income news

This affluent Houston neighbor is America's 2nd wealthiest suburb

Only one U.S. suburb is wealthier than West U.

City of West University Place, TX - City Government / Facebook

West University Place has long been considered Houston's richest suburb, and a new study has revealed this affluent enclave has climbed to the top to become the second wealthiest in America.

The report from GoBankingRates, called "America’s Wealthiest Suburbs Today Compared to 10 Years Ago," tracked the average household income across the nation's 50 wealthiest suburbs from 2014 to 2024. Cities had to have at least 5,000 households and be part of a large metro area to qualify. Income data was sourced from the Census Bureau.

In the new report, West University Place moved up one spot to become the second richest American suburb after ranking third for two consecutive years. Its current ranking is also two spots higher than where it ranked in 2016, at No. 4 nationwide.

The findings also confirm that its residents have certainly become richer over time. According to Census Bureau data, West U. households made $294,723 in average income 2014, which has since surged to $439,594 in 2024.

One more Houston neighbor, Bellaire, also appears among the 50 wealthiest American suburbs. Bellaire now ranks 18th, up from No. 23 last year. Bellaire households made $335,492 on average as of 2024, up from $226,295 in 2014.

Of course, calling either city a "suburb" is sort of absurd, as the late Ken Hoffman hilariously argued in a 2024 column. "A little research or even a phone call would have told them that neither West U nor Bellaire is a suburb. Both are fully independent cities that are completely surrounded by Houston on all sides," Hoffman wrote.

Other affluent suburbs in Texas
Dallas-Fort Worth neighbors University Park, Southlake, and Colleyville are also named among the top 50 wealthiest American suburbs for 2026.

University Park maintains its elite status as the sixth wealthiest suburb in America for the third year in a row. Households made $407,253 on average in total annual income in 2024, up from $254,422 in 2014.

Southlake is the country's eighth wealthiest suburb for 2026, up from No. 16 in 2016. Average household income in this bustling city has grown from $232,034 in 2014 to $384,530 as of 2024, for a growth rate of about 66 percent.

Colleyville, meanwhile, has dropped down the list of the wealthiest suburbs over the last 10 years. It currently ranks 46th but previously ranked 28th in 2016. Average household income in this particular DFW city has increased 35 percent, from $205,828 to $277,720 in 2024.

The top 10 wealthiest suburbs in America in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Scarsdale, New York
No. 2 – West University Place, Texas
No. 3 – Rye, New York
No. 4 – Los Altos, California
No. 5 – Paradise Valley, Arizona
No. 6 – University Park, Texas
No. 7 – Alamo, California
No. 8 – Southlake, Texas
No. 9 – McLean, Virginia
No. 10 – Orinda, California

income gobankingrates.com suburbs houston

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.

apartments housing real estate rent rent prices zumper houston

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renter report

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