At June 2026, Zillow’s ZIP-level ZORI for 97202 is $1,622 per month. It is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, not a quoted lease price for a specified home. The same-month 1-year change is −0.01%, following annualized same-month gains of 0.97% across 3 years and 2.53% across 5 years. The slight recent decline therefore breaks from, rather than confirms, the longer positive path, which is the central cooling tension in this record. Because it pools rental types, it functions as a ZIP reference point rather than a separately observed series for comparable homes. It describes what the index has measured, not the price, availability, utilities, or concession package attached to a listing.
The history gives context for that break without turning it into a forecast. Direct Zillow ZIP observations through the stated endpoint have 100% coverage. The annualized variability of monthly returns is 2.22%, and the maximum drawdown is −2.71%. The transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs, where lower is higher, are 317 for stability, 2,271 for momentum, and 1,489 for the balanced measure. Lower measured variability makes a broad current index snapshot less vulnerable to month-to-month noise than a volatile series, but the newly negative direction and mixed rental composition mean it remains only moderate evidence for a particular property. It provides no explanation for movement and no information about future listings. All of these are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
Source separation matters more here than any single dollar gap. The five-digit label 97202 is both Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and the matched Census ZCTA. In that matched Census ZCTA, the ACS 2024 5-year monthly median gross rent is $1,705; the ZORI sits 4.87% below it on a cross-source calculation. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. ACS is a 5-year survey of occupied renter homes, and its median gross rent includes selected utilities; ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index. HUD is a third universe: the FY2026 local 2-bedroom FMR/SAFMR is $1,922 per month, an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent. Both are useful, but they answer different questions over different observation frames. None of the gaps establishes that a particular unit is mispriced or includes particular services.
The bedroom view should be read as a translation tool, not a rent survey. Scaling ZIP ZORI by the local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates—not measured bedroom rents—of $1,325 for a studio, $1,415 for one bedroom, $1,622 for two bedrooms, $2,210 for three bedrooms, and $2,624 for four bedrooms. The ladder preserves HUD’s relative bedroom steps while retaining the ZIP’s current blended asking-rent level. Those estimates are internally consistent reference values because their spacing comes from HUD, not from direct ZIP bedroom-rent observations. It does not observe unit condition, floor plan, building type, included utilities, lease timing, or landlord concessions, so it cannot substitute for a matched listing comparison.
Affordability measures point in two directions and must remain aggregate. Annualizing the current index and applying a 30% rent-to-income screen yields $64,880 in annual income; that is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. The ZCTA’s median household income is $104,971, and the cross-aggregate asking-rent-to-income ratio is 18.54%. Yet ACS reports that 48.56% of renter households are rent-burdened at or above that threshold. Household income and burden summarize surveyed households, while ZORI summarizes current observed offerings. The difference between a ZIP-level index-to-income comparison and household survey burden does not resolve affordability for any household, income source, unit size, or lease.
The housing profile provides scale but not a vacancy reading for a specific building. The ZCTA-wide vacancy rate is 4.46%, and renters account for 49.89% of occupied homes. Its stock includes 12,323 single-family units and 3,223 units in large multifamily structures, indicating that the index and survey medians span more than one housing form. The split provides composition context but does not state the number, rent, or condition of currently marketed homes. Area vacancy is a stock measure, not proof that an advertised unit is available, competitive, or eligible at a given price. Likewise, burden is a household-level survey result and cannot identify a current tenant’s payment situation.
For wider—not substitutable—context, Portland city context monthly rent is $1,720.84, Multnomah County context monthly rent is $1,688, and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro context monthly rent is $1,805; each exceeds the ZIP’s current index. These city, county, and metro values are broader context only, not ZIP evidence. No property-level listing record is provided in this packet. Before interpreting the gap for a real property, the concrete checks are the advertised price, bedroom count, address geography, available date, lease term, included utilities, fees, concessions, and confirmation that the unit remains available. Which of those property facts would materially change the comparison?