Rent growth remains positive, but its recent pace is not identical to the longer path. In June 2026, Zillow's ZIP-level ZORI for 72712 was $1,622 per month. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than a quote for a particular available unit. The exact same-month change was 4.96% over one year, compared with annualized changes of 4.51% over three years and 7.32% over five years. Thus, the latest direction confirms an upward history and is modestly faster than the three-year pace, but it breaks from the faster five-year rate. These are backward-looking measurements through the stated endpoint, not a forecast or investment recommendation.
The time series offers good historical coverage rather than a complete answer about today's listings. It contains 138 observations and has 100% coverage over the measured window. Annualized monthly-return variability was 2.94%, and the maximum drawdown, or largest peak-to-trough decline, was 2.59%. Those movements mean that even a fully covered index snapshot merits caution when standing in for the rent of one property. Among history-eligible ZIPs, transparent national discovery ranks are 394 for momentum, 1,514 for stability, and 471 for the balanced measure, where lower rank is higher. The rank pattern describes this observed history; it is not a quality grade, forecast, or investment signal.
Source definitions make the current-index and survey figures complementary rather than interchangeable. This ZIP 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. The ACS 2024 five-year survey reports median gross rent of $1,294 for occupied renter homes, with a reported $68 margin of error, and gross rent includes selected utilities. The current Zillow asking-rent index is 25.3% higher, but it measures a different universe: typical observed asks, not occupied households' reported gross rent. The difference is not proof that any given renter pays that gap or that a particular listing will command it. Survey timing, household occupancy, utility treatment, and index construction should remain visible in any comparison.
Bedroom comparisons should therefore be treated as a model rather than as listing evidence. The provided local FY2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. Scaling ZIP ZORI by that ladder produces modelled monthly ZIP estimates of $1,213 for a studio, $1,343 for one bedroom, $1,622 for two bedrooms, $2,255 for three bedrooms, and $2,665 for four bedrooms. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. The HUD two-bedroom standard is $1,347, placing the overall index 20.4% above that administrative benchmark; neither figure establishes an actual two-bedroom asking rent.
Affordability indicators point in a different direction from the ZIP median, so their scope matters. The $64,880 annual income associated with the required-income screen is arithmetic from the index, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. Against the ACS ZCTA median household income of $110,514, the annualized asking-rent measure equals 17.6% of that median. Yet the same ACS survey counts 6,153 renter households, of which 1,908, or 31.0%, reported paying at least 30% of income toward gross rent. Because this burden measure concerns occupied households and gross rent, including selected utilities, it cannot establish affordability, tenant finances, or eligibility for a particular available unit.
Survey housing counts also set boundaries on what can be inferred from market-level rent. The ACS ZCTA records 16,636 housing units: 14,820 occupied and 1,816 vacant, for a 10.9% vacancy rate. Of the vacant homes, 729 were classified for rent, which is a category in survey data rather than confirmation of active availability, condition, price, or fit for a specific search. Recorded structure categories include 12,163 single-family units, while renters represent 41.5% of occupied homes. This stock description helps frame the ZIP but is not a live inventory count and does not prove vacancy at any individual property.
Broader benchmarks give scale only when their geography remains explicit. For wider context only, the Bentonville city asking-rent context is $1,639.53, the Benton County asking-rent context is $1,567, and the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro asking-rent context is $1,599; each is a broader geographic scope than this ZIP. They should not be substituted for the ZIP index or the ZCTA survey. The useful limitation is practical: an index, a survey median, a HUD standard, and vacancy categories all answer different questions. Before attaching any conclusion to a property, compare the advertised asking rent and date, bedroom count, utility treatment, lease term, fees, condition, and stated availability. Does the individual listing actually match the comparison being made?
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow's current index sits on an upward backward-looking path, with the latest annual pace exceeding the medium-term pace but trailing the longer-term pace. Complete observation coverage makes the path usable as a historical reference. However, return variability and the recorded drawdown mean a current index value should be read as a moving market indicator, not as a fixed quote for any listing.","title":"Growth is positive but not uniform across time horizons"},{"body":"The main comparability issue is scope: Zillow represents observed asking rents, while ACS represents occupied renter households' gross rent including selected utilities. HUD is yet another universe, an administrative bedroom-specific benchmark. The index-to-ACS gap therefore identifies a measurement difference across time, household status, and included costs; it cannot establish that a specific rental commands more than another.","title":"Asking rent, gross rent, and HUD standards answer different questions"},{"body":"Bedroom figures are modelled from ZIP ZORI and the local HUD ladder. They provide a consistent relative scale from studios through larger homes but are not measured rents by bedroom. The two-bedroom modelled figure equals the ZIP index because it is the calibration point. Check a property's actual bedroom count, rent basis, utility treatment, fees, and lease terms before using the ladder for comparison.","title":"Bedroom amounts are modelled relative estimates"},{"body":"Survey housing data shows a substantial owner component, a renter share among occupied homes, and vacancies that include units marked for rent. That designation is not an availability feed. Separately, a material portion of ACS renter households meet the gross-rent burden threshold, but this aggregate result does not determine affordability or qualification for an individual applicant or property.","title":"Vacancy and burden are aggregate indicators, not listing facts"}],"risks":["The Zillow index is blended across rental types and reports typical observed asking rents, so it may not match a currently marketed property with a particular bedroom count, condition, utilities, lease term, or fee schedule.","The ACS ZCTA survey describes occupied renter homes over its survey period and includes selected utilities in gross rent, so its median and burden results should not be read as current listing measures.","Vacancy classifications describe survey-status homes within the ZCTA, not a real-time inventory. A home marked vacant for rent may still be unavailable, differently priced, unsuitable, or subject to terms not represented here.","Historical ZORI growth, variability, drawdown, and discovery ranks are backward-looking index measurements. They do not predict future prices, establish property performance, or support investment conclusions about this ZIP."],"qa":[{"a":"They come from different populations and construction methods. Zillow's figure is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index across rental types. ACS is a multi-year survey of occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA and its gross-rent definition includes selected utilities. The ZCTA is statistical geography, not a USPS delivery ZIP. A gap is therefore informative context, not a contradiction.","q":"Why should the Zillow and ACS rent figures not be treated as competing quotes?"},{"a":"No. They are modelled monthly ZIP estimates created by scaling the overall Zillow index with the provided local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent. The estimates give a transparent relative reference, but actual rents can differ by listing details, included utilities, lease terms, fees, condition, and availability.","q":"Are the bedroom amounts direct market observations?"},{"a":"It converts the index rent to an annual household-income amount using the stated rent-share arithmetic. It is not budgeting advice, a rule for landlords, or an applicant qualification test. The ACS burden statistic is separately derived from occupied renter households and gross rent, so neither figure proves the price, affordability, or eligibility associated with a specific unit.","q":"What does the required-income screen establish?"},{"a":"Use history to understand the observed index's past direction, variability, drawdown, and measurement coverage only; it does not predict future rent. Use ACS vacancy categories to describe the ZCTA housing stock, not current listing supply. For a real property, verify the active asking rent, bedroom count, utility obligations, lease conditions, fees, condition, and availability directly.","q":"How should history and vacancy information be used together?"}],"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 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