This happy Dallas suburb is the best place in America for renters, study says

Plano officially touts itself as a “city of excellence.” That slogan easily could apply to Plano’s atmosphere for renters.

A new study from Forbes Advisor ranks Plano as the No. 1 city in the country for renters.

The study examined data from Apartments.com along with data related to factors like weather, disaster risk, and parkland to come up with its ranking.

“Plano serves up relatively spacious apartments, and its affordability makes it an attractive spot to settle in. Plano doesn’t have the cheapest rent — in fact it ranks down at No. 73 out of 100 for low rent,” Forbes Advisor says. “But the city’s high median household income of over $95,000 means that Plano has a low ratio of rent to income (20 percent of median income would be spent on the average two-bedroom apartment).”

Rental platform RentCafé lists the average apartment rent in Plano as $1,343.

Forbes Advisor further points out that one-third of rentals in Plano feature stainless steel appliances and 90 percent offer gym access. In addition, most rentals in Plano allow pets.

Meanwhile, self-storage platform StorageCafé adds to Plano’s status as a haven for renters, putting Plano at No. 2 on its list of the best cities for roommates to share space; only Atlanta ranks higher. Among the country’s 82 largest cities, Plano provides the second largest amount of room per roommate (542 square feet) in a two-bedroom apartment. Atlanta bested Plano by just five square feet per roommate.

According to StorageCafé, 18 percent of Plano residents live with roommates.

If the Forbes Advisor and StorageCafé studies weren’t enough to make a Plano renter smile, consider that personal finance website WalletHub gives it high marks as one of the happiest places to live in the U.S. (ranked 17th in 2021). To develop its ranking, WalletHub looked at factors like depression rate, income growth rate, and average leisure time spent per day.

Plano is the only Texas city to appear in the top 20. Holding down the No. 1 spot is Fremont, California, a San Francisco suburb.

In a blurb accompanying a YouTube video, the City of Plano brags that the suburb “has earned a national reputation as one of the best places in the United States for people to live, work, and play.”

Coming in below Plano on the Forbes list are Omaha, Nebraska (No. 2), Raleigh, North Carolina (No. 3), Lincoln, Nebraska (No. 4), and Gilbert, Arizona (No. 5).