In June 2026, Zillow’s ZIP-level ZORI is $1,234 per month, a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types rather than a quote for any single available home. Its same-month path is positive but decelerating: the one-year annualized change is 2.6%, versus 4.4% over three years and 4.9% over five years. Thus, the recent direction confirms the longer upward path, while its slower pace breaks from the stronger multi-year rate. The history has 100% coverage, annualized monthly-return variability of 3.2%, and a maximum drawdown of -6.0%. These backward-looking measurements provide a broad benchmark, but the variability and drawdown mean one current snapshot should not be treated as a precise lease-level price or a forecast.
The ZORI and ACS series answer different questions. For the matched 52240 Census ZCTA, the ACS 2024 five-year survey reports median gross rent of $1,047 among occupied renter homes, including selected utilities; this is 17.9% below the current asking-rent index. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, even though this five-digit label is both Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and the Census ZCTA match. The difference is neither an error nor a direct measure of a new tenant’s experience: it can reflect surveyed occupied homes versus a blended asking-rent index, timing, rental composition, and utility treatment. ACS remains a survey estimate with its own sampling uncertainty.
Bedroom comparisons are modelled estimates, not measured bedroom rents. HUD’s FY2026 FMR/SAFMR ladder is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent: it runs $804, $847, $1,052, $1,389, and $1,594 from studio through four bedrooms. Scaling ZIP ZORI by that local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $944, $994, $1,234, $1,630, and $1,871 in the same order. The alignment at the two-bedroom position is the construction anchor, not evidence that actual two-bedroom listings cluster at the index. The model does not specify unit condition, lease terms, included utilities, availability date, or non-rent charges.
The affordability tension is visible when index arithmetic is paired with household survey data, without converting either into a qualification test. At a 30% rent-to-income screen, the current monthly asking-rent benchmark implies $49,360 of annual income. The ACS median household income is $52,960, so the screen sits below that broad household midpoint, but it does not identify who can rent a particular unit, and it is neither advice nor an applicant eligibility rule. In the ACS renter sample, 4,734 of 7,687 renter households—61.6%—reported gross-rent burdens at or above that threshold. This surveyed burden includes occupied homes and selected utilities, while ZORI tracks asking rents; it cannot establish the burden, affordability, or utility bill for any specific listing or household.
Stock data give scale to that tension without demonstrating availability. The matched ZCTA has a 10.1% overall housing-unit vacancy rate, and 780 vacant units are classified for rent; neither statistic proves that a particular apartment is vacant, suitable, or offered at the index. The housing stock includes 8,191 single-family units and 3,336 units in large multifamily structures, showing that the stock spans more than one structural form. These ACS counts are categories in a five-year survey, not a live listing feed. They should be read alongside the renter-burden result and asking-versus-gross-rent gap, not as evidence of concessions, landlord behavior, or the terms a renter will encounter.
Broader geographies place the ZIP index below surrounding context, but they do not replace ZIP evidence. In Iowa City citywide context, rent is $1,308; in Johnson County context, rent is $1,383; and in the Iowa City, IA metro context, rent is $1,377, with each figure referring to its named wider scope rather than this ZIP itself. This ordering provides a location-scale comparison, yet it does not reveal conditions within any property. The city, county, and metro values can have different boundaries, rental mixes, and source constructions from the ZIP ZORI and matched ZCTA survey. Treat them as reference benchmarks only when assessing whether a listing price is comparable to the intended unit.
The full history is backward-looking and mixed in signal strength, not an investment recommendation. Its transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 818 for momentum, 1,941 for stability, and 1,228 for balanced performance, where a lower rank is higher; these ranks organize past observations rather than predict rents. Before relying on the current index or bedroom model, verify the property’s actual asking rent, bedroom count, square footage, lease length, move-in date, utility inclusions, recurring and one-time fees, and whether it is presently available. Also compare the property’s location to the intended service or delivery address, because the statistical ZCTA match and USPS ZIP boundaries are not identical. The decision-relevant question is: do the property’s written terms and current availability match the benchmark being used?