After American shoppers spent $11.5 billion on Black Friday this year, it's safe to say everyone is watching their wallets this holiday season, including renters. And a new Zumper report is shedding light on the Houston-area cities that are shelling out the most for their rent.

The report analyzed active listings from the previous month across all cities in the Houston metro. It tracked the most and least expensive rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments, and determines the cities with the fastest growing rents. Listings were aggregated by city to calculate median asking rents.

Sugar Land had the highest rent prices in the Houston area in November, the report found. The median rent price for a single-bedroom apartment came out to $1,480 last month. That's $30 higher than the median asking rent for the same apartment in June.

For two-bedroom units, median rent prices in Sugar Land rose 4.3 percent from October to $1,940.

Pearland had the second-highest rents in the metro last month. Single-bedroom units had a median asking price of $1,370 per month, while two-bedroom units had a $1,700 price tag in November.

Residents in both Pearland and Sugar Land are expected to spend more than $3,100 on their holiday presents this year, a recent WalletHub study revealed, which means they may be keeping a closer eye on their budgets than other Houston-area residents.

Meanwhile, Houston proper had the third-priciest asking rents in the entire metro area in November. Median asking rent for a one-bedroom unit totaled $1,210 in November, and two-bedroom units had a $1,480 price tag.

These are the median rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments around Houston:

• League City – $1,180 for one-bedroom units; $1,410 for two-bedroom units
• Spring – $1,170 for one-bedroom units; $1,530 for two-bedroom units

Houston-area cities with affordable rent compared to the statewide median
Zumper found the statewide median rent for a one bedroom apartment came out to $1,126 last month.

Huntsville, a city 70 miles north of Houston, had the most affordable rent for a one-bedroom unit in the region, with median prices adding up to $880. The report also found that Huntsville's single-bedroom rent costs are surprisingly 6 percent more expensive than they were a year ago. However, the median cost for a two-bedroom unit in Huntsville – $1,000 – is the same asking price as it was in November 2024.

Six more Houston-area cities had more affordable single-bedroom rent prices than the statewide median:

• Galveston – $1,110
• Conroe – $1,100
• Baytown – $1,000
• Lake Jackson – $920
• Pasadena – $910
• Texas City – $890