OwnRVA Public Research · August 2026
Zillow Observed Rent Index levels and same-month changes over one, three and five years.
What the source reports
| Jurisdiction | Aug. 2026 ZORI | 1-year change | 3-year change | 5-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond city | $1,630 | 2.8% | 12.2% | 28.0% |
| Henrico County | $1,801 | 2.0% | 9.9% | 23.2% |
| Chesterfield County | $1,857 | 2.6% | 12.1% | 26.3% |
How to read the result
The rent index was higher in every jurisdiction than it was one, three and five years earlier. Five-year growth was substantial, while one-year gains were much smaller. Chesterfield had the highest August 2026 index level among the three; Richmond city had the lowest.
What buyers can do with it
Rent-index context can help frame a rent-versus-buy discussion, but the comparison must include taxes, insurance, maintenance, association fees, financing and the specific rent for a truly comparable home.
What sellers can do with it
For an owner evaluating a rental or sale path, a county index is only a starting point. Property-specific legal, condition, lease, operating-cost and market-rent analysis is still required.
Method and limits
ZORI is a smoothed measure of typical observed market rents. It is not an average of all current leases, a property-level rent opinion or a forecast.
Values were extracted from the provider's public county-level file or report, normalized to a common jurisdiction label, and checked for duplicate jurisdiction-period records. No client MLS export or private customer data were used. Provider definitions remain authoritative and may be revised.
Source access: Zillow Research. Public source snapshot assembled September 29, 2026. Remote acquisition time is not independently attested; local persistence time and file hash are retained in the preparation ledger.