At June 2026, Zillow ZORI for 60620 was $1,558, a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types rather than a lease census or a bedroom-specific quote. It was 3.18% higher than the same month a year earlier. The sharp present-day tension is income: the arithmetic 30% screen translates that index into $62,320 of annual household income, while the matched area's median household income was $48,146. That gap identifies a benchmark mismatch, not an affordability recommendation, applicant qualification rule, or statement about what any household can pay. ZORI records observed asking-rent conditions at the ZIP market level; it cannot identify a particular property's rent, utilities, concessions, or final executed lease.
The current annual gain sits beneath the longer backward-looking path. Exact same-month annualized ZORI change was 3.18% over one year, 6.76% over three years, and 6.07% over five years, so the recent direction is cooling relative to, and therefore breaks from, the stronger multi-year pace. The history has 99.26% coverage through June 2026, with annualized monthly-return variability of 2.77% and a maximum drawdown of 2.75%. Its transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 522 for momentum, 1,194 for stability, and 411 for balanced history, where a lower rank is higher. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations. The limited recorded variability and drawdown support cautious confidence that one current index snapshot is not merely a large historical swing, but they do not establish future rent movement or precision for an individual listing.
The five-digit 60620 label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a match to a Census ZCTA. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. The ACS 2024 five-year survey reports a $1,122 median gross rent for occupied renter homes, with a $43 90% margin of error; gross rent includes selected utilities. The Zillow index is 38.9% above that survey median, but the contrast is not a contradiction or a direct measure of rent change. ACS surveys occupied renter homes over a five-year period, whereas Zillow ZORI summarizes typical observed asking rent across rental types at the ZIP market level. Timing, occupied-versus-asking status, utilities, and the two geographic constructs all limit a one-to-one comparison.
HUD serves a different purpose. The FY2026 local HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder in this packet is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent, and it is used only as a scaling device. The resulting modelled monthly ZIP estimates are $1,289 for a studio, $1,386 for one bedroom, $1,558 for two bedrooms, $2,009 for three bedrooms, and $2,321 for four bedrooms. They are modelled estimates rather than measured bedroom rents: each starts with the blended Zillow ZORI level and applies the local HUD bedroom relationship. The two-bedroom model shares the ZIP index anchor; neither it nor HUD reports the rent of a specific available home. Unit condition, included utilities, lease terms, and listing availability remain outside this ladder.
ACS evidence nevertheless gives the broader affordability pressure a different lens. Of an estimated 12,756 occupied renter households in the matched ZCTA, 7,320 reported gross rent at or above 30% of household income, equal to 57.38%. This burden measure is a five-year survey result for occupied renters and includes sampling uncertainty; it is not ZORI and should not be combined mechanically with the asking-rent screen. It also cannot prove that a particular unit is burdensome, that its rent includes the same utilities, or that a prospective household will face the area average. Taken together, the income screen and burden share flag an aggregate mismatch between current index-level asking rent and reported household resources, not a determination about any renter.
Stock and vacancy context is also survey-based rather than a live listing count. The matched ZCTA contains 29,492 housing units, and its 13.10% vacancy rate is a survey-based inventory statistic rather than a feed of currently available homes. Of vacant units, 992 were classified as for rent. The physical mix is not solely large-apartment stock: 15,009 units were single-family, compared with 2,001 in large multifamily structures. These counts clarify the composition of the area's housing inventory, but they do not show which vacancies are rentable today, their bedroom counts, condition, asking prices, or time on market. A vacancy statistic is not proof that any particular home is available.
For wider context only, Chicago city context rent is $2,408.80, Cook County context rent is $2,336, and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI metro context rent is $2,275; each is a wider-scope comparison value rather than a ZIP property estimate. Their levels exceed the ZIP's current $1,558 Zillow ZORI, while separately scoped city, county, and metro statistics cannot replace ZIP or ZCTA evidence. No packet figure identifies an address, advertised price, bedroom count, or whether utilities and fees are included. A property-level comparison therefore requires checking the actual advertised asking rent, bedroom count, included utilities, lease term, availability date, concessions, and move-in charges against the relevant benchmark. Does the specific listing's complete monthly cost and terms match the measure being used?