At the June 2026 endpoint, this ZIP’s Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) is $1,264 per month. It is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than a quote for one dwelling. Its exact same-month annualized gain was 8.9% over the latest one-year interval, compared with 5.6% over three years and 6.2% over five. The current direction therefore confirms the longer upward path but represents acceleration, not a break from it. This pace distinction is the key historical tension: a reader should not assume that the latest rate describes every listing or lease. These are backward-looking Zillow measurements through the stated endpoint, not a forecast or an investment recommendation.
For broader rent context, the Marion city-scope rent is $1,277.66, the Linn County county-scope rent is $1,281, and the Cedar Rapids, IA metro-scope rent is $1,274. Each is slightly above this ZIP’s current index. These city, county, and metro figures are wider context only: they do not replace the ZIP series and cannot establish the rent of a particular property. The near alignment creates a useful geographic reference point, yet the underlying scope is broader in each case. Interpret any small gap as an index comparison at the supplied level of geography, not evidence about unit quality, availability, location within a city, or likely lease terms.
The apparent gap between sources is material but not contradictory. The five-digit label 52302 is Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and matches the Census ZCTA used for ACS. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. The ACS 2024 five-year survey reports median gross rent of $962, with a $116 90% margin of error; it represents occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. ZORI’s current asking index is 31.4% above that ACS measure, but the ratio does not measure inflation or an error: ACS surveys existing occupied homes, while Zillow records an asking-rent index. The supplied FY 2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR is a separate administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent.
To make the size relationship explicit, the supplied local FY 2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder lists monthly standards of $659 for a studio, $729 for one bedroom, $956 for two bedrooms, $1,212 for three bedrooms, and $1,348 for four bedrooms. Scaling the ZIP’s current ZORI by that ladder relative to the two-bedroom standard produces modelled estimates of $871, $964, $1,264, $1,602, and $1,782, respectively. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. They transfer HUD’s local size ratios onto a blended ZIP asking index; they do not show listings, transactions, or achieved rents by bedroom count. The HUD values remain administrative benchmarks even where they are the scaling input.
At a 30% rent-to-income screen, annualizing the current index produces a required income of $50,560. That calculation uses the asking index mechanically; it is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. The matched ACS ZCTA median household income is $87,983, so annualized ZORI equals 17.2% of that all-household median. That comparison is descriptive rather than a renter-income estimate. Separately, 49.9% of renter households—1,949 of 3,906—were burdened by gross rent at or above the screen threshold in ACS. The burden statistic does not show a particular household’s finances, and neither it nor the income median proves that an individual unit is affordable.
Area stock data adds a different lens. In the ACS ZCTA housing record, the vacancy rate is 6.3%, including 438 housing units classified as vacant for rent, while renter-occupied homes make up 22.6% of occupied housing. The stock is predominantly single-family at 75.3%, with large multifamily units at 5.0%. These are counts and classifications aggregated over the survey area, not a real-time inventory of comparable units. They do not identify how many vacant-for-rent homes match the ZORI rental mix, whether a unit is ready to lease, or whether its asking amount, utilities, physical condition, or term aligns with the index.
Confidence in one current rent snapshot should reflect the historical record’s quality, not just the latest increase. History coverage is 96.9%, annualized monthly-return variability is 3.2%, and the largest recorded peak-to-trough drawdown is 2.4%. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 81 for momentum, 1,880 for stability, and 403 for the balanced measure; a lower rank is higher. The relatively muted absolute variation supports some confidence in the current index, but the less favorable stability rank and recent acceleration argue for moderate rather than high confidence. This evidence still describes history, not a forecast. Before comparing a property, verify its live asking price, observation date, bedroom count, utilities included, lease term, concessions, fees, vacancy status, and condition. Which property-level check most changes the comparison?