For Zillow ZIP market identifier 82009, the decision question is whether the current typical asking-rent signal is the relevant reference point for a particular rental search when the matched Census ZCTA records a different renter population and measurement period. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Zillow reports a $1,669 typical observed asking-rent index in June 2026, up 4.34% year over year. This is a ZIP-level index blended across rental types, so it is a current market signal rather than the rent, availability, or condition of any one home. The useful reading is therefore comparative: identify which benchmarks answer a current asking-rent question and which answer a separate survey or program-standard question.
To avoid merging universes, the matched ZCTA's ACS 2024 five-year survey reports median gross rent of $1,166 among occupied renter homes. Gross rent includes selected utilities; the Zillow index is 43.1% above that survey median, but it is not a trailing asking-rent series. HUD's FY2026 local two-bedroom standard is $1,174. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent; the Zillow index is 42.2% above it. ACS describes surveyed occupied renter homes, HUD sets an administrative standard, and Zillow summarizes observed asking rents across types. Similar dollar levels between the ACS and HUD figures do not make their timing, populations, or uses interchangeable.
Housing stock and vacancy data add an important inventory limit before any rent inference. The ACS ZCTA estimates 15,425 housing units and 720 vacant units, a 4.7% vacancy rate. Recorded structures include 12,970 single-family units and 536 large multifamily units; those counts describe stock, not the rental types or terms available today. Among the named vacancy categories, 0 units are for rent, 56 are for sale, and 209 are seasonal. The survey's zero in the for-rent category is not proof that no home is advertised, and neither the aggregate vacancy rate nor a subtype can demonstrate availability, price, or lease terms for a particular unit. This stock record is a composition check, not a live listing feed.
Household resources and observed burden form another separate ACS lens. ZCTA median household income is $103,835, while renter-occupied homes make up 18.8% of occupied homes. Annualizing the Zillow index creates a $66,760 gross-income screen at 30%; that arithmetic threshold is not advice and is not an applicant qualification rule. The comparison can frame the income level associated with the index under a fixed share-of-income convention, but cannot determine a household's actual budget, utilities, debt, or eligibility. ACS also reports that 42.7% of renter households spend at least 30% of income on rent. That is an observed survey burden across renter homes, not evidence that a current applicant, property, or lease has the same burden.
Bedroom-specific figures require a construction rather than an additional observation. Scaling the ZIP Zillow index by the local FY2026 HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,150 for a studio, $1,304 for one bedroom, the overall ZIP index for two bedrooms, $2,322 for three bedrooms, and $2,799 for four bedrooms. The two-bedroom figure equals the overall ZIP index by construction because the local HUD two-bedroom rung is the scaling anchor. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. They retain the local HUD ladder's relative bedroom spacing, but they cannot establish the bedroom mix in Zillow observations, the existence of a listing, a unit's features, or an advertised price for a specific floor plan. They are best read as internally consistent scaling outputs.
Broader aggregate values provide a directional comparison but remain context only. In the Cheyenne city context, at city scope, the Zillow index is $1,494 and the renter share is 32.9%; in the Laramie County context, at county scope, the Zillow index is $1,490 and the observed ACS burden share is 47.4%; in the Cheyenne, WY metro context, at metro scope, the Zillow index is $1,490, median household income is $80,173, and the rent-to-income reading is 22.3%. The ZIP asking index exceeds each wider Zillow index, but city, county, and metro values are contextual aggregates, not ZIP replacements or evidence about a particular home.
These measures have different dates, populations, and purposes, so none alone prices a unit or establishes its availability. Before relying on the ZIP index or the modelled bedroom figures, check the property's advertised monthly rent and posting date; confirm the actual bedroom count and rental type; and identify which selected utilities, recurring charges, deposits, or concessions are included or excluded. Compare the quoted lease term and move-in timing with the current listing rather than a survey median or HUD standard. For an income screen, use the household's own documented resources and the lease's complete recurring housing cost; the 30% calculation remains an arithmetic comparison, not a recommendation or a qualification outcome. Those property-level checks keep the distinct evidence universes from being used as substitutes for one another.
","findings":[{"body":"At $1,669, the current ZIP Zillow index is 43.1% above the matched ZCTA's ACS median gross rent and 42.2% above the local HUD two-bedroom standard. These differences do not identify an error or a single market-clearing rent. They reflect measures with different observation windows, populations, utility treatment, and administrative purposes. Use them as parallel reference points, not interchangeable benchmarks.","title":"Current asking index differs materially from survey and HUD references"},{"body":"Studio through four-bedroom monthly figures of $1,150 to $2,799 are modelled by applying the local HUD bedroom ladder to the ZIP Zillow index. The two-bedroom estimate matches the index by construction. This supplies a consistent relative scale, but it does not measure median rents by bedroom, inventory, square footage, utilities, lease terms, or the price of any available dwelling.","title":"Bedroom estimates are scaling outputs"},{"body":"The matched ZCTA survey records 42.7% of renter households spending at least 30% of income on rent, while renter-occupied homes constitute 18.8% of occupied homes. Separately, annualizing the Zillow index creates a $66,760 gross-income screen under a 30% convention. The burden observation is historical survey evidence, and the screen is arithmetic; neither qualifies an applicant or predicts the cost of a chosen unit.","title":"Renter burden is material but not unit-specific"},{"body":"The ZCTA's 4.7% vacancy rate comes from 720 vacant units out of 15,425 housing units. The survey reports zero units in its for-rent vacancy category, alongside for-sale and seasonal categories. It cannot verify whether a rental is currently advertised, when it can be occupied, or what it costs. Property-level listing review remains necessary for availability conclusions.","title":"Vacancy categories do not equal listed supply"}],"risks":["Zillow, ACS, and HUD observations differ in date, population, rent concept, and purpose; treating any gap as a trend, discount, or error would overstate what the packet establishes.","The bedroom figures inherit HUD's relative ladder and the overall ZIP index, so they can be misread as observed asking rents even though no bedroom-specific listings were measured.","Survey vacancy categories are not a current inventory system. A zero recorded for-rent category cannot demonstrate that an individual property lacks an advertised, soon-available, or negotiable rental.","City, county, and metro observations are wider aggregates. Using them as substitutes for the ZIP or ZCTA can conceal scope differences in renter composition, income, and measurement timing."],"qa":[{"a":"They answer different questions. Zillow provides a June 2026 ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. ACS provides a 2024 five-year ZCTA survey median for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The gap therefore cannot be read as an increase for the same units or as a direct price comparison.","q":"Why are the Zillow and ACS rents so far apart?"},{"a":"No. Each bedroom figure is a modelled monthly estimate obtained by scaling the overall ZIP Zillow index with the local HUD bedroom ladder. The approach keeps a consistent local relationship across bedroom sizes, but it does not observe asking rents, lease contracts, vacancies, or advertised units for any bedroom count.","q":"Are the bedroom figures observed rents?"},{"a":"No. The stated required-income result simply annualizes the Zillow index and divides by 30%. It is a mechanical share-of-income calculation. It does not assess a household's earnings, other recurring obligations, utility arrangement, household size, eligibility, or the complete cost written into a particular lease.","q":"Does the income screen determine what a renter can afford?"},{"a":"No. It is a category within the ACS five-year survey, not a contemporaneous listing census. It cannot confirm whether a home is advertised, already committed, temporarily unavailable, priced at the ZIP index, or offered under terms that differ from the aggregate survey measures.","q":"Can the zero for-rent vacancy count be treated as no rentals?"}],"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 — 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