• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark 2016
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Raise the roof

    Dallas rates as one of easiest places to save for a home down payment

    John Egan
    Aug 22, 2018 | 10:19 am
    Open front door of a house
    A generous down payment is often the key to buying a home.
    Photo by Ian Nolan/Getty Images

    Dallas residents hoping to buy their first home can breathe a little sigh of relief. A new analysis shows DFW is the second best major metro area in the U.S. for putting aside money toward a down payment.

    The analysis, produced by Zillow Group-owned RealEstate.com, indicates it takes an average of three years and five months for a first-time homebuyer in DFW to stash enough cash for a 20 percent down payment. Only Chicago had a shorter saving period for a 20 percent down payment.

    While DFW boasts a hot job market and sizzling population growth, “the region has somewhat slipped under millennials’ radars — so much so that the Dallas Regional Chamber recently launched a ‘Say Yes to Dallas’ recruitment initiative. Maybe it’s time to give Dallas a second look,” RealEstate.com says.

    The Austin metro area ranks ninth in the RealEstate.com analysis, with it taking an average of four years and seven months to save money for a 20 percent down payment.

    “Austin is a magnet for millennials,” RealEstate.com says. “Employment opportunities draw them here, with the cool vibe, nightlife, and focus on green living cementing the deal. The housing market here is competitive, so expect a bidding battle once you’re ready to buy.”

    By comparison, Portland, Oregon, is the worst place to save for a down payment: The average time there is 13 years, two months, according to RealEstate.com. Denver is second worst, at 12 years, five months.

    Here’s the lowdown on how RealEstate.com arrived at the down payment numbers. The analysis factored in the median household income among millennials (ages 24 to 36) in the 35 largest U.S. metro areas, along with their estimated annual household savings, to figure out how long it would take to save for a 20 percent down payment on a starter home (priced within the bottom third of the market).

    In DFW, the median annual income for millennial households is $50,600, with annual savings of $10,843. Taking that data into account, RealEstate.com arrived at a 20 percent down payment totaling $37,080 for an entry-level, single-family home with a median value of $185,400.

    For Austin, the salary and savings figures were about the same as DFW’s, but the down payment and home numbers were higher. RealEstate.com computed a median annual income of $50,700 for millennials in the Austin area, with $10,864 in annual savings. For a starter home with a median value of $249,700, that would result in a 20 percent down payment of $49,940.

    Twenty percent is the sweet spot for down payments, as a buyer with a down payment of less than that amount typically must buy private mortgage insurance. That adds to the cost of the monthly mortgage payment.

    The RealEstate.com study might give solace to some DFW and Austin millennials who covet a home. According to Zillow Group’s most recent housing trends report, 39 percent of millennial homebuyers find it difficult to save money for a down payment.

    “Contrary to popular belief, millennials want to buy homes, but high home prices, low inventory, and stagnant wage growth are some of the many factors that may be driving would-be buyers into delaying homeownership,” Justin LaJoie, general manager of RealEstate.com, says in a release.

    rankingslistshome-for-sale
    news/real-estate
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Dallas intel delivered daily.

    find your community

    Dallas-Fort Worth ranks among top 25 most livable U.S. metros in 2026

    Amber Heckler
    Jan 28, 2026 | 9:05 am
    Dallas skyline
    Photo by Max Fray on Unsplash
    Dallas-Fort Worth is the most livable metro in Texas for 2026.

    Americans looking for the right place to live with a good balance between location, community, and quality of life can find that right here in Dallas-Fort Worth, according to a national study from RentCafe.

    The North Texas region stood out as the No. 1 most livable metro area in Texas, and the 24th most livable U.S. metro for 2026.

    RentCafe's report analyzed 149 U.S. metro areas across 17 key indicators, including cost of living, income growth rates, "social association" rates, a food index, and others.

    The top three most livable American metros are Washington, D.C. (No. 1); Portland, Maine (No. 2); and Kansas City, Missouri (No. 3).

    Here's how Dallas-Fort Worth performed in the study's three main rankings compared to the rest of the U.S.:

    • No. 28 – Socioeconomics
    • No. 38 – Quality of life
    • No. 52 – Location and community

    According to the findings, more than a third (34.4 percent) of Dallas-Fort Worth's 8.25 million residents are renters, and less than a tenth (9.7 percent) of residents are living in poverty. The city has an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent, and less than half (45.7 percent) of DFW workers report having a "long commute."

    The cost of living in Dallas-Fort Worth is 2 percent lower than the national average, the report said, and residents' income has grown 6 percent over the last five years, though the report doesn't elaborate on what those income figures are.

    Based on a survey from CountyHealthRankings.com, RentCafe says Dallas residents experience about three "physically unhealthy" days on average, and an average of five "mentally unhealthy" days. Only 17.4 percent of DFW residents are reportedly "physically inactive" and 10.6 percent report they are uninsured.

    Overall, 10 more Texas metros earned spots in the report, but they surprisingly all landed outside the top 100 most livable U.S. metros.

    Those other Texas metro areas are:

    • No. 117 – Killeen
    • No. 125 – Corpus Christi
    • No. 127 – Houston
    • No. 130 – Austin
    • No. 134 – Beaumont
    • No. 138 – El Paso
    • No. 145 – Lubbock
    • No. 147 – San Antonio
    • No. 148 – Brownsville
    • No. 149 – McAllen
    rentcafemost livable metrosdallasfort worth
    news/real-estate
    Loading...