Gen Z adults have proven to be huge fans of moving to Texas, and they have a special appreciation for Houston in particular. Still, the price of housing in the city is taking a big bite out of their wallets.

A new housing cost analysis from RentCafe, published March 26, has revealed Gen Z adults living in H-Town are expected to spend a total of $135,223 on rent by the time they are 30 years old.

While the initial amount seems shocking, it really means Gen Z Houstonians will spend an average of $1,408.57 on monthly rent from the age of 22-29 years old, or about $16,903 a year, based on the report's findings.

For comparison, millennials spent a good chunk less on their Houston rent during the same time period in their lives. The average rent cost for a millennial living in the big city came out to $123,000 by the time they were 30 years old. That amount can be extrapolated into a monthly rent cost of $1,281.25 (or $15,375 annually) from the age of 22-29.

For the purpose of the study, RentCafe defined a Gen Z adult as a person who is born between 1996 and 2000. Millennials are defined as adults born between 1981 and 1996. The study examined the average amount of money each generation spent (or would spend) on renting versus owning, and the average total income earned during the same period. Data was calculated based on an eight-year period between the ages of 22 and 29 for each generation, and all costs and income were adjusted for the 2023 value of the U.S. dollar.

Homeownership costs for Gen Z adults living in Houston
RentCafe determined homeownership is also much further out of reach than renting for Houston-based Gen Z'ers. If a Gen Z adult (somehow) buys a house at age 22, they will have spent nearly $204,052 on homeownership costs by the time they're 30 years old (excluding the down payment).

These findings show the difference between renting versus owning for Gen Z'ers in Houston is a whopping $68,829 gap.

Using the same method from earlier, it can be presumed a 22-year-old Gen Z homeowner would be spending nearly $2,126 a month (or about $25,507 annually) to own a home in the Bayou City for the eight-year period until their 30th birthday. That includes the mortgage, fees, and insurance.

For additional context, Houston-based millennials spent an average of $193,670 on homeownership by the time they were 30. That breaks down to $24,208.75 for eight years, or about $2,017.40 monthly.

The difference between renting versus owning for millennials is $70,670, the report found.

Total household income earnings by age 30
By the time an Houston-residing Gen Z adult reaches their 30th birthday, RentCafe says, they will have earned a total household income of $495,619 for the eight-year period. This can be roughly calculated to about $61,952.38 in annual income during that time.

Assuming a Gen Z adult rents for that entire period, they would be spending about 27 percent of their total household income on rent from age 22-29. If they own a home for the majority of their 20s, they would be spending about 41 percent of their total household income on homeownership.

Meanwhile, millennials living in Houston were fortunate to earn much more than Gen Z'ers are making now. The report found that the average millennial Houstonian made $531,160 in total earnings by the time they reached age 30, or $35,541 more than Gen Z's total income. That would assume the millennial was making $66,395 a year while in their 20s.

Millennials also fared better with their housing costs than Gen Z adults are now. Houston-based millennials who only rented from the age of 22-29 spent about 23 percent of their total income on rent, while millennial homeowners spent nearly 36 percent of their total earnings on their housing costs.

The full report can be found on rentcafe.com.