At the beginning of the decade, in 2010, the average apartment in Dallas rented for $773 per month, according to the report. Dallas' median household income was $40,650. A median earner living in the city's average apartment would've spent about 23% of his or her monthly income on rent, well below the 30% or 35% that's recommended by financial advisers.
By the end of 2019, Dallas' average apartment rent had gone up 60% since 2010, to $1,240 per month. Dallas median income in 2019? $53,515, representing a bump of 32% over 10 years.
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By the end of 2019, Dallas' average apartment rent had gone up 60% since 2010, to $1,240 per month. Dallas median income in 2019? $53,515, representing a bump of 32% over 10 years.
Last year, that same median earner living in that same average apartment would've spent about 28% of his or her income on rent, still feasible, but not nearly as comfy as a decade ago.
Far more people are renting in 2019 than did in 2010, too. Dallas' suburbs are some of the fastest growing for renters in the country, according to RENTCafe, having seen close to 94,000 renters move in over the decade, an increase of 28%. In North Texas' urban areas, renters have increased by 18%.
Increased demand has driven apartment building in and around Dallas.
"As a significant number of Americans are now renting by choice, developers are catering to their needs: sleek apartments, buildings with more amenities than ever and even community-building spaces for resident networking events," RENTCafe says. "Texas again overshadowed the rest of the U.S., with four metros in the top 20 metros which build the most apartments in the past decade. Out of these, two metros dominate the podium — Dallas-Fort Worth and its 149k units came in first, while Houston took third place with 114k apartments."
Things could be worse. Despite the rent increases, Dallas rents are only the 12th highest among the country's 20 biggest rental cities and come in below the national average of $1,474. Renters in Manhattan face the highest rents in the country, while Austin renters face the highest rents of Texas' big cities.
Widening the scope a bit to the rest of the state's rental markets, Flower Mound actually has the most expensive average rent in the state at $1,618, which would pay for almost two and a half average apartments in Brownsville, the state's cheapest market with an average rent of $733 a month.
