Metro Markets
every ZIP3 area, automatically

Market definition: a market is every distinct ZIP3 prefix (first 3 digits of a store's zip code) that has at least one tracked store — 416 of them nationwide, generated automatically with no hand-curated list. Each is labeled by its dominant city/state (the city with the most stores in that ZIP3; a second city is shown when it's close to a tie in the same state). data/market_names.json can override any label by hand later — it's optional and empty by default.

Statistical honesty: store count is always shown, but markets with fewer than 3 stores have their price, promo, and leverage-score columns suppressed — a median of one or two stores is an anecdote, not a market rate.

Renter Leverage Score — a HEURISTIC, not a measurement: a simple 0-100 blend of three signals, equally weighted, each scaled so 50 ≈ "about average":

• availability — units advertised per store, scaled so 40+/store = 100
• promos — % of listings currently carrying a promotion, used directly as 0-100
• price — this market's median 10x10 vs. the national median 10x10; cheaper than national scores above 50, pricier scores below

The three are averaged into one score. 67+ is labeled "Renter-favorable" (lots of open units and heavy promos — room to negotiate), 34-66 "Balanced", under 34 "Tight" (full-priced and close to capacity). It's a rough signal built from public advertised data, not a substitute for calling around — treat it as a starting point, not an appraisal.

Trend columns compare 2026-04-29 → 2026-09-07.