Rutherford County Rent Analysis for Two-Bedroom Rental Homes

The average value of a two-bedroom rental home can vary from ZIP code to ZIP code in Rutherford County. This table shows the average value for each kind of rental home in all Rutherford County ZIP codes, as well as comparing the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment within the ZIP codes.

Rutherford FMR, by size and ZIP
ZIP Studio BR1 BR2 BR3 BR4 ZIP_Average Rent_Category
37037 1900 1990 2180 2790 3400 2452 Above BR2 average
37086 1730 1820 1990 2540 3100 2236 Above BR2 average
37153 1670 1750 1920 2450 2990 2156 Above BR2 average
37128 1570 1640 1800 2300 2800 2022 Above BR2 average
37129 1570 1640 1800 2300 2800 2022 Above BR2 average
37167 1430 1500 1640 2100 2560 1846 Below BR2 average
37127 1360 1420 1560 1990 2430 1752 Below BR2 average
37085 1320 1380 1520 1940 2360 1704 Below BR2 average
37130 1280 1340 1470 1880 2290 1652 Below BR2 average
37132 1280 1340 1470 1880 2290 1652 Below BR2 average
37149 1150 1180 1320 1660 2020 1466 Below BR2 average
37118 1150 1170 1320 1660 2020 1464 Below BR2 average

Code:

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# Install & load required packages
# ----------------------------------------------------------

if (!require("tidyverse"))
  install.packages("tidyverse")
if (!require("gt"))
  install.packages("gt")

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)
library(gt)

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# Download HUD SAFMR Excel file
# ----------------------------------------------------------

download.file(
  "https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2026/fy2026_safmrs.xlsx",
  "rent.xlsx",
  mode = "wb"
)

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# Read Excel data
# ----------------------------------------------------------

FMR <- read_xlsx(path = "rent.xlsx", .name_repair = "universal")

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# Rutherford County ZIP Codes
# ----------------------------------------------------------

ZIPList <- c(
  "37127", "37128", "37129", "37130", "37132",
  "37085", "37118", "37149", "37037", "37153",
  "37167", "37086"
)

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# Filter, select columns, and rename
# ----------------------------------------------------------

FMR_RuCo <- FMR %>%
  filter(ZIP.Code %in% ZIPList) %>%
  select(
    ZIP.Code,
    SAFMR.0BR,
    SAFMR.1BR,
    SAFMR.2BR,
    SAFMR.3BR,
    SAFMR.4BR
  ) %>%
  distinct()

colnames(FMR_RuCo) <- c("ZIP", "Studio", "BR1", "BR2", "BR3", "BR4")

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# Adding each ZIP code's average (unchanged)
# ----------------------------------------------------------

FMR_RuCo <- FMR_RuCo %>%
  mutate(ZIP_Average = round((Studio + BR1 + BR2 + BR3 + BR4) / 5, 0))

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# Sorting by ZIP_Average, in descending order (unchanged)
# ----------------------------------------------------------

FMR_RuCo <- FMR_RuCo %>% 
  arrange(desc(ZIP_Average))

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# NEW: Average of BR2 values (instead of ZIP_Average)
# ----------------------------------------------------------

Average_BR2 <- round(mean(FMR_RuCo$BR2), 0)

Average_BR2

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# NEW: Recoding Rent_Category based on BR2
# ----------------------------------------------------------

FMR_RuCo <- FMR_RuCo %>%
  mutate(
    Rent_Category = case_when(
      BR2 > Average_BR2 ~ "Above BR2 average",
      BR2 == Average_BR2 ~ "BR2 average",
      BR2 < Average_BR2 ~ "Below BR2 average",
      .default = "Error"
    )
  )

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# Displaying the table
# ----------------------------------------------------------

FMR_RuCo_table <- gt(FMR_RuCo) %>%
  tab_header(title = "Rutherford FMR, by size and ZIP") %>%
  cols_align(align = "left")

FMR_RuCo_table