All homes and bedroom counts
RENTAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Decatur, AL
Decatur merits investigation by income-focused buyers who can underwrite property-level flood exposure.
Median price$237k
Median rent$1,161
Gross yield5.9%
Job growth▲ 1.0%
Composite Market ScoreRank #183 of 571 scored US market areas
Direct rental answer
How much is rent in Decatur, AL?
Zillow's metro-wide Observed Rent Index is $1,161 per month for 2026-06-30. That is up 2.25% from a year earlier.
Occupied rental units paying rent
Two-bedroom standard
These figures are not averaged together. Zillow and Realtor describe asking-rent markets, ACS measures rent paid by surveyed households, and HUD publishes administrative bedroom standards.
Exact county schedules
HUD rent benchmarks inside Decatur
Every row keeps its own county FIPS schedule. No county is selected as a metro proxy and no synthetic metro FMR is calculated.
| County | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, ALFIPS 01103 | $755 | $776 | $961 | $1,262 | $1,550 |
| Lawrence County, ALFIPS 01079 | $755 | $776 | $961 | $1,262 | $1,550 |
The read
Why this market scores where it does
Decatur merits investigation by income-focused buyers who can underwrite property-level flood exposure. At a $236,721 median home value and $1,161 median asking rent, the reported gross yield is 5.88%. Buyers requiring rapid rent growth, quick resale, or minimal water-hazard exposure should avoid it.
Opportunity comes from positive but restrained signals: asking rents rose 2.25% while home values rose 0.64%, CES jobs increased 0.97%, and net migration was 283 households. Together, these support current rental demand without establishing strong appreciation or rent-growth momentum.
Risk is concentrated in execution and asset selection. Inventory stood at 3.9 months, median market time was 60 days, and 27.46% of listings had price drops; that can aid negotiation but warns against assuming an easy exit. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, so parcel exposure and coverage terms need separate review.
Frequently Asked Investor Questions
What do the affordability measures show?
Median household income was $68,116, rent represented 20.45% of income, and the price-to-income ratio was 3.48.
Were household flows positive?
Tax filings recorded 2,886 households moving in and 2,603 moving out, for net migration of 283 households.
How much investor activity is reported?
Non-occupants represented 8.15% of purchase mortgages, and the record reports 1,791 total purchases.
Investor Quick Takeaways
Gross Yield: 5.9%
Computed from the current Zillow rent and home-value medians.
Rent Momentum: ▲ 2.25%
Zillow ZORI rent growth trend over trailing 12 months.
Investor Activity: 8.2%
Originated investment purchase share (CFPB HMDA).
Climate Exposure: FEMA NRI
Annualized loss ratio evaluated for flood & hurricane risk.
Put the evidence to work
Test the market, then test the deal
Keep Decatur as the starting point or move into a more specific property and rent check.
Run cash flowStarts with this market's measured price and rentSave to shortlistCompare this metro with up to four other placesCheck rent by ZIPMove from metro context to a local rent benchmarkFind a comparison marketRead a curated two-market decision analysisShare this analysisEmail the canonical link without adding page scriptsReport a data issueSend the figure, source and release period to review
Market pulse
The current market in eight signals
Fast-moving Redfin conditions sit beside the slower fundamentals so a buyer can separate today's negotiating climate from the long-run investment case.
Months of supply3.9 mo.▲ from 3.8 mo. a year ago
Median days on market60 days▲ from 50 days a year ago
Listings with price drops27.5%▼ from 30.4% a year ago
Sale-to-list ratio97.0%2026-05-01
Home value growth▲ 0.6%Zillow ZHVI · trailing 12 months
Rent growth▲ 2.25%Zillow ZORI · trailing 12 months
Gross rental yield5.9%Rent × 12 ÷ price
Payroll job growth▲ 1.0%CES · 12m to 2026-06
Release-to-release evidence
What actually changed
This comparison exists because at least one underlying source period advanced. Rebuilding the same data never creates a new observation.
Published score held steady57→57
0 ptsThe published component scores did not move in this release.
Weights were unchanged at metro-2026-07-v2-omb2023, so the movement comes from refreshed evidence and percentile ranks.
The named source periods advanced, but the measured values on this page held steady.
Composite breakdown
What each component measures
Weights are published, not hidden, and the arithmetic is shown. Five components, each measured as a national percentile across all tracked metros.
Published arithmeticComponent × weight = points
57| Signal | Score | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job growth | 82 | 30% | 24.60 |
| Rent trend | 32 | 25% | 8.00 |
| Affordability | 79 | 15% | 11.85 |
| Supply pressure | 48 | 15% | 7.20 |
| Climate risk | 33 | 15% | 4.95 |
| Published score | 57 | ||
Decatur, AL scoreRank #183
57Job growth82/100
CES employment grew 0.97% year over year -> the labor signal supports tenant demand but does not establish rapid growth.
Rent trend32/100
Asking rents rose 2.25% and reported gross yield was 5.88% -> current income is more evident than strong rent momentum.
Affordability79/100
Median value was 3.48 times median income and rent absorbed 20.45% of income -> affordability is a support, though metro medians cannot underwrite a specific property.
Supply pressure48/100
There were 368 permits, the published permit rate was 2.33, and inventory was 3.9 months -> buyers should test nearby competition and negotiate rather than assume scarcity.
Climate risk33/100
Inland flood is the dominant hazard and the annual climate loss ratio was 0.1716% -> flood exposure, mitigation, and coverage require property-level diligence.
The numbers
What this market costs and what it earns
Every derived ratio below recomputes from the same source record used by the article and score.
ZHVI Median Price
$237k
YoY ▲ 0.6%
ZORI Median Rent
$1,161
YoY ▲ 2.25%
Gross Rental Yield
5.9%
Rent × 12 ÷ price
$1,161 × 12 ÷ $236,721
Job Growth (YoY)
▲ 1.0%
CES payrolls
Job signal 82/100
Median Household Income
$68k
Census ACS 5-year
Rent Burden
20.4%
Annual rent ÷ household income
Price-to-Income
3.5x
Median value ÷ household income
HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent
$961
Market rent 120.8% of FMR
Historical affordability context
Compare aligned 2019 and 2024 asking-rent and nominal household-income endpoints across the direct-overlap metro set.
Independent rent evidence
One market, several legitimate rent benchmarks
These releases observe different homes and different moments. RentMarker keeps them separate: ZORI remains the scoring baseline, while the other sources test how sensitive the market story is to bedroom mix and measurement method.
Monthly benchmark4 of 4 reported values
Zero-based scale$1,161Primary RentMarker baseline
2026-06-30
All homes and bedroom counts
A smoothed metro rent index for observed rentals; it is the primary rent used by RentMarker scores and career ratios.
View source release ↗$776−$385 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR
One-bedroom standard
An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.
View source release ↗$961−$200 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR
Two-bedroom standard
An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.
View source release ↗$847−$314 vs ZORI
ACS 2024 5-year
Occupied rental units paying rent
A five-year survey estimate of contract rent plus applicable tenant-paid utilities; it is not a current asking-rent index.
View source release ↗Take the next step
Keep Decatur as context, then replace market-wide evidence with the candidate property's facts.
Regional price level
What feels expensive inside Decatur
BEA compares each category with the United States, which equals 100. This is a 2024 price-level comparison—not annual inflation.
BEA Regional Price Parities · 2024US = 100
Occupation wage lens
How asking rent sits against major local occupations
Annualized Zillow asking rent is divided by each BLS annual median wage. This is a screening ratio for one wage, not a household budget or affordability verdict.
Six largest published major groupsannual rent ÷ median wage
Production Occupations$46,390 median wage
30.0%
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations$41,610 median wage
33.5%
Office and Administrative Support Occupations$43,510 median wage
32.0%
Sales and Related Occupations$35,260 median wage
39.5%
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations$27,930 median wage
49.9%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations$61,670 median wage
22.6%
Supply pipeline
What is being built, and for whom
Permits are the 12-to-24 month early warning. The total matters less than the mix: apartments compete with a rental the day they open.
National supply context
Compare this authorization pipeline with asking-rent growth, jobs and for-sale liquidity across the evidence-complete metro set.
Building permits by structure type
units per year · latest year annualised
368 units authorised in 2026, 3% of them in 5+ unit buildings. This is a single-family building cycle, so the competition is other houses, not new apartments. ✓ recomputed from series
Who is arriving, and who is buying
Demand, and the competition for it
Tax filings say how many households moved and what they earn; mortgage disclosures say how many local purchases went to someone who will not live there. Moves between counties inside this metro are netted out of both flow figures.
Net Household Move
+283
2,886 in vs 2,603 out (IRS SOI)
▲ 9.8% of arriving households
Mover Income Gap
+$3,051
Arriving $57,902 vs leaving $54,851
Average AGI per tax return (IRS SOI)
Investor Purchase Share
8.2%
146 of 1,791 originated purchase loans
CFPB HMDA 2024
Dominant Hazard
inland flooding
0.172% building value annual loss ratio
FEMA NRI · risk type: water
Compare yield and FEMA exposure →Households arrive mainly from: Madison County · Cullman County · Limestone County · Colbert County · Lauderdale County
✓ 2,886 in − 2,603 out = 283 netDirect market links
Where tax-return households moved from and to
These are the largest flows where both counties map to a RentMarker market area. They are a documented subset of the all-US IRS totals above.
Leading inbound markets
- Huntsville, AL847 arriving
- Cullman, AL239 arriving
- Florence, AL198 arriving
Leading outbound markets
- Huntsville, AL861 leaving
- Cullman, AL266 leaving
- Florence, AL167 leaving
The other side
What would make this a bad buy
Generated from the same figures with the instruction to argue against the score, and published unedited. A page that only agrees with itself is an advertisement.
Three ways the case breaks
- Asking-rent growth was 2.25% and the rent component score was 32, which may disappoint a strategy dependent on rapid rent increases.
- A 60-day median market time and price drops on 27.46% of listings indicate potential pricing and resale friction.
- Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the annual climate loss ratio was 0.1716% of building value.
Inside this metro area
Move from the market-area average to local evidence
Use the available county and city pages to add local price, rent, housing, migration and hazard context to the market-area view.
County records
Cities in this market
Statistical peers
Market areas that behave like Decatur
Nearest neighbours on price level, income, yield and job growth — not on geography. Every market page gets a different peer set, which is the point.
| Market area | Score | Price | Rent | Yield | Job Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur, AL (Target) | 57 | $237k | $1,161 | 5.9% | ▲ 1.0% |
| Muskegon, MI | 85 | $259k | $1,212 | 5.6% | ▲ 1.0% |
| St. Joseph, MO | 67 | $218k | $1,047 | 5.8% | ▲ 1.0% |
| Bowling Green, KY | 46 | $266k | $1,278 | 5.8% | ▲ 0.8% |
| Niles, MI | 71 | $287k | $1,387 | 5.8% | ▲ 0.5% |
Provenance
Where every figure came from
“Checked nightly” means every source is re-pulled and re-verified each night. It does not mean every source moves nightly — the release column tells you how fresh each number can possibly be.
| Dataset Source | Method | Release Period | Pulled Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census ACS 5-year — household income and gross rent | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-08-05 |
| Census ACS 5-year — historical household income | direct | ACS 2019 and 2024 5-year | 2026-08-05 |
| Census ACS 5-year — population | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-26 |
| Apartment List Rent Estimates — recent-lease rent index | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidity | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancy | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| BEA County Personal Income — income and population | direct | 2024 County Personal Income (released 2026-02-05); history 1969-2024 | 2026-08-03 |
| BEA Regional Price Parities — metropolitan price levels | direct | 2024 Regional Price Parities (released 2026-02-19); history 2008-2024 | 2026-08-03 |
| BLS CES — payroll employment | direct | CES SM current | 2026-07-26 |
| BLS LAUS — resident employment | direct | LAUS current | 2026-07-26 |
| BLS OEWS — occupation employment and wages | direct | May 2025 OEWS estimates (released 2026-05-15) | 2026-08-03 |
| BLS QCEW — county employment and wages | direct | annual county employment and wages 2021-2025; latest 2025 vs 2024 | 2026-08-02 |
| OMB/BLS delineation — metro geography | direct | OMB July 2023 delineation | 2026-07-30 |
| Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units | direct | BPS through 2026 | 2026-07-26 |
| Census ACS 5-year — city population, households and housing | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-29 |
| Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-30 |
| Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-30 |
| Census ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and income | direct | ACS 2024 5-year ZCTA | 2026-08-08 |
| FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios | modelled | NRI counties (FEMA ArcGIS) | 2026-07-26 |
| FHFA House Price Index — annual county appreciation | direct | annual county HPI history 1975-2025; latest 2025 | 2026-08-02 |
| HMDA / CFPB — purchases by occupancy type | direct | HMDA 2024 purchase originations | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD CHAS — renter burden by HAMFI income band | direct | HUD CHAS 2018-2022 ACS 5-year (released 2025-12-23) | 2026-08-03 |
| HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standard | direct | FY2026 FMR | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD USPS crosswalk and Small Area FMRs — ZIP rent fallback | direct | ZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR FY2026 | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD-USPS ZIP-to-county residential-address crosswalk | direct | HUD-USPS 2026Q1 | 2026-08-09 |
| IRS SOI — county migration and mover income | direct | SOI migration 2022-2023 | 2026-07-26 |
| Freddie Mac PMMS — mortgage rates | direct | week of 2026-07-30 | 2026-08-06 |
| Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-08-06 |
| Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventory | direct | county inventory 2026-06 | 2026-07-28 |
| Realtor.com Rental Report — top-50 asking rents | direct | top-50 rental asking rents 2026-05 | 2026-08-05 |
| Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts | direct | metro tracker through 2026-05-01 | 2026-07-26 |
| Redfin Data Center — ZIP resale activity and supply | direct | ZIP rolling 3 months through 2026-06-30; updated 2026-07-03 | 2026-08-12 |
| USDA ERS — Rural-Urban Continuum Codes | direct | USDA ERS 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes | 2026-08-02 |
| Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rents | direct | county ZHVI/ZORI 2026-06 | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZHVI — metro home values | direct | Metro_zhvi_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csv | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZHVI — city home values | direct | zillow_zhvi_city.csv | 2026-07-29 |
| Zillow ZORI — metro market rents | direct | Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csv | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZORI — city market rents | direct | zillow_zori_city.csv | 2026-07-29 |
| Zillow ZORI - metro market rents, not seasonally adjusted | direct | Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_month.csv | 2026-08-15 |
| Zillow ZORI — ZIP market rents | direct | ZORI ZIP 2026-06 | 2026-08-08 |