Zillow's August 2026 Observed Rent Index was approximately $2,733 in Neptune Beach, $2,472 in Atlantic Beach, $2,436 in Jacksonville Beach and $2,184 in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The observed-rent report uses Zillow's city-level ZORI. Zillow describes it as a smoothed measure of typical observed market-rate rent, weighted to the rental housing stock. It covers all homes plus multifamily in this file.
A relocation use case
A relocating household can use the index to frame how the broad rental environment differs across the selected cities. That can help plan a temporary rental while learning the area or waiting for the right property.
The index is not a quote for a specific lease. Furnishings, lease length, location, size, season, pets, condition and utilities can all move the actual rent.
A second-home use case
An owner considering a longer hold period may want to understand the local long-term rental backdrop. ZORI can provide context, but it does not estimate the revenue of the subject property.
It also does not measure short-term or vacation rental income, occupancy, cleaning and management costs, association restrictions, licensing or municipal rules. Those questions require separate property-specific and legal review.
Do not turn rent growth into an ownership return
Neptune Beach's ZORI rose 10.8% from August 2025 to August 2026 in the downloaded series. That does not mean every rental raised its rent by 10.8%, and it does not imply an owner earned that return.
An ownership analysis must include purchase price, financing, insurance, taxes, maintenance, association costs, vacancies, management, transaction costs and the owner's intended use. The index supplies one input.
Atlantic Beach has no August 2021 observation in this downloaded city file, so the report does not invent a five-year change. Missing data are part of the answer.
For relocation and second-home planning, use ZORI to set a broad expectation, then price the exact property and occupancy plan.
Build a complete hold-period comparison
For a temporary relocation, compare real lease quotes for the intended term with the transaction costs and carrying costs of ownership over the same period. For a second home, separate personal-use value from any rental plan and verify that the property's association and local rules permit the intended use.
Stress-test insurance, maintenance, management and vacancy instead of applying citywide rent growth directly to the home. A decision can still favor ownership for lifestyle or long-term reasons, but that conclusion should come from the household's plan and the property's actual costs, not from ZORI alone.