A new RentCafe report has found Conroe's ideal market for renters has earned it a top-25 spot among the best U.S. cities for renters in 2025. Houston also made a slight improvement from last year.

RentCafe's "Best Cities for Renters to Live in 2025" report annually compares 150 U.S. cities based on 20 factors examining their quality of life, local economy, and cost of living and housing opportunities. The report notes that cities were chosen if they had an "apartment stock" consisting of a minimum 10,000 units, and any cities with lower apartment stocks were excluded.

Conroe ranked 24th overall on the list in a seven-place hike from its 2024 ranking, while Houston only moved up one spot into No. 70 this year.

The Dallas suburb McKinney claimed the title as the No. 1 best city for renters after dethroning Charleston, South Carolina, which had held the top spot for the last two years. Charleston has since slumped into the No. 7 spot for 2025.

Rounding out the top five best U.S. cities for renters this year are Sarasota, Florida (No. 2), Atlanta, Georgia (No. 3), Austin, Texas (No. 4), and Huntsville, Alabama (No. 5).

Conroe received high praise for its affordability, as the city's cost of living is 10 percent lower than the national average, according to the report's findings. The far-flung suburb's housing and affordability earned it No. 7 in the report's ranking of all cities based on their housing and cost of living.

The spacious size of a typical apartment in Conroe – 937 square feet – is the third largest average apartment size in Texas. Only San Marcos and McKinney outrank Conroe in that category, with average apartment sizes spanning 988 and 948 square feet respectively.

Conroe's attractiveness also impressed in a separate MoveBuddha study ranking the most desirable suburbs to move to in 2025.

Despite having a shining reputation for its budget-friendliness, Conroe unfortunately loses out in the "local economy" and "quality of life" categories. RentCafe says the city's local economy is only the 69th best in the nation, and it has the 70th best quality of life out of all U.S. cities. The report gives no explanation behind these rankings.

Though Houston's cost of living is nearly six percent lower than the national average, the city still has a lot more work to do to improve its livability for renters. The average apartment size in Houston is 882 square feet, which is the ninth-smallest size in Texas on average.

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

• No. 53 – Housing and cost of living rank
• No. 98 – Local economy rank
• No. 99 – Quality of life rank

Elsewhere in Texas
Overall, it appears most Texas cities made slight improvements in the rankings since last year. Austin and its northern suburb Round Rock both remained in the top 10 this year, but the Texas Capital surpassed its neighbor to claim the No. 4 spot, leaving Round Rock behind as the 8th best city for renters.

"The South firmly establishes itself as the top region for renters in 2025, by claiming an impressive 41 of the 50 featured cities," the report said. "From major rental markets like Atlanta and Austin, TX, to rising stars such as McKinney, TX, and Round Rock, TX, the South’s strong presence in the top 10 highlights its increasing appeal to renters across the board."

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

• No. 11 – Plano (up from No. 17 last year)
• No. 27 – San Marcos (up from No. 55 last year)
• No. 33 – Denton (up from No. 38 last year)
• No. 38 – Fort Worth (up from No. 53 last year)
• No. 44 – San Antonio (up from No. 65 last year)
• No. 57 – Dallas (unchanged from 2024)
• No. 58 – Lubbock (unchanged from 2024)
• No. 63 – Midland (down from No. 52 last year)
• No. 69 – Amarillo (up from No. 85 last year)
• No. 88 – Waco (up from No. 91 last year)