At $1,972 per month in June 2026, the Zillow ZIP-level ZORI for 83815 produces a $78,880 annual income figure under a 30% screen, compared with $77,864 median household income in the matched Census ZCTA. The screen merely annualizes the monthly index and divides by its stated share; it is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. Its resulting 30.4% asking-rent-to-income comparison is a broad area metric, not a household budget. This label is both Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, not the price or affordability of any particular unit.
History gives a different kind of signal: the current index rose 5.0% on an exact same-month basis over one year, versus annualized gains of 4.2% over three years and 1.9% over five years. Recent direction therefore confirms, rather than breaks from, the longer upward path, although the latest pace is faster than the five-year result. The record has 100% coverage. Annualized monthly-return variability is 3.8%, and maximum drawdown was negative 7.9%, supporting the high-variability category. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations. The variation means a reader should place less confidence in one current ZORI snapshot as a stable near-term level than its point estimate alone suggests.
The gap between source universes is substantial. The matched Census ZCTA’s ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent is $1,574, which is 25.3% below the ZIP asking-rent index. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities; its survey population, utility treatment, and multiyear timing differ from Zillow’s current asking-rent universe. The FY2026 local HUD two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR standard is $1,547, and the ZIP ZORI is 27.5% above it. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. The three figures can coexist without conflict because each has a distinct definition, and none reports the rent, utilities, or lease terms of a specific home.
The bedroom view deliberately translates rather than observes rents. Scaling the ZIP ZORI by the relative rungs of the local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly ZIP estimates of $1,406 for a studio, $1,660 for a one-bedroom, $1,972 for a two-bedroom, $2,743 for a three-bedroom, and $3,308 for a four-bedroom. The local HUD ladder supplies the relative pattern; ZORI supplies the ZIP-level anchor. Thus the two-bedroom modelled amount matches the headline index by construction, not because ZORI measures a two-bedroom listing. These are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents, and they should not be read as observed price quotes for available units.
ACS burden and stock figures add scale but not unit-specific proof. Of 5,621 occupied renter homes in the ZCTA survey, 3,154—or 56.1%—are reported as spending 30% or more of income on rent. That is a survey distribution across renter households, not evidence that an individual applicant or particular apartment is burdened. The area contains 17,693 housing units; 1,036 units are vacant, yielding a 5.9% overall vacancy rate, and renters occupy 33.7% of occupied homes. The stock includes both single-family and large multifamily units. The survey places 438 units in the vacant-for-rent classification. That classification and the overall rate describe categories of the stock, not confirmed immediate availability, rent, or terms for a specific unit.
Wider comparisons show that this ZIP’s current index is not the same as its surrounding geography. For wider context only, the Coeur d'Alene city context rent is $1,807, while both the Kootenai County context rent and the Coeur d'Alene, ID metro context rent are $1,829. The ZIP Zillow index is above each context rent, but city, county, and metro values do not replace the ZIP-level observation or establish a rent for any individual home. The city, county, and metro scopes are broader context only; they should not be merged with the matched ZCTA’s survey estimates, HUD standard, or ZIP source universe.
Finally, the history’s transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 418 for momentum, 2,502 for stability, and 1,181 for the balanced measure; a lower rank is higher. These labels are comparative discovery tools, not forecasts, and the weaker stability placement is consistent with the variability and drawdown already reported. Limits remain important: ZORI is a blended asking-rent index, ACS is a multiyear ZCTA survey with sampling uncertainty, HUD is a standard, and all broader values are context. To connect these measures to a property, check the currently listed rent and date, exact bedroom count, included utilities, lease duration, availability, concessions, deposits, and recurring fees. Does the listing’s documented price and terms fit the source universe being compared?