housing cost analysis

Here's how much Houstonians spend renting instead of buying a home

Living in Houston doesn't come cheap.

The affordability of homeownership seems to be a hot topic in 2025, and a new housing cost analysis has revealed that Houston residents who are renting are getting a bargain: saving nearly $860 per month by renting rather than owning their homes.

The 2025 report, called "Renting vs. Buying: How Housing Costs Compare Across America," examined the median monthly homeownership and rent costs in 342 of the largest U.S. cities.

The study's findings revealed Houston homeowners spend a median $2,219 on their monthly housing costs, whereas renters spend about $1,362 in comparison. That's an $857 price difference.

Houston wasn't even the biggest city in terms of renters saving money — ranking No. 31 in the report's rankings of cities where homeownership is more expensive than renting.

This study compares median costs for each group of people regardless of what they're getting for that cost. Because of this, we only know how much more homeowners tend to pay in general — not how much more they'd pay for a comparable space.

Newark, New Jersey, ranked No. 1 on the list, with homeowners spending $2,641 per month on their homes, while renters only pay $1,341 a month, reflecting a whopping $1,300 difference.

As any Houston-area resident knows, the real cost of living in the city doesn't just stop at the monthly mortgage or rent price. SmartAsset also factored in the cost of utilities, insurance, maintenance, and taxes to show the most accurate representation of the ongoing costs of renting versus owning a home.

"On the rental side, the cost of utilities can add a consistent, considerable amount to your costs," the report said. "For homeowners, mortgage costs are padded not only by utilities but homeowners’ insurance, property taxes and maintenance costs."

Housing costs in Houston-area suburbs
The difference between The Woodlands (No. 45) renters and homeowners is greater than it is in Houston, though both monthly costs are much higher in the suburb. The report found that homeowners' costs in The Woodlands outpace renters' by $1,156 per month, totaling $3,075. Renters pay only $1,919 a month.

Housing costs in Conroe (No. 69) are not far off from Houston, with residents paying $2,168 a month to own their homes, while renters only pay $1,441. That means the gap between renters and owners is $727 per month.

The difference between home ownership versus renting is smallest in the far northeastern suburb of Atascocita, with renters only saving $333 per month over their homeowning neighbors.

Here's what the report says are the monthly housing costs in other Houston-area suburbs:

Sugar Land – $2,851 for homeowners; $2,108 for renters = $743
League City – $2,337 for homeowners; $1,621 for renters = $716
Pearland – $2,515 for homeowners; $1,805 for renters = $710
Pasadena – $1,816 for homeowners; $1,206 for renters = $610
Atascocita – $2,180 for homeowners; $1,847 for renters = $333

Residents in any major city who are considering buying their first house must consider all monthly financial costs before deciding to leave the rental life behind. Potentially large bills, like property taxes, can sneak up on some homeowners if they don't educate themselves properly prior to buying a home. (Thankfully, there are ways to save money in that category.)

"These hidden costs can add up and change the dynamics of tradeoffs between the flexibility of renting versus the security of owning your own home," the report added.

renting homeowners real estate reports housing costs suburbs houston the woodlands conroe

renter report

Houston home to No. 2 biggest drop in rent prices in U.S. since last year

Photo by Pierre Châtel-Innocenti on Unsplash

Houston nearly topped the list with the second-biggest year-over-year decline in rent prices nationwide.

A new Zumper rent report has revealed that Texas is leading the nation in annual rent declines since 2025, and Houston rent prices have fallen as much as 14 percent since last August.

Zumper's monthly report analyzes one- and two-bedroom rent prices from the previous month across 100 U.S. cities, and tracks one-month and year-over-year changes.

Austin, Houston, and Dallas, respectively, locked out the top three cities where one-bedroom rent prices have plummeted more than anywhere else in the country.

A one-bedroom apartment in Houston had a $1,050 monthly rent price in August, down 14.6 percent since this time last year. Two-bedroom units were 5.4 percent cheaper than they were a year ago and now sit at $1,400 per month.

The reports findings show a similar pattern across Texas' biggest metros as "elevated multifamily supply" was "absorbed through the boom years." Renters currently have the advantageous opportunity to negotiate lower rent from their landlords, according to Zumper CEO Shawn Mullahy.

"Texas is showing exactly what happens when supply materially outruns demand," Mullahy said. "Austin, Houston and Dallas added enormous amounts of inventory, and renters now have leverage because owners are competing to fill it. That won’t reverse until enough of that supply is absorbed."

For comparison, Zumper's National Rent Index for August 2026 found the median one-bedroom rent fell 0.1 percent year-over-year to $1,515, while two-bedroom rent increased 0.5 percent to $1,907

Rent prices across Texas
Austin tops the U.S. with the steepest decline in both one- and two-bedroom rent prices in August. A one-bedroom unit in Texas' capital city had a $1,260 monthly price, down 16.6 percent from August 2025. Rent for a two-bedroom unit declined even further, by 19.1 percent, to $1,610 per month.

One-bedroom apartments in Dallas weren't far behind. Rent for a single-bedroom unit dipped 13 percent year-over-year to $1,270, and the price for a two-bedroom unit fell 13.4 percent to $1,810.

Elsewhere in the North Texas region, rent prices for a one-bedroom unit in Plano have dipped 7.1 percent since last year to $1,310. Single-bedroom units in Irving are renting for $1,210 a month, or 4.7 percent lower than they were the year before.

In Fort Worth and Arlington, one-bedroom units had a monthly asking price of $1,160 and $1,080 in August. Arlington's one-bedroom rent price is unchanged from 2025, and Fort Worth's is down 3.3 percent.

This is how much it cost for a two-bedroom unit across DFW in August, compared to the previous year:

Plano: $1,920 per month, down 3.5 percent
Irving: $1,620 per month, down 4.7 percent
Fort Worth: $1,530 per month, down 5.5 percent
Arlington: $1,460 per month, down 2.8 percent

In San Antonio, single-bedroom rent prices fell 8.6 percent to $960 per month, and two-bedroom rent declined by 4.5 percent to $1,260.

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