Rent Report

Dallas home to most expensive rent in Texas, shows new report

The most expensive rent in Texas is here in Dallas.

Photo courtesy of Abodo

In July, a midyear report from Abodo found Dallas’ rents rose a monthly average of 1.12 percent, despite a nationwide year-to-date change of $0. As it turned out, that trend reversed course somewhat for the remainder of the year.

According to a recent rent report by Abodo, the early months of 2017 saw stability and decreases for much of the country, while rent for Dallas apartments steadily rose. In the last three months of the year, the nation felt steep increases, while Dallas saw its greatest rent decreases of 2017: down 2.8 percent in October, and another 2.5 percent in November.

May (4.5 percent), June (5.1 percent), and July (4 percent) brought the highest monthly increases of the year, which could bolster a recent movers survey that found spring and summer were the most popular months to move. (The survey was directed at homeowners, but given the correlating months of rent jumps, it seems renters share the sentiments.)

Dallas ended 2017 with a median one-bedroom rent of $1,208 — the highest in Texas — and an average monthly increase of 0.71 percent, compared with 0.21 percent nationwide. The year low of $1,096 was reached early on, in February, and surged to a high point in August, with $1,293.

Compared with statewide averages, Dallas’ numbers could look better. Average monthly one-bedroom rent in Texas in 2017 was just $882, and the state saw an average monthly increase of 0.5 percent. El Paso and Lubbock saw some of the country’s largest monthly decreases of the year, dropping an average of 1.9 percent and 1.4 percent a month, respectively. Corpus Christi, meanwhile, had the opposite trend, landing at No. 5 nationwide for highest average monthly increase: 1.9 percent. Apartments in Houston (0.78 percent), San Antonio (0.84 percent), and Corpus Christi were the only cities in Texas to outpace Dallas in average monthly increases.

Texas was one of 28 states that saw an overall rent increase in 2017, mainly in the South, Northeast, and Plains states. These numerous increases pushed the national median one-bedroom rent price up 2.4 percent, from $1,016 in January to $1,040 in December.

Moving into 2018, national rents climbed a bit, 0.6 percent, to $1,046. Although still well ahead of the national median, Dallas rents increased by a much smaller margin for January, up 0.1 percent to $1,210.

The state’s housing market is poised for change in 2018 — between the new tax bill and recovery from Hurricane Harvey — but if it’s anything like 2017, Dallas renters have three more months to enjoy the moderate rents before a summer surge. For more on where rents are rising and falling the fastest, visit Abodo’s 2017 Annual Rent Report.

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Here's how much rent prices have dropped in Dallas-Fort Worth since 2025

Photo by TOM on Unsplash

Rent prices are on the decline in most DFW cities.

Rent prices are falling statewide, and prices in certain Dallas-Fort Worth cities have declined by nearly 8 percent since last year, according to a new national rent report from Zumper.

The Zumper National Rent Report tracked year-over-year and month-over-month rent price changes in 100 U.S. cities for both one- and two-bedroom units using the most recent data available from May 2026.

Plano had the fourth-steepest rent decrease in Texas, with prices for one-bedroom units dipping 7.5 percent year-over-year to $1,360. Two-bedroom rent has dropped 5.5. percent from last year to $1,900.

In Dallas, one-bedroom rent prices fell 5.6 percent to $1,350, and two-bedroom rent is down 6.4 percent since last year to $1,900.

Arlington was the only major Texas city where rent prices increased from May 2025 to May 2026. One-bedroom rent increased nearly 3 percent to $1,090, and two-bedroom rent increased 2.1 percent to $1,480.

The cost for a single-bedroom apartment in Irving is $1,280, or the same price as it was a year ago, the report found. Two-bedroom units are 3 percent cheaper than they were last year, at $1,610.

In Fort Worth, respective rent costs for one- and two-bedroom units come out to $1,240 and $1,560.

Rent prices elsewhere in Texas
San Antonio saw the steepest drop in rent prices statewide, with one-bedroom rents falling by 10.4 percent to $950. Two-bedroom units have declined 6 percent year-over-year to $1,250.

These are the rent prices for other Texas cities in May 2026:

Austin: $1,420 for one-bedroom units; $1,860 for two-bedroom units
El Paso: $810 for one bedroom; $1,130 for two bedrooms
Houston: $1,130 for one bedroom; $1,430 for two bedroom

The report also revealed that four of the 10 U.S. metros offering the most concessions are located in Texas. Austin leads nationally with more than a third of rental units "dangling incentives to fill space," followed by San Antonio, Houston, then Dallas. A separate rent report from real estate data firm CoStar found Dallas-Fort Worth had the fifth highest apartment vacancy rate in the U.S. in March, meaning residents may be able to save on their rent depending on the financial incentives offered by landlords.

Additionally, these same markets offering generous rent concessions are also among the 10 U.S. metros with the largest population growth, which Zumper says signals ongoing tension between tenants and their landlords regarding prices.

"So while Texas absorbed a significant share of the 2023-2025 supply wave, inventory still has to lease up before landlords regain pricing power, and the steady inflow of new residents says the demand is there," the report said. "It’s just a question of when supply stops outrunning it."

From 2023 to 2024, Texas gained nearly 73,000 net new renters, making it the No. 1 magnet for renters nationwide.

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