The decision question in ZIP 80134 is whether its current broad asking-rent signal should be treated as a property quote or only as a market benchmark. Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI is $2,484 per month, after a 3.08% year-over-year decline. This is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than an inventory count, a lease transaction series, or a quoted rent for a specified home. This five-digit label functions both as a Zillow ZIP market identifier and as the matching Census ZCTA; a ZCTA is a statistical area, not the same thing as a USPS delivery ZIP. That distinction matters whenever a search address, listing ZIP, and data boundary do not line up.
The matched Census ZCTA’s ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent is $2,118, and it covers occupied renter homes while including selected utilities. Zillow’s index is 17.3% higher than that ACS median, but the comparison does not put both sources in one rent series. The local HUD FMR/SAFMR for FY2026 sets a two-bedroom standard of $2,089; ZORI is 18.9% above it. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. These differences do not establish a mismatch at any property; they first describe distinct constructs, time frames, and rental universes.
Bedroom sizing supplies a separate decision lens, but it does not convert the ZIP index into measured unit rents. The modelled monthly ZIP estimates are $1,954 for a studio, $2,086 for one bedroom, $2,484 for two bedrooms, $3,251 for three bedrooms, and $3,626 for four bedrooms. They scale the ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder. That HUD ladder’s corresponding standards are $1,643, $1,754, $2,089, $2,734, and $3,049. Because proportions, rather than property observations, drive these modelled estimates, a listing may differ based on its actual bedroom definition, rental type, included utilities, and terms. Use this ladder to frame comparisons by size, not as evidence that those bedroom rents were observed.
At the household level, matched ZCTA ACS median household income is $146,778. Annualizing ZORI gives $29,808, and dividing that amount by 30% yields an arithmetic required-income screen of $99,360. The screen is not advice or an applicant qualification rule; it simply reports the income corresponding to the 30% calculation for index rent. That broad household statistic does not substitute for renter income or a specific household’s budget. Among 5,816 renter-occupied homes, representing 20.3% of occupied homes, 2,746 report gross rent at or above 30% of household income, a 47.2% observed burden share. This ACS measure concerns occupied renter homes and gross rent, so it cannot demonstrate burden, affordability, or qualification for a particular available unit.
Stock and vacancy set useful boundaries around the rent figures. The matched ZCTA records 29,293 housing units, with 28,658 occupied and 635 vacant, a 2.2% vacancy rate. Of recorded vacant units, 294 are for rent and 144 are seasonal; those categories describe classified stock rather than presently advertised, suitable units. Existing structure mix also matters for interpretation: 23,331 units are single-family and 2,582 are in large multifamily buildings. Those counts identify housing-stock composition, not a count of comparable rentals or an assurance that a unit is rentable. In particular, ZIP-wide vacancy neither reveals a vacancy at a target address nor proves pricing leverage, maintenance condition, lease timing, or availability.
Broader figures provide context only: the City of Parker context rent is approximately $2,332, the Douglas County context rent is $2,306, and the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO metro context rent is $1,930; all are below the ZIP’s index. The City of Parker context has a larger renter share than Douglas County context, while both are wider-area indicators rather than a description of a ZIP listing. The metro’s lower context value belongs to a wider geography and cannot set a property’s rent or availability. These are directional comparisons across their named scopes, not interchangeable evidence about ZIP listings, occupants, or individual housing costs.
Limits remain material. The monthly Zillow index does not identify a listing’s property type, address, bedroom count, lease term, utility treatment, fees, concessions, or availability. ACS is a five-year survey with sampling uncertainty, and HUD standards serve an administrative purpose; neither resolves those details. Property-level checks consist of confirming the advertised asking rent, which utilities are included, recurring mandatory charges, bedroom designation, property type, lease start, lease length, and whether the address is inside the relevant data boundary. They should also distinguish a posted price from the full monthly payment under the stated terms. Reconcile these facts with the appropriate source before treating the ZIP index, modelled ladder, ACS median, HUD standard, burden share, or vacancy classification as a decision-specific measure.
","findings":[{"body":"June’s Zillow reading is best used as a ZIP-wide typical asking-rent benchmark. It blends rental types, so it gives a broad market reference rather than the observed asking rent for a particular address or layout. The year-over-year movement adds direction to that index, but it does not document a concession, a lease renewal, or availability at an individual property.","title":"ZORI is a broad asking-rent benchmark"},{"body":"ACS median gross rent, Zillow ZORI, and HUD FMR/SAFMR should remain separate in review. ACS summarizes occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities; ZORI tracks typical observed asking rents across rental types; HUD provides an administrative bedroom standard. Their numerical gaps are useful flags for further checking, not a basis for treating the measures as substitutes or inferring a unit-level rent.","title":"ACS, HUD, and Zillow answer different questions"},{"body":"The bedroom figures are modelled estimates built by applying the local HUD bedroom ladder to the ZIP ZORI. They are useful for maintaining consistent proportional comparisons from studio through larger layouts. They are not measured bedroom rents, and they do not reveal a listing’s floor plan, legal bedroom count, property type, utilities, fees, or lease terms.","title":"The bedroom ladder is modelled, not measured"},{"body":"Aggregate renter burden records the share of occupied renter households reporting gross rent at or above the stated income threshold. Vacancy classifications describe the stock counted as vacant, including units classified for rent, not a live inventory feed. Neither metric can verify an applicant’s budget, demonstrate the cost of a specific unit, or show whether that unit can be leased.","title":"Burden and vacancy remain aggregate conditions"}],"risks":["ZORI blends rental types into a monthly ZIP index. A particular listing can differ because the index does not identify its layout, property type, included utilities, fees, condition, lease terms, or current availability.","ACS rent, income, renter share, and burden describe survey responses from occupied homes over a five-year period. Sampling uncertainty and the ZCTA boundary limit direct application to a current advertised property.","HUD FMR/SAFMR is a bedroom-specific administrative standard, while the ZIP bedroom series is derived from its proportions. Treating either value as a measured asking rent would overstate what the packet establishes.","The vacant-for-rent classification is not equivalent to listings currently suitable for a household. It does not establish lease availability, full monthly cost, unit quality, bedroom count, or acceptance terms at any address."],"qa":[{"a":"Zillow’s value is a typical observed asking-rent index for the ZIP market and blends rental types. It is appropriate as a broad current asking-rent benchmark. It is not a property quote, inventory total, signed lease rent, or a bedroom-specific measurement.","q":"What does the Zillow value measure?"},{"a":"ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and its median gross rent includes selected utilities. Zillow is a current asking-rent index across rental types. Averaging them would combine different time frames, occupancy universes, and rent concepts rather than improve precision.","q":"Why should ACS and Zillow not be averaged?"},{"a":"The supplied bedroom amounts are modelled estimates, not measured bedroom rents. They begin with the ZIP ZORI and scale it using the local HUD ladder’s ratios for each bedroom size. This preserves the HUD size pattern but does not add property-level observations or validate any listing’s bedroom rent.","q":"How were the ZIP bedroom amounts produced?"},{"a":"No. The burden share is an ACS aggregate calculated for occupied renter households using gross rent and household income. It does not identify prospective renters, a unit’s current price, utilities, mandatory charges, or lease conditions. It therefore cannot establish affordability, qualification, or availability for a particular property.","q":"Does the burden share show what a prospective renter will pay?"}],"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":"2017-10-01","rent":1893.815444},{"period":"2017-11-01","rent":1894.002148},{"period":"2017-12-01","rent":1907.985319},{"period":"2018-01-01","rent":1940.288163},{"period":"2018-02-01","rent":1932.695034},{"period":"2018-03-01","rent":1922.244884},{"period":"2018-04-01","rent":1914.503413},{"period":"2018-05-01","rent":1919.484459},{"period":"2018-06-01","rent":1925.442941},{"period":"2018-07-01","rent":1932.966268},{"period":"2018-08-01","rent":1942.994244},{"period":"2018-09-01","rent":1947.546099},{"period":"2018-10-01","rent":1968.9715},{"period":"2018-11-01","rent":1970.683311},{"period":"2018-12-01","rent":1977.18788},{"period":"2019-01-01","rent":1957.524324},{"period":"2019-02-01","rent":1961.111225},{"period":"2019-03-01","rent":1972.418591},{"period":"2019-04-01","rent":1979.314267},{"period":"2019-05-01","rent":1979.793251},{"period":"2019-06-01","rent":1981.22347},{"period":"2019-07-01","rent":1983.772563},{"period":"2019-08-01","rent":1981.570068},{"period":"2019-09-01","rent":1982.545191},{"period":"2019-10-01","rent":1983.339286},{"period":"2019-11-01","rent":1988.107656},{"period":"2019-12-01","rent":1990.556112},{"period":"2020-01-01","rent":2000.635598},{"period":"2020-02-01","rent":2011.912803},{"period":"2020-03-01","rent":2034.441891},{"period":"2020-04-01","rent":2028.566981},{"period":"2020-05-01","rent":2012.610827},{"period":"2020-06-01","rent":2000.060032},{"period":"2020-07-01","rent":2018.345379},{"period":"2020-08-01","rent":2034.461377},{"period":"2020-09-01","rent":2053.041347},{"period":"2020-10-01","rent":2052.736888},{"period":"2020-11-01","rent":2068.727401},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":2078.419727},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":2090.662387},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":2077.655387},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":2069.367288},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":2085.908938},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":2126.818933},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":2169.123285},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":2202.285608},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":2243.730364},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":2275.226707},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":2298.307138},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":2297.708356},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":2297.500733},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":2307.894883},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":2344.149152},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":2373.010165},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":2384.099251},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":2388.578634},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":2409.669667},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":2424.273425},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":2403.363559},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":2391.53914},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":2385.236574},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":2393.640312},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":2415.247713},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":2429.379113},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":2443.421748},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":2456.41889},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":2468.809611},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":2485.198282},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":2474.428389},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":2463.710477},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":2476.606427},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":2483.357849},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":2511.045223},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":2523.214289},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":2537.131568},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":2541.203145},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":2538.000365},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":2535.788852},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":2533.868557},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":2522.502165},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":2517.185689},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":2511.401503},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":2526.177221},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":2537.949534},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":2556.916216},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":2552.307973},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":2545.943792},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":2531.649997},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":2526.142216},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":2542.273964},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":2543.524098},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":2555.061303},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":2563.282717},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":2575.958557},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":2566.8867},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":2560.304251},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":2536.12642},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":2533.840958},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":2528.38263},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":2533.523423},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":2533.479177},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":2515.70292},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":2508.063691},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":2494.917193},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":2484.38758}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":105,"firstPeriod":"2017-10-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":105,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":2563.282717,"endRent":2484.38758,"change":-0.030778944701166933,"cagr":-0.030778944701166933},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":2474.428389,"endRent":2484.38758,"change":0.0040248451093889415,"cagr":0.0013398191194802234},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":2169.123285,"endRent":2484.38758,"change":0.14534180568717647,"cagr":0.027512283993638142}},"maxDrawdown":-0.03554831142417325,"annualizedVolatility":0.02198507767443539,"consecutiveReturnCount":104}}