Rental market · ZIP 27503 · Durham, NC

ZIP 27503, Durham, NC rental market

Population 5,374 · Durham, Durham County, NC · ZIP Code Tabulation Area

Profile · ACS 2024 5-year

Not ranked

The survey value/rent margins of error are too wide (> 40%) to rank this area confidently.

It stays searchable; available government estimates remain below (data tier: Profile).

Key metrics

5,374
Population

±560 ±10.5% moderate

$406,700
Median home value (ACS, owner-reported)

±$62,000 ±15.3% moderate

$1,607
Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities)

±$1,300 ±80% wide

4.7%
Survey gross-rent yield (proxy)

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

$114,425
Median household income

±$14,000 ±11.9% moderate

16.2%
Rental vacancy

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

10.3%
Renter share

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

0.7%
Estimated property-tax burden

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

1986
Median year built

±4 years margin in years; a share of a year number would not mean anything

1.3%
Multifamily (5+ units)

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

Data vintage: ACS 2024 5-year. Of the 10 figures above, 5 carry the Census Bureau's published 90% margin of error, printed on the card in the figure's own units and as a share of the estimate; and 5 are ratios derived from those estimates, which the Census Bureau publishes no margin for. The bar and the band word restate that printed share in three bands: tight under ±10%, moderate ±10% to ±25%, wide ±25% and over. A median year built is given a margin in years only, because a margin stated as a share of a year number would not mean anything; the bar is full at ±40%. A wider margin does not make an area worse, only less precisely measured.

Market context

Trend context

Loading home value context…

View source data

Each point is one ACS 5-year estimate on the same 2020-Census ZCTA boundary. Adjacent releases overlap, so the release-to-release differences are not independent annual market movement.

ACS estimates by release; ± is the margin of error.
Series2017–20212018–20222019–20232020–2024
Median home value B25077$303,100 ±$35,313$314,200 ±$45,341$369,300 ±$60,441$406,700 ±$62,426
Median gross rent B25064———$1,607 ±$1,291
Population B010036,032 ±8456,030 ±6095,092 ±5245,374 ±562

ACS 2021 release

2017-2021 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$303,100Margin of error ±$35,313
Median gross rent B25064
—Margin of error not available
Population B01003
6,032Margin of error ±845

ACS 2022 release

2018-2022 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$314,200Margin of error ±$45,341
Median gross rent B25064
—Margin of error not available
Population B01003
6,030Margin of error ±609

ACS 2023 release

2019-2023 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$369,300Margin of error ±$60,441
Median gross rent B25064
—Margin of error not available
Population B01003
5,092Margin of error ±524

ACS 2024 release

2020-2024 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$406,700Margin of error ±$62,426
Median gross rent B25064
$1,607Margin of error ±$1,291
Population B01003
5,374Margin of error ±562

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year, table-based Summary File (ZCTA geography); tables B25077 (median value), B25064 (median gross rent), and B01003 (population); estimate + margin of error. Missing releases remain gaps and are never interpolated. Home value is owner-reported; gross rent describes renter housing stock; population is a ZCTA estimate. Dollar figures are nominal.

Measured market data

Measured observations for this ZIP Code, published beside the government survey figures above rather than replacing them. They measure different things and will legitimately disagree; the reconciliation below states on which axis, one axis at a time, instead of leaving a reader to guess. ZORI does not correct the ACS rent; neither is a better version of the other. Monthly series, revised in recent months, observed 2026-08, not live.

Why two figures for apparently the same thing differ: source, vintage, methodology and geography, stated one axis at a time.
FigureACS survey estimateZillow measured index
Typical home value$406,700±$62,000, the Census Bureau’s published 90% margin of error$481,128no published margin of error
Methodology typical home valueThe median of what owners themselves estimate their own home to be worth, across owner-occupied homes only.A smoothed index of the typical value of homes in the middle tier (35th to 65th percentile) of the local stock, whether or not they sold.
SourceU.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.Zillow Economic Research public research data.
VintageACS 2024 5-year: one estimate pooled over 2020–2024. Restated once a year, not monthly, and adjacent releases overlap.Monthly series, observed 2026-08 and revised in recent months. Not live.
Geography2020 Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area 27503.USPS ZIP code 27503: a related, but not identical, area.

The index for typical home value is $74,428 higher than the survey estimate, whose own 90% margin of error is ±$62,000: the two are separated by more than survey sampling error alone accounts for. A gap of either size is expected when the source, vintage, methodology and geography all differ, and is not evidence that either figure is wrong. Neither figure corrects the other, and no margin of error is implied for the index, which publishes none.

Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI, mid tier)$481,128
ZHVI bottom tier (5th–35th pct)$331,569
ZHVI top tier (65th–95th pct)$666,309
Market heat index44
For-sale inventory13
New listings4
Measured 3-yr value growth3.36%/yr
Measured 5-yr value growth6.40%/yr
Measured 10-yr value growth7.74%/yr
ZHVI, 2-bedroom$297,713
ZHVI, 3-bedroom$449,084
ZHVI, 4-bedroom$594,089

Source: Zillow Economic Research public research data, observation month 2026-08. Zillow keys on USPS ZIP codes; this page is a 2020 Census ZCTA, related but not identical geographies, so a Zillow value is matched to this ZCTA by code and is not a statement that the two areas are the same. Zillow is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Compounding Estates.

Underwrite with these as starting points

Opening a calculator pre-loads the ACS median owner value and median gross rent as a survey-level starting point; every calculator input is editable. Owner-occupied median value and renter median gross rent describe different housing stock: the median-valued home is not the typical rental, so this is a screen, not a listing, appraisal, asking rent, cap rate, or forecast. Bring your own entry price and rent.

ZIP Codes bordering 27503

5 ZIP Code areas share a land boundary with 27503 in the official Census 2020 ZCTA map, ordered by shared-boundary length, not ZIP-number proximity or driving distance. 4 of them are in CE’s ranked set and are listed below, each with its own Rental Investor ZIP Score, grade and national rank, read from the same published dataset as this page. The rest are counted here and searchable from the ZIP Code explorer. A neighbour’s score is a score for that area, never for 27503, and this list is ordered by border length, so it is not a ranking and no neighbour is called best.

Evidence, sources & limitations

Official geography: Durham city, Durham County. Analytical entity: the U.S. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) 27503, an approximation of the USPS ZIP delivery area, not its exact route boundaries. Model z3-measured-v1; data ACS 2024 5-year.

This ZIP Code area is primarily in Durham County, overlapping Durham, by land-area overlap from the official Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files (not population or address share).

Populationsurvey ACS B01003 · ±10.5% margin of error
Median home value (ACS, owner-reported)survey ACS B25077 · ±15.3% margin of error
Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities)survey ACS B25064 · ±80% margin of error
Survey gross-rent yield (proxy)derived 12 * ACS B25064 / B25077 · no published margin of error
Median household incomesurvey ACS B19013 · ±11.9% margin of error
Rental vacancyderived ACS B25004 E002 / (B25003 E003 + B25004 E002) · no published margin of error
Renter sharederived ACS B25003 E003/E001 · no published margin of error
Estimated property-tax burdenderived ACS B25103 / B25077 · no published margin of error
Median year builtsurvey ACS B25035 · ±<1% margin of error
Multifamily (5+ units)derived ACS B25024 (5+ unit structures / total) · no published margin of error

Class: survey = ACS estimate (with margin of error); derived = computed from ACS. The survey gross-rent yield is a proxy (renter gross rent vs owner-occupied value, different housing stock; ACS top-codes very high values/rents) and is not a cap rate. Subscores are national percentiles among data-eligible areas; ranks are competition-ranked with deterministic ties. No vendor, listing, parcel, or school data. Not investment advice.