ACS 2021 release
2017-2021 five-year estimate
- Median home value B25077
- $300,400Margin of error ±$13,965
- Median gross rent B25064
- $1,065Margin of error ±$50
- Population B01003
- 37,584Margin of error ±1,673
Rental market · ZIP 95340 · Merced, CA
ZIP 95340, Merced, CA rental market
Population 38,303 · Merced, Merced County, CA · ZIP Code Tabulation Area
Ranked · ACS 2024 5-year
BGRADE
58.6/100 · Rental Investor ZIP Score
National rank #4,102 of 20,132 scored ZIP Codes (80th percentile)
CA rank #203 of 1,217 · data confidence: high
Cash Flow & Affordability ZIP data
29
Local Demand & Market Quality ZIP data
74
Surrounding-Market Growth county / place context
86
Stability & Risk ZIP + place context
45
Why it ranks here: a sizeable, liquid rental market with low vacancy. the surrounding county/place is growing.
Watch: cash flow is thin relative to price.
Cash Flow & Affordability was scored using a measured (Zillow) home value, giving an effective price-to-income of 5.70× and tax burden of 0.69% of value: the number this category's score is actually based on, which can differ from the ACS survey value shown elsewhere on this page.
A transparent screening score, not a return forecast. Affordable, higher-yield markets can score well when demand, liquidity, low vacancy, reliable government data and a growing surrounding market support them. Categories labeled “context” use official county/place data, never presented as ZIP-level observation. ZIP and city scores are not directly comparable. See how this score works.
How this ZIP ranks: nationally & in-state
Each bar places this ZIP against all 20,132 scored ZIP Codes nationally.Each bar places this ZIP against the 1,217 scored ZIP Codes in CA. The marker is this ZIP and further right is more favorable to an investor; the tick is the median.
Overall Rental Investor ZIP Scoreweighted 0–100 screening score
58.680th percentile
Cash Flow & Affordabilitycategory score 0–100
2911th percentile
Local Demand & Market Qualitycategory score 0–100
7491st percentile
Surrounding-Market Growthcategory score 0–100 county / place context
8688th percentile
Stability & Riskcategory score 0–100 ZIP + place context
4543rd percentile
← Less favorableMedianMore favorable →
Percentiles are the frozen model's own numbers among scored ZIP Codes (deterministic competition ranking); an unreliable or thin-peer in-state comparison reads “Not available,” never zero. All underlying figures are ACS survey estimates with margins of error. ZIP and city scores are not directly comparable. See how this score works.
Key metrics
38,303
Population ±5%
$399,100
Median home value (ACS, owner-reported) ±4%
$1,317
Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities) ±7%
4.0%
Survey gross-rent yield (proxy)
$71,193
Median household income ±11%
4.0%
Rental vacancy
42.8%
Renter share
0.7%
Estimated property-tax burden
1973
Median year built ±0%
7.6%
Multifamily (5+ units)
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.
| Series | 2017–2021 | 2018–2022 | 2019–2023 | 2020–2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value B25077 | $300,400 ±$13,965 | $355,600 ±$10,947 | $383,200 ±$15,143 | $399,100 ±$14,818 |
| Median gross rent B25064 | $1,065 ±$50 | $1,120 ±$40 | $1,204 ±$56 | $1,317 ±$91 |
| Population B01003 | 37,584 ±1,673 | 36,833 ±1,828 | 38,045 ±1,913 | 38,303 ±1,809 |
ACS 2022 release
2018-2022 five-year estimate
- Median home value B25077
- $355,600Margin of error ±$10,947
- Median gross rent B25064
- $1,120Margin of error ±$40
- Population B01003
- 36,833Margin of error ±1,828
ACS 2023 release
2019-2023 five-year estimate
- Median home value B25077
- $383,200Margin of error ±$15,143
- Median gross rent B25064
- $1,204Margin of error ±$56
- Population B01003
- 38,045Margin of error ±1,913
ACS 2024 release
2020-2024 five-year estimate
- Median home value B25077
- $399,100Margin of error ±$14,818
- Median gross rent B25064
- $1,317Margin of error ±$91
- Population B01003
- 38,303Margin of error ±1,809
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 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) | $406,091 |
|---|---|
| ZHVI bottom tier (5th–35th pct) | $321,101 |
| ZHVI top tier (65th–95th pct) | $540,525 |
| Zillow asking-rent index (ZORI) | $1,795/mo |
| Measured gross yield (ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI) | 5.30% |
| Market heat index | 52 |
| Median days to pending | 22 |
| Share of listings with a price cut | 20.0% |
| For-sale inventory | 125 |
| New listings | 35 |
| Median list price | $429,825 |
| Median sale price | $395,000 |
| Measured 3-yr value growth | 1.08%/yr |
| Measured 5-yr value growth | 2.73%/yr |
| Measured 10-yr value growth | 6.48%/yr |
| Measured 3-yr rent growth | 3.80%/yr |
| Price–rent divergence (value − rent growth) | -2.72%/yr |
| ZHVI, 2-bedroom | $289,589 |
| ZHVI, 3-bedroom | $387,522 |
| ZHVI, 4-bedroom | $479,288 |
| ZHVI, 5-bedroom | $546,682 |
Measured value-growth signal: 28 of 100: this ZIP Code area ranks #13,935 of 19,419 ZIP Codes with a measured 3-year value growth rate. This is a separate national signal, published beside the overall score and deliberately not folded into it.
Measured-cohort score: 62.7 of 100, #1,384 of 4,756. This is ranked only against the 4,756 ZIP Code areas Zillow measures asking rent for: a cohort percentile, not a national one, and not comparable to the overall score above.
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.
Market Negotiation Leverage
Balanced (42nd percentile among scored ZIP Codes)
Derived from Zillow's market-heat index for this ZIP, inverted (a cooler market means more room for a buyer to negotiate). 20% of listings have had a price cut · 125 active listings. This is a cross-sectional snapshot (how this ZIP compares to every other tracked ZIP today), not a seasonal or historical baseline for this specific ZIP (no multi-year time series exists to support that claim). Not a prediction of what any specific seller will accept. See how this is calculated.
Source: Zillow Economic Research public research data. 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 95340
5 ZIP Code areas share a land boundary with 95340 in the official Census 2020 ZCTA map, ordered by shared-boundary length, not ZIP-number proximity or driving distance. 5 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: Merced city, Merced County. Analytical entity: the U.S. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) 95340, 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 Merced County, overlapping Merced and other places, by land-area overlap from the official Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files (not population or address share).
| Population | survey ACS B01003 · ±5% MOE |
|---|---|
| Median home value (ACS, owner-reported) | survey ACS B25077 · ±4% MOE |
| Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities) | survey ACS B25064 · ±7% MOE |
| Survey gross-rent yield (proxy) | derived 12 * ACS B25064 / B25077 |
| Median household income | survey ACS B19013 · ±11% 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.