renter friendly

One Dallas suburb edges out another as a top city for renters in 2024

Only three other U.S. cities are better for renters than McKinney, a new report says.

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North Texans looking for their next apartment or house to rent should consider living in the Dallas suburb of McKinney, which was just ranked the No. 4 best city in the nation for renters.

This is the first time the north Dallas suburb has appeared at the top in RentCafe's "Best Cities for Renters to Live in 2024" report. The apartment rental marketplace annually compares 150 U.S. cities based on their quality of life, local economy, and cost of living and housing opportunities.

Charleston, South Carolina maintained its position as the No. 1 best city for renters for the second consecutive year. Rounding out the top five top rental markets are Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2), Sarasota, Florida (No. 3), and Scottsdale Arizona (No. 5).

What made McKinney stand out above all other Texas markets is the suburb's "small town feel" and its community-focused residents, according to RentCafe. (No coincidence that it also took the top spot in WalletHub's 2023 report on the best real estate markets in the U.S.)

"...McKinney is an ideal choice for renters who want to escape the bustle of the city without compromising on urban comfort," the report said. "Boasting a variety of parks, farmers markets and local businesses — all centered around its historic downtown — McKinney is a big draw for both young professionals and students."

Out of the three main metrics in the study, McKinney performed the best in the "housing and cost of living" category, ranking No. 2 out of all 150 cities, and earned No. 9 in the "quality of life" category.

RentCafe ranked McKinney No. 3 nationwide for its high quality apartments, with the average apartment size coming out to a spacious 948 square feet. Approximately 35 percent of all apartments in the city have been built within the last five years, and the city's cost of living is nearly 3 percent lower than the national average, the report said.

Unfortunately, the city fell behind for its "local economy" ranking, only ranking No. 47 nationally.

"Despite ranking slightly lower in this category, McKinney has one of the highest shares of business applications, and 33.4 percent of its residents have at least one college degree," the report said. "However, the city ranks lower in the Local Economy category due to slower renter income growth at 24.1 percent."

Plano tumbles out of the top 10 rental markets
After ranking No. 2 in RentCafe's 2023 report (and No. 13 in 2022), Plano slipped out of the top five and landed as the No. 17 best city for renters in 2024.

Here's how Plano performed in the study's three main categories out of all 150 cities:

No. 7 – Quality of life rank
No. 32 – Local economy rank
No. 45 – Housing and cost of living rank

According to RentCafe's data, a significant hike in Plano's cost of living is primarily to blame for the tumble. The cost of living in the city is 16.6 percent higher than the national average, and only 12.6 percent of all Plano apartments have been built within the last five years. The average size of an apartment in the suburb is 938 square feet.

Other top cities for renters in Texas
Overall, it appears all cities in the Metroplex suffered in this year's rankings. Denton fell into No. 38 in 2024, slipping from its former No. 19 rank last year. Both Fort Worth and Dallas dropped out of the top 50 this year, ranking No. 53 and No. 57, respectively.

Meanwhile, Austin (No. 7) and its northern suburb Round Rock (No. 6) both held on to their positions among the top 10 best U.S. cities for renters for the second year in a row.

Here's how other Texas cities stacked up among the top 100 in RentCafe's report:

No. 31 – Conroe (down from No. 9 in 2023)
No. 52 – Midland
No. 55 – San Marcos
No. 58 – Lubbock (down from No. 43 in 2023)
No. 65 – San Antonio (down from No. 55 in 2023)
No. 71 – Houston (down from No. 53 in 2023)
No. 85 – Amarillo
No. 91 – Waco (unchanged from 2023)

RentCafe used data from their sister site Yardi Matrix to determine each city's ranking based on 20 metrics, including average apartment size, the cost of living and housing, the share of renter-occupied households, renter household median income growth, and more. Cities were chosen if they had an "apartment stock" of a minimum of 10,000 units, and any cities with lower apartment stocks were excluded.

The full report can be found on rentcafe.com.

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Real Estate News

Dallas real estate developer pleads guilty to bribing 2 city officials

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Dallas developer Sherman Roberts

Dallas real estate developer Sherman Roberts pleaded guilty on November 12 to conspiracy to commit bribery, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Roberts, 70, who previously helmed City Wide Community Development Corporation, was indicted in December 2020. According to court documents, Sherman bribed two city council members — Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and City Council member Carolyn Davis — to support loans and low-income housing tax credits for his apartment projects.

In return for several thousand dollars in cash – plus the promise of future payments after her city council tenure ended – Davis lobbied for Roberts' real estate projects, including Serenity Place, Runyon Springs, and Patriot’s Crossing.

She promoted Serenity Place to the City Housing Committee, demanded other developers also seeking real estate funding withdraw their applications in order to increase Roberts' chances of success, recommended Serenity Place receive a 9 percent low income housing tax credit, and voted to approve a $1.9 million loan from the city of Dallas.

“Right now you and me are making money,” Roberts texted Davis shortly after the vote.

Later, she repeatedly reached out to ask for more money — "just a few dollars" — and he agreed.

Davis and Roberts then met with Caraway to address a problem with the Patriot's Crossing project. In return for several hundred dollars cash and a $2,000 monthly stipend, Caraway agreed to stop the city from issuing a request for proposal (RFP) for the Patriots Crossing project and to deliver the project for Roberts.

“How much is the project worth?” Mayor Pro Tem Caraway asked. “Once you’re successful with this project, don’t forget about me.”

“I won’t forget about you,” Mr. Roberts responded. “That’s where the money is… the money has never been an issue.”

Roberts now faces up to five years in federal prison. He is slated to be sentenced on March 12, 2025.

Caraway pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and tax evasion and was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.

Davis pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit bribery concerning an agent of a local government receiving federal benefits, but passed away in a car crash before she could be sentenced.

Roberts was one of three real estate developers charged in connection with the bribery scandal. Devin Hall, the developer behind the Grand Park Place apartment project, pleaded guilty in August 2020. Ruel Hamilton, the AmeriSouth Realty Group executive who backed the Royal Crest housing project, is awaiting retrial on conspiracy and bribery charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of IRS – Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Busch is prosecuting the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Max.