“Silicon Hills,” a “California-like city,” a boomtown: all terms once used interchangeably for none other than Austin, Texas. It’s a metropolitan area that finds itself in almost every conversation concerning housing, and this one is no exception because, according to Realtor.com, Austin is the best place for renters.
Affordability is a big part of this, with Austin’s rent-to-income ratio at about 20%. That means renters aren’t paying more than 20% of their earnings on housing, well under the 30% cutoff that marks someone as rent-burdened. Realtor.com also accounted for a metro’s rental vacancy rate, a forecasted unemployment rate, a measure of job opportunities, among other things, too.
After Austin, came: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Birmingham, Alabama; San Antonio, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Sandy Springs, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; Kansas City, Missouri; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Norfolk, Virginia. Notice anything? There isn’t a single city in the northeast or west on the list, and that might not be too surprising because everyone knows how unaffordable California and New York can be for renters. To compare, the median rent for all bedrooms and all property types in Austin is $2,254; in Los Angeles, it is $2,800, and in New York City it’s $3,632, per Zillow.
In early June, an analysis from Redfin found rents fell more than 7% in Austin in May from a year earlier. It wasn’t the only city in the Sunbelt seeing declines, and the cause was simple. “Rents are falling in the Sunbelt in part because the region has been building more apartments than other parts of the country (like the Midwest and Northeast) to meet demand brought on by the influx of people who moved in during the pandemic,” Redfin wrote at the time. “But the pandemic housing boom is now in the rearview mirror, and property owners are facing vacancies, which is causing rents to cool.”
The trend continued, and in June, rents plummeted a record 12.6% in Austin from a year ago, a separate Redfin analysis showed. Austin built a lot of homes, so rents are falling. But it wasn’t always like that; roughly two years ago, during the pandemic, Austin’s rents shot up as its population increased along with demand. Still, Austin isn’t the cheapest metro on the list, that’s Oklahoma City, with a rent-to-income ratio just under 18%.
“Each of these leading cities is experiencing economic growth, attracting many young professionals,” the report read. “For instance, Austin, TX, and Raleigh, NC, are also top rental markets for 2024 college graduates. Furthermore, Oklahoma City, OK, Birmingham, AL, and Kansas City, MO, are located among the top metros with favorable investment environments, attracting real estate investors due to their growing populations and strong rental demands.”
It continued: “Additionally, cities such as San Antonio, TX, and Norfolk, VA, with large military presences, offer strong community support, quality services, cultural diversity, enhanced security, and real estate stability, making them attractive places to live.”
Each of the 10 metropolitan areas included in the ranking are considered more affordable with plenty of options in stable job markets with employment opportunities—plus they have higher shares of renter households and relatively short commutes, according to Realtor.com. Consider this: Austin’s rental vacancy rate is 9%, its expected unemployment rate is 3.3%, the share of those 25 and older who are renters is roughly 56%, and its typical commute time is 26 minutes (if you live in Los Angeles, that’s pretty much unheard of). Not to mention, it is headquarters to Elon Musk’s Tesla—and, potentially soon, X.
