ZIP 39759 raises a specific comparison question: how should a current ZIP asking-rent signal be read beside survey, administrative, income, and housing-composition measures that describe a similar but not identical area? In 2026-06, Zillow ZORI is $1,563 per month, following a 5.77% year-over-year increase. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so it summarizes market asking signals rather than a lease quote for a named home. It does not segment the result by bedroom, property condition, lease terms, or utility package. The decision question is whether the index creates a materially different budget screen from the separate household, standard, and stock measures, and which differences should be checked at a property level.
The matched Census ZCTA's ACS 2024 5-year figures describe household capacity and renter experience, not current advertised pricing. Median household income is $46,398, and renter households make up 54.25% of occupied units. Income is a household-wide ZCTA median, not a renter-only income distribution or a record of current applicant earnings. The observed ACS burden measure estimates that 53.15% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on gross rent. Annualizing the $1,563 ZIP index produces a $62,520 required-income screen and a 40.42% comparison with median household income. That required-income screen is arithmetic, not financial advice and not an applicant qualification rule; it does not say whether any household can or should rent a particular home.
Price-series gaps are large but are not contradictory because their universes differ. The ACS median gross rent is $922 for occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA, and it includes selected utilities. Zillow's $1,563 index is 69.52% above that ACS figure, but it is a later typical asking-rent index rather than a median gross-rent survey measure. HUD's FY2026 local FMR/SAFMR standard for a two-bedroom home is $900, putting the ZIP index 73.67% higher. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent; neither comparison establishes a premium or shortfall on a named property. The comparison is descriptive of published benchmarks rather than evidence that one source is wrong.
The bedroom pattern is intentionally modelled, never measured bedroom rents. Scaling the ZIP ZORI by the local HUD ladder yields monthly modelled estimates, in ordered bedroom sequence from studio through four bedrooms, of $1,340, $1,378, $1,563, $1,976, and $2,070. The local HUD rungs supporting that sequence are $771, $793, $900, $1,137, and $1,191. This procedure preserves the local HUD relative bedroom relationship around an all-type Zillow index. It does not demonstrate actual listings, signed leases, unit condition, included utilities, fees, concessions, or availability at those modelled amounts.
ACS housing counts report 23,650 total units and a 14.48% vacancy rate in the ZCTA. The stock includes 12,141 single-family units and 1,422 units in large multifamily structures, a structural mix rather than a count of homes currently being marketed for rent. Within reported vacancy categories, 792 units are for rent, 25 are for sale, and 962 are seasonal. The category mix shows that the vacancy rate is not a count of units known to be for rent. Aggregate counts cannot identify a property's condition, price, timing, bedroom configuration, or whether it is actually available.
Broader places provide context only, not substitutes for ZIP or ZCTA measures. In City of Starkville scope, the context rent is $1,571.46, slightly above the ZIP level. In Oktibbeha County scope, the context rent is $1,571, also slightly above the ZIP level. In Starkville, MS metro scope, median household income is $48,750 and the rent-to-income measure is 38.68%, below the ZIP's arithmetic comparison. These city, county, and metro figures describe wider scopes, so the comparison identifies scale differences without converting them into conditions for any particular part of the ZIP. They also cannot resolve variation within any of these areas.
Scope and timing limit precision. The five-digit label 39759 is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match; a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. The ACS survey period, Zillow index period, and HUD fiscal-year standard period differ, and ACS estimates carry sampling uncertainty. A property-level review should verify the address geography, live asking amount, bedroom count, included utilities, lease term, recurring fees, availability date, and any concession. It should also confirm that a listing is actually offered, because ZORI, HUD standards, burden shares, and vacancy aggregates do not prove terms or availability for a particular unit.