At $2,282 in June 2026, Zillow ZORI for 23455 was 7.2% above its same-month level a year earlier. It is a ZIP-level, typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types—not a lease-level quote or a count of every available unit. The five-digit label is both Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and a matched Census ZCTA. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, a boundary distinction that matters when placing Zillow’s ZIP series beside Census results.
Direct Zillow ZIP history gives this current index more context than its one-month reading alone. Exact same-month annualized change was 7.2% over 1 year, 5.5% over 3 years, and 7.2% over 5 years. The latest direction therefore confirms, rather than breaks from, the longer observed path. Coverage was 100%: 138 observations generated 137 consecutive monthly returns. Annualized monthly-return variability of 1.9% indicates a relatively narrow pattern in month-to-month changes, while the maximum peak-to-trough drawdown of -1.3% marks the deepest observed setback. Those separate measures support more confidence in a single current index snapshot than a highly erratic series would, but remain backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations. For transparent national discovery among history-eligible ZIPs, where lower rank is higher, momentum ranked 129, stability 93, and balanced performance 11.
Definitions explain why nearby-looking rent figures should not be interchanged. The matched Census ZCTA’s ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent was $1,664, with an $84 margin of error; that is a survey measure for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The asking-rent index is higher, consistent with distinct populations and concepts rather than a direct contradiction. HUD’s FY2026 two-bedroom standard is $2,040. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. For broader context, the Virginia Beach city-context rent and Virginia Beach City county-context rent were each $2,065, while the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC metro-context rent was $1,878; each describes its named wider scope rather than this ZIP.
The local HUD ladder supplies a way to form bedroom estimates without mislabeling them as observed rents. Scaling ZIP ZORI with that ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,991 for a studio, $2,014 for one bedroom, $2,282 for two bedrooms, $3,166 for three bedrooms, and $3,725 for four bedrooms. These values are modelled estimates, not measured bedroom rents: they carry the local HUD bedroom progression while anchoring to Zillow’s blended ZIP index. Property type, included utilities, unit condition, and lease terms can still make a listed unit depart from the model.
Household and stock data create a more mixed affordability reading. ACS reports median household income of $94,069, while the 30% required-income screen for the ZIP index computes to $91,280 annually; the implied asking-rent-to-income share is 29.1%. This screen is arithmetic only, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. Yet 4,042 of 7,993 surveyed renter households, or 50.6%, were burdened at 30% or more of income by gross rent in the ACS measure. The ZCTA contains 22,134 housing units and a 5.9% vacancy rate; its stock includes 16,420 single-family units. Neither the vacancy measure nor the burden statistic proves availability, rent, or payment pressure for any particular unit.
Resale evidence changes the framing, but remains in a wholly separate for-sale universe and does not describe rental transactions. Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP observation reports a $469,894 median sold price, up 19.1% year over year, alongside 186 homes sold and a 26-day median marketing time. Inventory was 120 homes, equal to 2.0 months of supply; the average sale-to-list result was 99.6%, and 27.7% of homes sold above list. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by that median sold price gives a 5.8% cross-source screening ratio only—not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield. Both current rent and resale changes point upward, yet the much faster sale-price change challenges any simple assumption that the rental series and asset prices have moved at the same pace.
The apparent near-alignment between the arithmetic income screen and the ZCTA median household income should not erase the burden result. One is an index-based calculation using the ZCTA median household-income figure, whereas the other is a five-year survey result for occupied renter homes that includes gross-rent treatment. Likewise, the city, county, and metro figures are context rather than replacements for this ZIP’s measurements; shared place names do not merge those data scopes. The useful tension is not a verdict on affordability or market strength, but a reason to retain the asking-rent, survey, HUD, history, and resale measures in their own evidentiary lanes.
Limits are especially important before applying this ZIP report to a property. Check the actual posted rent, bedroom count, rental type, listing date, included utilities, lease terms, and condition against the Zillow and modelled benchmarks; also confirm that the address maps to the intended ZIP and matched ZCTA geography. For any resale comparison, verify the transaction’s property type, sale timing, and record details, then separately obtain property-specific operating, financing, and maintenance information that the screening ratio does not contain. These aggregate series do not establish a rent quote, purchaser economics, or outcome. Does the actual property’s current configuration fit these distinct measures without treating any one as a complete answer?