The distinctive question in 78660 is how to use a current blended asking-rent signal without mistaking it for a lease quote or a household-cost measure. In June 2026, the ZIP-level Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) is $1,679 per month, down 2.39% year over year. It is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so it offers a market-level reference rather than a bedroom-specific listing sample. The practical issue is whether source gaps reflect definitions and timing rather than a signal assignable to one property. The five-digit label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, which matters when an address or property boundary is being checked.
The Zillow index should not be merged with either survey rent or a public standard. The matched Census ZCTA’s ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent is $1,863, a measure of occupied renter homes that includes selected utilities; the current index is 9.9% lower. ACS is a survey result, whereas ZORI is asking-rent evidence, and neither supplies the other’s unit mix or utility treatment. Separately, the FY 2026 HUD two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR is $1,852, placing the ZIP index 9.3% below that benchmark. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent, so its proximity to either rent figure does not establish a quoted rent. The comparison is useful as separate reference points, but it is not a conversion between data sets.
Bedroom comparisons are best treated as an explicit model rather than as observations. The local HUD ladder scales the ZIP ZORI from its two-bedroom anchor, producing modelled monthly ZIP estimates of $1,336 for a studio, $1,416 for one bedroom, $1,679 for two bedrooms, $2,128 for three bedrooms, and $2,502 for four bedrooms. Each amount applies the relevant local HUD bedroom-to-two-bedroom ratio to the ZIP index. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents: they do not report advertised-unit samples, rent dispersion, utility inclusion, condition, availability, or the terms of any individual property. It shows relative bedroom sizing under the model, not a lease-level outcome.
The income and burden evidence addresses household context, but it does not make the ZIP index an affordability finding. The ACS ZCTA median household income is $113,205, and comparing annualized ZORI with that household median yields a 17.8% asking-rent-to-income ratio. The $67,160 income associated with paying $1,679 monthly at 30% of gross income is arithmetic only, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. Renter households number 15,462 and represent a 33.9% renter share. ACS also records 7,401 renter households reporting gross rent at or above 30% of income, or 47.9% of its renter burden denominator. That observed burden is a survey-wide household measure, not proof of the cost or finances of a particular unit or tenant. It also does not identify the income distribution among renters.
The matched ZCTA’s ACS housing inventory contains 47,531 units: 45,630 are occupied and 1,901 are vacant, for a 4.0% all-housing vacancy rate. Within the reported vacant inventory, 473 units are for rent, 451 are for sale, and 82 are seasonal; those named statuses are components, not a current count of marketable rental listings. Single-family structures account for 34,991 units, while large multifamily structures account for 4,704 units, describing stock categories rather than tenure or lease availability. The timing and classification of a vacancy cannot demonstrate that any particular dwelling is available, rentable, similarly priced, or suitable for a given household.
Wider geography is context only, not a substitute for ZIP or ZCTA evidence. The city of Pflugerville context reports rent of about $1,699; the Travis County context reports rent of $1,649 and a 47.9% renter share; and the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX metro context reports rent of $1,653, a 19.75% rent-to-income measure, and 9.53% apartment vacancy. The ZIP’s current $1,679 index therefore sits between the county and city context rent figures and slightly above the metro context rent figure. Differences in geographic scope and metric construction are material before treating small gaps as a market conclusion. The metro vacancy measure applies to apartments, unlike the ZIP’s all-housing vacancy rate, so those rates should not be read as the same evidence universe.
Important limits remain: the index, survey, and HUD standard have different collection rules, reference periods, and intended uses; ACS values also carry survey uncertainty. None reports a property’s exact asking price, bedroom layout, utility bill, lease term, concessions, fees, condition, or present availability. A property-level review should therefore confirm the address’s ZIP/ZCTA treatment, the current advertised base rent, bedroom count, lease length, included utilities, recurring and move-in charges, concessions, available date, and the property’s stated application requirements. Those checks preserve the distinction between a market index, gross-rent survey evidence, and an administrative standard while avoiding a conclusion about a specific listing.
","findings":[{"body":"ZORI is $1,679 in June 2026 after a 2.39% annual decline. The ACS five-year gross-rent median is $1,863 and the HUD two-bedroom standard is $1,852. The gaps are descriptive only: ACS includes selected utilities among occupied renter homes, while HUD is administrative. Neither comparison converts a ZIP index into a property quote.","title":"Current asking index is below separate reference measures"},{"body":"HUD-ratio scaling produces modelled ZIP figures from $1,336 for a studio to $2,502 for four bedrooms, with $1,679 at two bedrooms. The ladder is anchored to the ZIP index and local HUD ratios. It should be used only as a consistent bedroom-sizing exercise; it does not measure listed units, their utility treatment, availability, or lease terms.","title":"Bedroom ladder is a model, not a rent survey"},{"body":"Median household income of $113,205 yields a 17.8% index-to-income comparison, but that median is not renter-specific. The $67,160 figure at a 30% screen is simple annual arithmetic. Separately, 47.9% of renter households in the ACS burden measure report gross rent at least 30% of income; that result cannot determine any tenant’s situation.","title":"Household context does not resolve applicant affordability"},{"body":"ACS counts a 4.0% all-housing vacancy rate in the ZCTA, including units classified for rent, sale, seasonal use, and other statuses. It cannot show current availability at a particular property. City, county, and metro figures supply wider comparison only; the metro apartment vacancy statistic is not interchangeable with the ZIP’s all-housing vacancy measure.","title":"Vacancy and context require scope control"}],"risks":["The current asking-rent index, ACS gross-rent median, and HUD standard reflect different definitions, populations, and uses; treating them as interchangeable prices could overstate what any cross-source gap means.","ACS reflects a five-year survey rather than a current listing feed, while ZORI is current and HUD is an annual standard; reference-period differences limit direct lease-level inference.","The bedroom ladder is derived by scaling the aggregate ZIP index with HUD ratios, so it may not match the mix, utilities, layout, condition, or prices of available properties.","Vacancy categories are survey classifications, not a live inventory. A reported vacancy or burden percentage cannot prove availability, affordability, qualification, or tenant experience at any particular dwelling."],"qa":[{"a":"The ACS figure is a median gross-rent estimate for occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA and includes selected utilities. ZORI is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. The difference therefore indicates unlike measurement universes, timing, and coverage; it is not evidence that one particular asking rent is discounted.","q":"Why does the ACS figure exceed the current Zillow index?"},{"a":"Each modelled bedroom amount starts with the ZIP ZORI at the two-bedroom anchor and applies the corresponding local HUD FMR/SAFMR bedroom ratio. This creates a transparent relative ladder, but it is not a measurement of advertised rents by bedroom. It omits property characteristics, included utilities, availability, and lease terms.","q":"How were the bedroom figures constructed?"},{"a":"It divides annualized current ZIP ZORI by 30% of gross income to produce an arithmetic reference income. It is not underwriting advice, an affordability recommendation, or an applicant qualification rule. Household income and rent burden in ACS describe broader survey results and do not identify a prospective tenant’s financial position.","q":"What does the 30% income screen show?"},{"a":"No. ACS housing counts describe the matched ZCTA’s survey-era occupied and vacant units and selected vacancy classifications, not a live inventory. A property-level check must establish its address geography, current advertised rent, bedroom count, utility treatment, fees, concessions, available date, and stated application requirements before interpreting market benchmarks.","q":"Can stock and vacancy data identify an available rental?"}],"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 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