Rental market · ZIP 36602 · Mobile, AL

ZIP 36602, Mobile, AL rental market

Population 1,043 · Mobile, Mobile County, AL · 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

1,043
Population

±170 ±16.7% moderate

$316,400
Median home value (ACS, owner-reported)

±$62,000 ±19.5% moderate

$730
Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities)

±$460 ±63% wide

2.8%
Survey gross-rent yield (proxy)

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

$41,420
Median household income

±$13,000 ±31% wide

11.5%
Rental vacancy

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

74.7%
Renter share

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

0.5%
Estimated property-tax burden

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

1974
Median year built

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

76.7%
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$192,700 ±$27,168$241,000 ±$29,871$258,300 ±$109,820$316,400 ±$61,815
Median gross rent B25064$345 ±$69$463 ±$211$596 ±$404$730 ±$457
Population B01003861 ±188928 ±153897 ±1551,043 ±174

ACS 2021 release

2017-2021 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$192,700Margin of error ±$27,168
Median gross rent B25064
$345Margin of error ±$69
Population B01003
861Margin of error ±188

ACS 2022 release

2018-2022 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$241,000Margin of error ±$29,871
Median gross rent B25064
$463Margin of error ±$211
Population B01003
928Margin of error ±153

ACS 2023 release

2019-2023 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$258,300Margin of error ±$109,820
Median gross rent B25064
$596Margin of error ±$404
Population B01003
897Margin of error ±155

ACS 2024 release

2020-2024 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$316,400Margin of error ±$61,815
Median gross rent B25064
$730Margin of error ±$457
Population B01003
1,043Margin of error ±174

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$316,400±$62,000, the Census Bureau’s published 90% margin of error$329,873no 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.
Typical rent$730/mo±$460, the Census Bureau’s published 90% margin of error$1,456/mono published margin of error
Methodology typical rentThe median gross rent sitting tenants actually pay, including utilities, across the whole occupied rental stock.An index of the rent landlords are asking on units newly listed for rent: what is on the market now, not what sitting tenants pay.
Gross rent yield2.77%no published margin of error5.30%no published margin of error
Methodology gross rent yieldThe two survey medians above, divided. Renter gross rent against owner-occupied value is different housing stock, so this is a proxy and not a cap rate.The two measured indices above, divided (ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI): asking rent against a whole-stock value index.
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 36602.USPS ZIP code 36602: a related, but not identical, area.

The index for typical home value is $13,473 higher than the survey estimate, whose own 90% margin of error is ±$62,000: the two are not separated by more than survey sampling error alone. The index for typical rent is $726/mo higher than the survey estimate, whose own 90% margin of error is ±$460: 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)$329,873
ZHVI bottom tier (5th–35th pct)$213,481
ZHVI top tier (65th–95th pct)$676,310
Zillow asking-rent index (ZORI)$1,456/mo
Measured gross yield (ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI)5.30%
Market heat index40
For-sale inventory8
Measured 3-yr value growth0.21%/yr
Measured 5-yr value growth2.44%/yr
Measured 10-yr value growth5.22%/yr
ZHVI, 2-bedroom$304,583

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 36602

3 ZIP Code areas share a land boundary with 36602 in the official Census 2020 ZCTA map, ordered by shared-boundary length, not ZIP-number proximity or driving distance. 3 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 36602, 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: Mobile city, Mobile County. Analytical entity: the U.S. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) 36602, 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 Mobile County, overlapping Mobile, by land-area overlap from the official Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files (not population or address share).

Populationsurvey ACS B01003 · ±16.7% margin of error
Median home value (ACS, owner-reported)survey ACS B25077 · ±19.5% margin of error
Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities)survey ACS B25064 · ±63% margin of error
Survey gross-rent yield (proxy)derived 12 * ACS B25064 / B25077 · no published margin of error
Median household incomesurvey ACS B19013 · ±31% 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.