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

It would take more than 7 years for a Texas household making over $84,000 a year to save enough money for a down payment on a home.

Photo by Kostiantyn Li 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 Texans making the state's median household 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 suburb unlocks biggest apartments in Houston for $1,500

Photo by Matt Halls on Unsplash

Pasadena has the 6th roomiest apartments on a budget in Texas.

Budget-conscious renters searching for the roomiest apartments in the region should look no further than Pasadena. According to a new study, the east Houston suburb has the biggest apartments on a budget in the metro.

In 2026, Pasadena residents can rent a 1,125-square-foot apartment for $1,500 per month. That's enough space for a two- or three-bedroom unit, and it's four square feet bigger than what renters 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.

Pasadena offers the 6th most spacious apartments in Texas for $1,500, and Houston ranks 11th statewide.

Renters in Houston proper will net a 976-square-foot apartment for the same price in 2026, a size that has shrunk by more than 20 square feet since 2023.

Apartment sizes across Texas
For the second year in a row, the Rio Grande Valley 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."

Brownsville, another city on the border located an hour east of McAllen, 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 houston pasadena