At the June 2026 reading, the five-digit label 97214 is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a matched Census ZCTA; its Zillow typical observed asking-rent index was $1,692 per month, up 2.2% year over year. Zillow ZORI is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so it is not a transaction comp or a statement about a specified unit. As wider context only, the City of Portland context rent was $1,721, Multnomah County context rent was $1,688, and the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro context rent was $1,805. The ZIP therefore sat just below city and metro context but near county context; those broader geographies do not replace the ZIP reading.
The current increase broadly continues a stable-growth history, although it is neither the strongest nor weakest pace in the available record. Exact same-month annualized ZORI changes were 2.2% over one year, 1.8% over three years, and 2.6% over five years. That means the recent direction confirms the longer upward path, but the latest pace remains below the five-year rate. The series has 122 observations, 121 consecutive monthly returns, and 100% stated coverage. Annualized monthly-return variability of 1.6% suggests historically restrained index movement, supporting more confidence in one current ZIP snapshot than a highly erratic series would. The deepest observed drawdown was 2.7%, showing that even this steadier history had periods of decline. Transparent national discovery ranks placed stability 14th, momentum 1,509th, and the balanced measure 533rd among history-eligible ZIPs; these are backward-looking diagnostics, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
A different rent lens comes from the matched Census ZCTA, which is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Its five-year ACS survey reported median gross rent of $1,645 with a $43 margin of error; gross rent describes occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, unlike Zillow asking rent. The Zillow index was therefore 2.9% above that ACS median, a modest difference that does not make the measures interchangeable. Bedroom figures are modelled estimates created by scaling ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder: $1,382 for a studio, $1,476 for one bedroom, $1,692 for two bedrooms, $2,306 for three bedrooms, and $2,737 for four bedrooms. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent; its two-bedroom standard is $1,922. The modelled ladder is useful for internal size comparison, never as measured bedroom rents.
The income screen is also a comparison rather than a tenant outcome. Applying the arithmetic 30% standard to the ZIP asking-rent index produces required annual household income of $67,680. Against the ZCTA median household income of $87,131, the index represents 23.3% of that median income before taxes. This screen is not advice and is not an applicant qualification rule. The occupied-renter ACS burden evidence gives a more direct household-distribution caution: 4,776 of 9,898 renter households, or 48.3%, reported spending 30% or more of income on gross rent. Because that measure is a five-year survey of occupied households and gross rent includes selected utilities, it cannot establish whether a prospective household or particular listed unit is rent burdened.
Housing composition adds another reason not to overread a blended index. The matched ZCTA contained 15,943 housing units and was 66.1% renter occupied. Its 6.1% overall vacancy rate covers all vacant housing, not a direct reading of apartment availability or a prediction for an advertised unit. The stock includes both single-family and large-multifamily structures, so the ZIP ZORI should not be treated as a rent estimate for either structure type alone. Reported vacant-for-rent, for-sale, and seasonal categories are distinct classifications; they do not demonstrate concessions, unit condition, landlord pricing, or availability at a specified address. The renter-heavy survey composition makes the occupied-renter ACS lens relevant, while its ZCTA boundary and survey design remain separate from Zillow's ZIP asking-rent universe.
Direct ZIP resale evidence provides a distinct for-sale-market counterweight. In Redfin's rolling three-month ZIP resale observation, median sold price was $724,836, down 0.02% from a year earlier. There were 77 homes sold, with a median 10 days on market, 142 active listings, and inventory of 57 homes. Months of supply stood at 2.2. Sale-to-list signals were also firm: the average sale-to-list ratio was 101.5%, 40.0% of sales closed above list, and 59% went off market within two weeks. These are resale liquidity, pricing, inventory, and marketing signals for homes sold or listed in the ZIP; they are not rental transactions, rental comps, or evidence of property-level operating economics.
The primary cross-source tension is that the rent history shows controlled, positive movement while the direct resale median was essentially flat from the prior year. Quick resale marketing and above-list outcomes confirm active for-sale turnover, yet the negligible annual sold-price change challenges any simple claim that the current rent increase reflects parallel resale appreciation. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by the Redfin median sold price produces a 2.8% cross-source screening ratio. It merely juxtaposes a blended asking-rent index with a rolling resale median, without expenses, financing, taxes, maintenance, vacancies, property mix, or matched transactions. It is not a cap rate, net return, expected return, property yield, or a valuation conclusion.
Interpretation should remain bounded by the source designs and dates. Zillow records a current blended asking-rent index, ACS describes surveyed occupied households over five years, HUD supplies an administrative bedroom ladder, and Redfin reports a rolling resale window. For an address-level review, verify the advertised rent, bedroom count, included utilities, lease term, concessions, condition, and current availability for comparable units rather than substituting the ZIP index. If a sale comparison is relevant, verify the property's sale date, list history, sale-to-list outcome, and whether its structure type resembles the contemplated unit. The unresolved question is whether a specific dwelling's terms and characteristics align with these broad ZIP, ZCTA, and resale measures.
","findings":[{"body":"The June Zillow ZIP asking-rent index was $1,692 per month, 2.2% above its prior-year reading. It was slightly above the Multnomah County context rent of $1,688, while remaining below the City of Portland context rent of $1,721 and metro context rent of $1,805. Those comparisons provide orientation only because each geography is broader than the ZIP.","title":"Asking rent is near county context but below city and metro context"},{"body":"The one-year ZORI change of 2.2% exceeds the three-year annualized rate of 1.8% but trails the five-year rate of 2.6%. Low annualized monthly-return variability and a limited historical drawdown support the stable-growth classification. The evidence is historical measurement through the stated endpoint, not a forecast of future rents or a recommendation.","title":"History is steady, but recent growth is not a new acceleration"},{"body":"The studio-through-four-bedroom values are modelled estimates that scale the all-types ZIP ZORI using the local HUD ladder. They should not be read as observed rents for individual bedroom classes. HUD's bedroom-specific standards are administrative benchmarks, while Zillow is an asking-rent index and ACS gross rent is a survey measure of occupied renter homes that includes selected utilities.","title":"Bedroom figures are modelled from a HUD-based ladder"},{"body":"Redfin's direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale data show short marketing time, a sale-to-list ratio above 100%, and meaningful above-list and quick-off-market shares. At the same time, the median sold price was essentially unchanged year over year. That contrast prevents treating rent growth as proof of corresponding resale-price movement or property-level economics.","title":"Resale liquidity is firm despite a nearly flat annual price change"}],"risks":["A ZIP-level blended asking-rent index can differ materially from the exact rent, condition, utility treatment, bedroom count, lease terms, and concessions attached to a currently marketed dwelling at a particular address.","The historical ZORI record measures past index behavior, and its stable volatility and drawdown profile do not establish future rent direction, future tenant demand, or the outcome for an individual property.","ACS estimates describe a matched ZCTA statistical area over five survey years and carry sampling uncertainty; they are not contemporaneous ZIP delivery data and cannot identify the finances of a specific renter household.","The Redfin rent-price screen combines an asking-rent index with a resale median and excludes expenses, financing, taxes, maintenance, property differences, and matched rent-sale observations, preventing property-level return interpretation."],"qa":[{"a":"They answer different questions. Zillow ZORI is a current ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey measure for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent. Their values should be compared only with those scope differences in view.","q":"Why do Zillow, ACS, and HUD rent figures differ?"},{"a":"No. The studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, and four-bedroom figures are modelled estimates. They scale the ZIP-wide Zillow asking-rent index using the local HUD bedroom ladder. The method provides a consistent relative size framework, but it does not measure advertised or signed rents for each bedroom category in 97214.","q":"Are the bedroom rent figures observed ZIP bedroom rents?"},{"a":"It calculates the annual household income that would put the ZIP Zillow asking-rent index at 30% of gross income. It is arithmetic only, not tenant advice or an applicant qualification rule. The separate ACS burden statistic describes surveyed occupied renter households spending at least 30% of income on gross rent, including selected utilities.","q":"What does the 30% income screen show?"},{"a":"Redfin's figures are direct ZIP for-sale and resale observations over a rolling three-month period, including sold price, marketing time, listings, supply, and sale-to-list outcomes. They are not rental transactions. The annualized ZORI-to-sale-price figure is only a cross-source screen, because it does not include property matching, expenses, financing, or operating results.","q":"How should the resale data be read alongside rent data?"}],"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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