ZIP 26505 presents a narrow but important comparison question: how should a current typical asking-rent signal be read against survey rents, administrative standards, and household data that describe different things? The five-digit label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a matched Census ZCTA; a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI is $1,389 per month, after a 4.8% year-over-year increase. This is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than the asking price of any listed home. The immediate decision use is to set a current ZIP-level reference while retaining separate tests for lease terms, bedroom count, and utilities at the property level.
The principal contrast is temporal and definitional, not a disagreement to average away. In the matched ACS 2024 5-year ZCTA survey, median gross rent is $981, with a reported 90% margin of error of $31. That is 41.6% below the Zillow index, but ACS summarizes occupied renter homes over its survey period and its gross-rent measure includes selected utilities. It therefore cannot be treated as a current advertised-rent quote. HUD’s FY2026 two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR is $1,099, and the ZIP index is 26.4% above it. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent, so neither the ACS figure nor the HUD figure should be merged into or substituted for Zillow’s asking-rent index.
Household figures add a separate affordability screen. The matched ACS ZCTA reports median household income of $45,536. Annualizing the Zillow value and dividing by 30% yields $55,560 in annual income for the stated screen; this arithmetic screen is not advice or an applicant qualification rule. The monthly index equals 36.6% of that reported median income when placed on an annual basis, a cross-source comparison rather than a household budget. Renters occupy 10,964 homes, or 67.5% of occupied homes. Among those surveyed renter households, 5,793, or 52.8%, report gross-rent burdens of 30% or more. This observed burden is population-level survey evidence, not proof of what any particular unit costs or requires.
Bedroom detail requires an explicit model rather than a claim of measurement. Scaling the ZIP ZORI by the provided local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,101 for a studio, $1,108 for one bedroom, $1,389 for two bedrooms, $1,666 for three bedrooms, and $2,094 for four bedrooms. The associated HUD standards run from $871 for a studio and $877 for one bedroom to $1,657 for four bedrooms. The two-bedroom estimate matches the ZIP index by construction. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents: the close studio/one-bedroom values and the larger steps at higher bedroom counts reflect the local administrative ladder, not observed averages from a ZIP listing sample.
Supply-side counts help define composition, but not property-level availability. The matched ACS ZCTA records 18,730 housing units, 16,251 occupied units, and 2,479 vacant units, a 13.2% vacancy rate. Within the listed vacant categories, 965 are for rent, 74 are for sale, and 137 are seasonal. Those categories are composition clues, not a count of units immediately rentable, because the data neither identify price, condition, lease timing, nor every vacancy status. The stock also contains 7,109 single-family units and 3,806 units reported in large multifamily structures. This mix does not indicate that either structure type is available, nor does the overall vacancy rate establish vacancy at a particular building or apartment.
For broader rent context, the Morgantown city-context rent value is $1,539, the Monongalia County-context rent value is $1,526, and the Morgantown, WV metro-context rent value is $1,515; all three use wider geographic scopes than the ZIP. Each exceeds the ZIP index, but the ordering is a context comparison, not evidence about location within any one area or a reason for the difference. The city, county, and metro figures remain context only and cannot replace the ZIP’s current index or its separately reported survey measures.
Several limits control the reading. Zillow is an index, ACS is a multi-year survey with margins of error, and HUD is an administrative standard; their dates, populations, and construction differ. The supplied HUD ladder is described as ZIP SAFMR or county-derived, so its exact local basis should be confirmed before relying on the scaled bedroom figures. The ZCTA match also does not settle a property’s delivery ZIP or market coverage. Concrete property-level checks are the advertised monthly asking rent, exact bedroom count, available date, lease duration, included utilities, recurring and one-time fees, concessions and their duration, occupancy limits, and whether the advertised address lies in the relevant geography. These lease facts remain separate from area-level results, which cannot establish availability, contract terms, or qualification.