housing news

This is how much longer Texans must save for a home than in 2016

It would take 7.2 years for Texans making the state's median household income of $84.084 to save enough money for a down payment on a house in 2026.

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

It's no secret that purchasing a home in 2026 has become an ever-shifting financial goalpost that requires a lot more money than it used to. And a new study has just revealed it takes 9 months longer for Texas residents to save for a down payment than it did a decade ago.

SmartAsset's new report, "Where the Down Payment Burden Has Grown Most," analyzed typical home values in each state in 2016 and 2026, and compared them with median household income to estimate how many years of savings would be required to afford a 20 percent down payment (based on the assumption that households set aside 10 percent of their annual income). The analysis also evaluated how long a minimum-wage earner in each state would need to save for a down payment in 2026.

For Texas households making a median income of $84,084 in 2026, it would take 7.2 years to save enough money for a down payment on a house with the state's typical home value of $302,187.

In 2016, it would have taken a little less than 6.5 years based on a median household income of $56,565 and typical home values at $181,155.

Texas ranks 41st nationally in SmartAsset's comparison of states with the highest increases in the amount of time needed to save for a down payment from 2016 to 2026. The report's findings proved how "saving for a down payment has become a moving target" for many Texas residents and Americans as a whole.

"As rising home prices outstrip wage growth, the amount of time buyers may need to set aside enough money has changed sharply in many parts of the country," the report said. "In some states, rising incomes have helped offset higher home values. In others, buyers may face a substantially longer path to ownership than they did just one decade ago."

Homebuying prospects for minimum wage earners
For a minimum wage earner residing in Texas, it would take 40.1 years to save enough money for a down payment at current home prices. Texas and 19 other states have a $7.25 hourly minimum wage, which amounts to just over $15,000 a year.

SmartAsset further confirmed that it's "essentially impossible" to save for a down payment on a minimum wage income alone regardless of which state you live in.

"Even in Missouri, the most favorable state, a minimum-wage earner would need 17 years to save enough for a home down payment," the report added. "In Utah, that timeline exceeds 70 years."

The top 10 states where the "down payment burden" has grown the most are:

No. 1 – Idaho
No. 2 – Rhode Island
No. 3 – New Hampshire
No. 4 – Maine
No. 5 – Utah
no. 6 – Montana
No. 7 – Washington
No. 8 – New Jersey
No. 9 – New York
No. 10 – Massachusetts

home ownership home prices housing reports smartasset

Bang for Buck

Surprising Dallas neighbor unlocks biggest apartments in DFW for $1,500

Photo courtesy of RentCafe

Mesquite has the biggest apartments on a budget in DFW.

Budget-conscious renters searching for the roomiest apartments in the region should look no further than Mesquite. According to a new study, the Dallas suburb boasts the most bang for your buck in terms of space in North Texas.

In 2026, Mesquite residents can rent just shy of 1,000 square feet (a 988-square-foot apartment) for $1,500 per month. That's eight square feet more than what they could get with the same budget last year.

RentCafe's annual report analyzes the places where renters can find the largest apartment sizes across 200 of the most populous U.S. cities for a monthly budget of $1,500. The price per square foot was calculated using the average apartment rent and size per city based on "multifamily properties" containing 50 or more units.

Mesquite offers the most spacious apartment size in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for $1,500, and the city boasts the 10th biggest apartments in Texas on that budget.

Elsewhere in the area, Denton saw the second biggest leap in apartment size nationwide since 2025, the report found. Renters there could lease an 835-square-foot apartment for $1,500 last year, and that has jumped to 862 square feet in 2026.

Dallas renters, on the other hand, will only net an 803-square-foot apartment for the same monthly cost, which is down 11 square feet from last year. Dallas ranks third from the bottom in the statewide list of cities that offer the largest apartments for the $1,500 price tag, with Frisco and Austin ranking even lower. Apartment hunters in Frisco will get only 798 square feet for $1,500.

Here's how much space you can get for $1,500 elsewhere in Dallas-Fort Worth this year, from largest to smallest:

Arlington – 927 square feet
Garland – 924 square feet
Fort Worth – 913 square feet
McKinney – 885 square feet
Grand Prairie – 873 square feet
Irving – 859 square feet
Plano – 820 square feet

Apartment sizes across Texas
For the second year in a row, South Texas is the region that has the most spacious apartments for a $1,500 monthly budget, RentCafe found.

McAllen leads the nation with the biggest apartment size – at 1,378 square feet – which is large enough for a three- or four-bedroom unit.

"With rents averaging just $993 and the typical apartment measuring 912 square feet, McAllen renters get a lot more space for their money than most Americans do within that monthly budget," the report said. "Still, that figure is down slightly from last year’s 1,393 square feet — a sign that even the most affordable markets are starting to tighten."

McAllen neighbor Brownsville ranks fourth statewide with apartments spanning 1,213 square feet for the same budget.

These are the top 10 Texas cities that offer the biggest apartments for $1,500 in 2026:

No. 1 – McAllen (1,378 square feet)
No. 2 – Amarillo (1,237 square feet)
No. 3 – Lubbock (1,217 square feet)
No. 4 – Brownsville (1,213 square feet)
No. 5 – El Paso (1,128 square feet)
No. 6 – Pasadena (1,125 square feet)
No. 7 – Corpus Christi (1,115 square feet)
No. 8 – Killeen (1,058 square feet)
No. 9 – San Antonio (1,023 square feet)
No. 10 – Mesquite (988 square feet)

real estate apartments housing rentcafe study dallas fort worth mesquite arlington frisco denton