All homes and bedroom counts
RENTAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Sandusky, OH
Sandusky merits investigation by yield-focused buyers who can verify achievable rents and flood exposure; affordability-sensitive buyers should be cautious.
Median price$243k
Median rent$1,689
Gross yield8.4%
Job growth▲ 2.1%
Composite Market ScoreRank #19 of 571 scored US market areas
Direct rental answer
How much is rent in Sandusky, OH?
Zillow's metro-wide Observed Rent Index is $1,689 per month for 2026-06-30. That is up 9.72% 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 Sandusky
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie County, OHFIPS 39043 | $854 | $886 | $1,106 | $1,384 | $1,557 |
| Ottawa County, OHFIPS 39123 | $807 | $843 | $1,106 | $1,326 | $1,696 |
The read
Why this market scores where it does
Sandusky merits investigation by yield-focused buyers who can verify achievable rents and flood exposure; affordability-sensitive buyers should be cautious. Median asking rent rose 9.72% while home value rose 2.1%, producing an 8.36% gross yield.
The opportunity rests on 2.08% job growth and limited near-term inventory: months of supply is 3.0. However, median asking rent equals 27.57% of median household income, and the lower 2-bedroom fair-market rent indicates that underwriting should distinguish asking rents from rents attainable for a specific property.
Risk is not confined to leasing. Outbound households exceeded inbound households by 191, while 28.74% of listings had price drops. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, so property-level insurance, elevation, and loss exposure require review before purchase.
Frequently Asked Investor Questions
What is the median purchase-price benchmark?
The median home value is $242,533.
How much higher is median asking rent than the 2-bedroom fair-market rent?
Median asking rent is $1,689 and the 2-bedroom fair-market rent is $1,106, a calculated difference of $583 per month.
Are incoming movers higher-income than outgoing movers?
Yes. Average income is $64,093 for incoming movers and $54,418 for outgoing movers, a published gap of $9,675.
Investor Quick Takeaways
Gross Yield: 8.4%
Computed from the current Zillow rent and home-value medians.
Rent Momentum: ▲ 9.72%
Zillow ZORI rent growth trend over trailing 12 months.
Investor Activity: 11.0%
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 Sandusky 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 supply3.0 mo.unchanged from a year ago
Median days on market42 days▼ from 44 days a year ago
Listings with price drops28.7%▲ from 25.8% a year ago
Sale-to-list ratio97.5%2026-05-01
Home value growth▲ 2.1%Zillow ZHVI · trailing 12 months
Rent growth▲ 9.72%Zillow ZORI · trailing 12 months
Gross rental yield8.4%Rent × 12 ÷ price
Payroll job growth▲ 2.1%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 steady77→77
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
77| Signal | Score | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job growth | 97 | 30% | 29.10 |
| Rent trend | 95 | 25% | 23.75 |
| Affordability | 32 | 15% | 4.80 |
| Supply pressure | 57 | 15% | 8.55 |
| Climate risk | 75 | 15% | 11.25 |
| Published score | 77 | ||
Sandusky, OH scoreRank #19
77Job growth97/100
Job: 2.08% year-over-year CES growth -> employment is a supportive demand signal, but the record does not show industry mix or durability.
Rent trend95/100
Rent: 9.72% asking-rent growth and 8.36% gross yield -> income potential is attractive, subject to property-level rent validation.
Affordability32/100
Afford: rent equals 27.57% of median household income -> further rent increases may face household-budget constraints.
Supply pressure57/100
Supply: 3.0 months of supply and 348 permits -> resale inventory is limited, while new construction remains a competitive factor to monitor.
Climate risk75/100
Climate: a 0.114% annual building-value loss ratio with inland flood dominant -> flood exposure and insurance terms require property-specific 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
$243k
YoY ▲ 2.1%
ZORI Median Rent
$1,689
YoY ▲ 9.72%
Gross Rental Yield
8.4%
Rent × 12 ÷ price
$1,689 × 12 ÷ $242,533
Job Growth (YoY)
▲ 2.1%
CES payrolls
Job signal 97/100
Median Household Income
$74k
Census ACS 5-year
Rent Burden
27.6%
Annual rent ÷ household income
Price-to-Income
3.3x
Median value ÷ household income
HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent
$1,106
Market rent 152.7% 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$1,689Primary 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 ↗$865−$825 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 ↗$1,106−$583 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 ↗$932−$757 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 Sandusky as context, then replace market-wide evidence with the candidate property's facts.
Regional price level
What feels expensive inside Sandusky
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
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations$29,720 median wage
68.2%
Office and Administrative Support Occupations$43,840 median wage
46.2%
Sales and Related Occupations$33,570 median wage
60.4%
Production Occupations$47,180 median wage
43.0%
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations$39,940 median wage
50.7%
Management Occupations$94,030 median wage
21.6%
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
348 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
−191
2,839 in vs 3,030 out (IRS SOI)
▼ 6.7% of arriving households
Mover Income Gap
+$9,675
Arriving $64,093 vs leaving $54,418
Average AGI per tax return (IRS SOI)
Investor Purchase Share
11.0%
137 of 1,246 originated purchase loans
CFPB HMDA 2024
Dominant Hazard
inland flooding
0.114% building value annual loss ratio
FEMA NRI · risk type: water
Compare yield and FEMA exposure →Households arrive mainly from: Lorain County · Huron County · Lucas County · Sandusky County · Cuyahoga County
✓ 2,839 in − 3,030 out = -191 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
- Cleveland, OH520 arriving
- Toledo, OH407 arriving
- Columbus, OH110 arriving
Leading outbound markets
- Cleveland, OH551 leaving
- Toledo, OH375 leaving
- Columbus, OH131 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
- Net migration was negative, with 191 more households moving out than moving in.
- The 2-bedroom fair-market rent is below the median asking rent, creating a risk that advertised rents overstate achievable income for some units.
- Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the published loss ratio does not resolve parcel-level exposure or insurance cost.
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.
Statistical peers
Market areas that behave like Sandusky
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandusky, OH (Target) | 77 | $243k | $1,689 | 8.4% | ▲ 2.1% |
| Carlsbad, NM | 68 | $254k | $1,600 | 7.6% | ▲ 2.4% |
| Watertown, NY | 74 | $236k | $1,467 | 7.4% | ▲ 1.7% |
| Cortland, NY | 79 | $209k | $1,365 | 7.8% | ▲ 3.0% |
| Oneonta, NY | 63 | $221k | $1,549 | 8.4% | ▲ 1.0% |
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 |