Ranking Rent-to-Income Ratios Across Texas’s Largest Apartment Markets

Fort Worth claims the Lone Star State’s most expensive apartments – at least by one metric. Rent-to-income ratios vary across Texas, but generally rank below the national norm, which is common for non-coastal markets in the Sun Belt. Nationwide, rent-to-income ratios hovered around 22.5% as of August on a trailing 12-month basis, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. Among the largest apartment markets in Texas, only Fort Worth reported an average rent-to-income ratio above the national norm – and it was less than 100 basis points (bps) higher at that. Neighboring Dallas posted rent-to-income ratios below Cowtown and essentially in line with the national norm, despite rents in Dallas running higher than in Fort Worth. Meanwhile, the border market of McAllen/Brownsville posted the state’s lowest rent-to-income ratio at about 15%.

RealPage’s rent-to-income ratio represents signed new leases in market-rate apartments, calculated on a trailing 12-month basis to eliminate seasonality.