Rental market · ZIP 02142 · Cambridge, MA
ZIP 02142, Cambridge, MA rental market
Population 4,737 · Cambridge, Middlesex County, MA · ZIP Code Tabulation Area
Profile · ACS 2024 5-year
Not ranked
This ZIP Code area does not meet the ranking eligibility criteria; the figures below are shown as available.
It stays searchable; available government estimates remain below (data tier: Profile).
Key metrics
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 ACS median home value is what owners report their home is worth in a 5-year survey, while ZHVI is a monthly index of typical home value; ACS median gross rent is what sitting tenants pay including utilities, while ZORI is an index of asking rent on newly listed units. ZORI does not correct the ACS rent; neither is a better version of the other. Monthly series, revised in recent months, observed 2026-07, not live.
| Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI, mid tier) | $1,323,695 |
|---|---|
| ZHVI bottom tier (5th–35th pct) | $830,148 |
| ZHVI top tier (65th–95th pct) | $2,320,041 |
| Zillow asking-rent index (ZORI) | $3,975/mo |
| Measured gross yield (ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI) | 3.60% |
| Market heat index | 48 |
| For-sale inventory | 12 |
| Measured 3-yr value growth | 1.59%/yr |
| Measured 5-yr value growth | 2.40%/yr |
| Measured 10-yr value growth | 2.99%/yr |
| Measured 3-yr rent growth | 1.87%/yr |
| Price–rent divergence (value − rent growth) | -0.28%/yr |
| ZHVI, 1-bedroom | $845,230 |
| ZHVI, 2-bedroom | $1,552,682 |
Source: Zillow Economic Research public research data, observation month 2026-07. 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 02142
4 ZIP Code areas share a land boundary with 02142 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 linked below; the rest are searchable from the ZIP Code explorer. No score or rank is shown here: open a profile for its own numbers.
Evidence, sources & limitations
Official geography: Cambridge city, Middlesex County. Analytical entity: the U.S. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) 02142, an approximation of the USPS ZIP delivery area, not its exact route boundaries. Model z2-gov-subscores-v1; data ACS 2024 5-year.
This ZIP Code area is primarily in Middlesex County, overlapping Cambridge, by land-area overlap from the official Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files (not population or address share).
| Population | survey ACS B01003 · ±12% MOE |
|---|---|
| Median home value (ACS, owner-reported) | survey ACS B25077 · ±19% MOE |
| Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities) | survey ACS B25064 |
| Survey gross-rent yield (proxy) | derived 12 * ACS B25064 / B25077 |
| Median household income | survey ACS B19013 · ±19% MOE |
| Rental vacancy | derived ACS B25004 E002 / (B25003 E003 + B25004 E002) |
| Renter share | derived ACS B25003 E003/E001 |
| Estimated property-tax burden | derived ACS B25103 / B25077 |
| Median year built | survey ACS B25035 · ±0% MOE |
| Multifamily (5+ units) | derived ACS B25024 (5+ unit structures / total) |
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.