, 5.4% three-year, and 6.7% five-year same-month annualized growth. Because the latest pace exceeds the three-year rate but trails the five-year rate, it continues rather than reverses the prior upward pattern. The 2.7% annualized monthly-return variability and 3.8% maximum drawdown still limit confidence in any single snapshot.","title":"History remains upward but variable"},{"body":"The local HUD two-bedroom standard is $1,280, while the ZIP ZORI is 50.8% higher. Applying the complete local HUD ladder to the ZIP-wide ZORI creates modelled estimates rather than measured bedroom rents. The estimates communicate relative size scaling only; they do not confirm a unit’s asking rent, condition, utility package, fees, or lease terms.","title":"Bedroom figures are modelled"},{"body":"ACS shows a stock that includes 20,842 single-family units and 1,697 large-multifamily units, plus a 3.4% reported vacancy rate. Of 5,430 occupied renter homes, 2,414 report spending at least 30% of income on rent. These ZCTA survey aggregates provide market context, but neither proves availability or financial pressure for an individual property.","title":"Survey stock and burden are contextual"}],"risks":["ZORI, ACS, and HUD answer different questions: a blended asking index, occupied-home gross rent, and an administrative standard. Treating their dollar differences as a direct unit-level valuation could misstate actual rent.","The bedroom outputs are modelled by scaling a ZIP-wide blended index with the local HUD ladder. They do not measure asking rents for studios through four-bedroom properties and should not replace address-specific listing verification.","Vacancy counts, renter burden, and structure mix are ZCTA survey measures, not evidence that a particular home is available, affordable to a given household, or offered with comparable fees and utilities.","Historical growth, variability, drawdown, and discovery ranks are backward-looking descriptions. They cannot establish future rent, availability, lease terms, property condition, or whether a current advertised price is representative."],"qa":[{"a":"They measure different populations and concepts. Zillow’s ZIP ZORI is a current typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA and includes selected utilities. Timing, unit mix, occupancy status, and geography treatment mean the difference is not a direct estimate of any particular lease.","q":"Why does the current Zillow figure exceed the ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"No. The studio-to-four-bedroom figures are modelled estimates generated by applying the local HUD bedroom ladder to the ZIP-wide ZORI. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard, while ZORI is blended across rental types. A listing can differ because of its exact unit, included utilities, lease terms, fees, and condition.","q":"Are the bedroom figures measured rents for available apartments or houses?"},{"a":"No. Dividing the annualized index by 30% yields a transparent income screen of $77,200, but it does not test any household’s actual circumstances or any housing provider’s own criteria. It is arithmetic for comparison, not advice, a qualification rule, or a guarantee that a renter can afford an available unit after all terms are considered.","q":"Does the 30% required-income screen decide whether a household qualifies?"},{"a":"The history documents past same-month changes, annualized monthly-return variability, drawdown, and transparent discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs. It adds context to the current index but cannot forecast future rent. Vacancy and burden aggregates likewise cannot prove that a specified address is available, appropriately priced, or financially suitable for a given renter.","q":"What can history and vacancies tell a reader about a specific listing?"}],"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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