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What rent actually costs in Texas right now.
Every number sourced. Checked this month.
Texas rents are lower than they were a year ago, and much lower than at the 2022 peak in Austin. Apartment List puts the statewide change at −1.5% year over year (Oct 2026 data). The big four metros are all down, while Amarillo, Waco, El Paso and Lubbock are still climbing. Below are the city-by-city numbers from two sources, why they disagree, and the parts of Texas law that decide how much of your move-in money you get back.
Numbers last checked October 31, 2026Rent by city
Apartment List columns are medians from the November 2026 reports (October data). RentCafe columns are Yardi Matrix averages for large managed buildings, updated Sep 30, 2026 unless noted. A dash means the source does not publish that figure for the city. Click any city name for its Apartment List report.
| City | 1-bed median | 2-bed median | All sizes median | Change, 1 yr | 1-bed average (RentCafe) | 2-bed average (RentCafe) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big four metros | ||||||
| Houston | $1,116 | $1,323 | $1,265 | −2.2% | $1,193 | $1,506 |
| Dallas | $1,207 | $1,428 | $1,321 | −0.6% | $1,417 | $1,858 |
| Fort Worth | $1,141 | $1,317 | $1,337 | −0.8% | $1,274 | $1,609 |
| Austin | $1,172 | $1,426 | $1,323 | −1.3% | $1,427 | $1,822 |
| San Antonio | $953 | $1,173 | — | −3.5% | $1,081 | $1,380 |
| Other cities we cover | ||||||
| El Paso | $942 | $1,127 | $1,183 | +2.3% | $1,021 | $1,188 |
| Corpus Christi | $1,009 | $1,234 | $1,217 | −1.9% | $990 | $1,256 |
| Lubbock | $974 | $1,174 | $1,201 | +2.2% | $887 | $1,122 |
| Amarillo | — | — | $1,287 | +7.3% | $919 | $1,126 |
| Waco | — | — | $1,127 | +3.0% | $1,102 (Oct 1) | $1,368 (Oct 1) |
| College Station | — | — | $1,237 | −2.1% | $1,180 | $1,431 |
| Bryan (see College Station) | — | — | $1,288 | +0.4% | $1,176 (Oct 1) | $1,303 (Oct 1) |
| McAllen | — | — | — | — | $890 | $1,046 |
| For comparison | ||||||
| United States | $1,215 | $1,369 | $1,384 | +0.1% | — | — |
Apartment List does not publish a McAllen report that loads, and it gives only an all-sizes median for Amarillo, Waco, College Station and Bryan. The McAllen page adds Zillow asking rents as a stand-in. To line these cities up against taxes, bills and pay, use the city comparison.
Why the two sources disagree
Pick any big city and RentCafe’s figure is higher. In Dallas the gap on a 1-bedroom is $210 a month ($1,417 against $1,207), and in Austin it is $255 ($1,427 against $1,172). That is our subtraction from the figures in the table. Three things explain most of it:
- Median vs. average. Apartment List reports the middle lease. RentCafe reports the mean, which a handful of luxury towers can pull upward.
- Which buildings count. RentCafe’s numbers come from Yardi Matrix, which tracks large, professionally managed complexes. Those tend to be newer and come with amenities. Apartment List’s median takes in a wider pool of rentals.
- Timing. RentCafe’s pages were last updated Sep 30 or Oct 1, 2026. Apartment List’s reports use October data.
The gap is not a rule, though. In Lubbock ($887 against $974) and Corpus Christi ($990 against $1,009), RentCafe’s 1-bedroom average comes in below the Apartment List median, so in a smaller market the mix of buildings can push either way. Our advice: use Apartment List for a typical lease, and RentCafe for a new complex with a pool and a gym.
The trend: down from the 2022 peak
Nationally, Apartment List says rents peaked in mid-2022 and are down 4% since then, or $58 a month, with vacancy at 7.0% (Oct 2026 data). Over the past year, Texas has done better than the country for renters. The statewide median is down 1.5% from a year ago while the U.S. is up 0.1%, and every one of the big four metros is lower than in October 2025.
Austin: the steepest drop, now leveling off
No big Texas city fell harder than Austin. Realtor.com’s median asking rent there peaked at $1,659 in Sep 2022 and was $1,357 by Feb 2026, roughly $300 lower, KUT reported. Apartment List’s own count put Austin about 20% below its 2022 peak as of March 2026. The reason is supply: developers responded to the 2021 and 2022 boom, and those buildings opened all at once.
The free fall has slowed, though. Apartment List now has Austin’s city median down only 1.3% year over year, and up 1.7% since January, compared with a 3.1% drop over the same months of 2025. Its national report says Austin’s declines “have moderated rapidly” after a 6.2% fall in 2025.
Where rents are still rising
San Antonio now has the sharpest decline of any large U.S. metro, at −3.8% across the metro over 12 months. A handful of smaller cities are moving the other way. Amarillo is up 7.3%, Waco 3.0%, El Paso 2.3% and Lubbock 2.2% (see the table). If you are moving to one of them, don’t count on the price cuts you read about in Austin.
Inside each metro, the range is wide. Apartment List puts the high and low ends at The Woodlands ($1,705) and Humble ($1,127) around Houston and Bee Cave ($1,587) and San Marcos ($1,056) around Austin (Oct 2026 data). Neighborhood detail is on the Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio neighborhood pages.
Move-in costs and the rules behind them
We did not find a reliable Texas-wide average for security deposits or application fees, so this section sticks to what the law says. Section numbers are from the Texas Property Code, Chapter 92, as in force in October 2026.
| Topic | The rule | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security deposit | |||
| Deposit size | No state cap, except in public or subsidized housing | No limit | TexasLawHelp (legal review Jan 2, 2023) |
| Refund deadline | Landlord must refund after you surrender the unit | 30 days | §92.103 |
| Forwarding address | The clock effectively waits until you give a written forwarding address | — | §92.107 |
| Deductions | Nothing for normal wear and tear; any deduction needs a written, itemized list | — | §92.104 |
| Bad-faith withholding | Landlord owes $100, plus three times the amount wrongly kept, plus attorney’s fees | $100 + 3× | §92.109 |
| Last month’s rent | A tenant who skips it, counting on the deposit, can owe three times that rent | 3× rent | §92.108 |
| Late fees | |||
| When allowed | Only if the lease says so, and rent is unpaid two full days after the due date | 2 full days | §92.019 |
| Cap, building with 4 or fewer units | Fee presumed reasonable up to this share of monthly rent | 12% | §92.019(a-1) |
| Cap, building with more than 4 units | Same, for apartment complexes | 10% | §92.019(a-1) |
| Penalty for an illegal fee | $100, three times the fee, and attorney’s fees | $100 + 3× | §92.019(c) |
| Applications and repairs | |||
| Application fee | Refunded if you are rejected and were never given the written selection criteria | — | §92.3515 |
| Repair time | Presumed reasonable time for a landlord to fix a health or safety problem after notice | 7 days | §92.056 |
| Retaliation | Landlord can’t retaliate for a good-faith repair complaint for this long | 6 months | Texas Attorney General |
What that looks like in dollars
Here are two examples we worked out from the table. If a Dallas complex charges one month’s rent as a deposit on a median 1-bedroom, that is $1,207 due at signing. A late fee on that same unit is presumed reasonable up to 10%, or $120.70. In a duplex or fourplex the ceiling is 12%. A landlord can go above those caps only if the fee still doesn’t exceed their real costs from the late payment.
Renter tips that rest on the law
- Ask for the selection criteria before you pay to apply. Texas landlords must offer a printed notice of what can get you turned down: criminal history, rental history, income, credit, or an incomplete application. If they skip it and then reject you, you get the fee back (§92.3515).
- Read the late-fee clause. A fee charged on day one, or above 10% in a big complex, may break §92.019. You can’t sign that protection away; any lease clause that tries is void.
- Look for bold or underlined move-out notice terms. A lease can make your refund depend on advance notice that you’re leaving, but only if that clause is underlined or in bold (§92.103(b)).
- Give your forwarding address in writing. Until you do, the landlord doesn’t have to send the refund or the list of deductions (§92.107). It can be any reliable mailing address, TexasLawHelp notes.
- Don’t skip the last month’s rent. Using the deposit as your final payment can cost you three times the rent you held back (§92.108).
- Put repair requests in writing, and keep your rent current. Your repair remedies only kick in if you were paid up when you gave notice. Sending it by certified or other trackable mail lets one notice count, instead of two (§92.056).
- Day 31 matters. A landlord who hasn’t returned the deposit or sent an itemized list within 30 days is presumed to be acting in bad faith (§92.109). If you need to sue, small claims cases go to the justice court for the precinct where the rental sits.
- Negotiate. With Texas rents falling and national vacancy at 7.0%, a free month or a waived fee is worth asking for, especially in Austin and San Antonio.
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. For your own case, start with TexasLawHelp.
Out-of-date numbers you’ll still find online
Spring 2026 headlines had Austin falling 5.9% a year. By October the drop had shrunk to 1.3%, and rents are up a little since January.
Guides built on 2022 numbers are stale. The statewide median is falling, and so is every big metro. The rises now are in Amarillo, Waco, El Paso and Lubbock.
A 2019 amendment set the two-day wait and the 12% and 10% caps, effective Sep 1, 2019. Older lease templates and blog posts still miss it.
Figures that high are usually RentCafe-style averages for large complexes, like Austin’s $1,427. The Apartment List median for the big four runs $953 to $1,207.
What changes next
- Apartment List’s next reports, labeled December 2026 and carrying November data, are due in late November. RentCafe updates monthly too. We will refresh this table when both are out.
- Property tax rates feed into rent. The Nov 3, 2026 election (including Dallas County’s tax rate vote) can change what landlords pay in 2026. See Texas property taxes.
- Thinking about buying instead? Our Texas home prices page works out a sample monthly payment at today’s mortgage rates.
How we check
Every figure links to its source and shows the date it applies to. Rent numbers come from listing marketplaces (Apartment List, RentCafe), and we label them that way. Legal rules link to the statute section. Read the full methodology.