Disclosure: This guide is published by Apartment List. We've included other platforms, including competitors because a useful comparison requires them. Our recommendations reflect product differences, not paid placement.
The median Fort Worth apartment rents for $1,336 a month, according to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index. Maybe you're moving to Dallas-Fort Worth for a job and haven't picked a side yet, or your lease is up and you're deciding whether to stay in Fort Worth or try Dallas. Either way, the first decision is the same: how much of the search you want to do yourself.
You can browse listings on your own, let a site match you after a few questions, hand the searching and tour booking to an AI agent, or have an apartment locator build the list. The locators in this guide are free to renters; the apartment community pays them when you sign. Whichever you choose, add one Fort Worth step: search both sides of the metro. Fort Worth and Dallas are separate cities with their own rents, and our Dallas guide covers the other side.
The sites, apps and locators below each do one of those jobs well. Pick a starting point from the comparison, then make sure a listing is still available, the commute works, and the offer is in writing before you apply. Texas has its own rules on application fees and deposits, and you'll pick your own electricity plan here; all three are covered after the rent figures.
For a Fort Worth search, start with Apartment List. It's free, and the shortlist comes back already filtered on your budget cap, commute and must-haves.
For a fully AI-guided, hands-off search, try Kaleno, an AI search agent built for apartment hunting: describe what you're looking for in plain language and it finds listings, contacts leasing teams and books tours. Add Zillow for different types of rentals, including houses and owner-listed homes. Check Sunny for cash back on apartments you're considering; each listing shows the amount.
Fort Worth's apartment locators cost renters nothing. Smart City Locating uses licensed local agents, and Stake, formerly UMoveFree, pays up to $200 cash back when you sign through it. For public housing and vouchers, Fort Worth Housing Solutions runs the city's programs; check its site for waiting-list status.
| Site | Best for | How to use it in Fort Worth | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment List | Starting your search | Set your budget and commute, then compare matches | Free |
| Zillow | Different types of rentals | Browse apartments, condos and houses | Free to browse; $35 shared application |
| Kaleno | Hands-off, AI-guided search | Describe what you want in plain language; it finds listings, contacts leasing teams and books tours | Free |
| Sunny | Cash back when you sign | Check each listing's cash back before you sign | Free |
| Apartments.com | Listings from large property managers | Scroll past the paid ads, then filter | Free |
| HotPads | Map-based searches | Search along the highway you'd commute on | Free |
| Zumper | New-listing alerts | Set alerts for your area and budget | Free |
| Smart City, Stake | Guided local search with tours | Give your budget; ask which properties it covers | Free to renters, per both services |
| Fort Worth Housing Solutions | Public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers | Check for a waiting-list opening, then apply | Free |
Features and available apartments vary by market; platform information reviewed September 2026.
For a national comparison, see our guide to the best apartment search tools.
Apartment List asks about your budget, move date, commute and preferred amenities, then shortlists apartments that fit. You can set a hard budget cap, filter on a map, and get alerts when a building you're watching drops its price or posts a rent special, on the website or in the app. Use the map to compare an address in Fort Worth with one in Arlington or Dallas at the same rent.
Zillow carries apartments in managed buildings and owner-listed condos, townhomes and houses. Confirm a unit is still available before driving out. Zillow's shared application costs $35 and covers applications and screening at participating rentals for 30 days, according to Zillow's help center; not every landlord accepts it, so ask first.
Kaleno is an AI search agent built for apartment hunting. Instead of setting filters or taking a quiz, you describe what you're looking for in plain language, the way you'd say it out loud: a one-bedroom in the Near Southside with covered parking. Kaleno finds matching listings, contacts the leasing teams and books tours for you; you review what it turns up and make the decisions. If you're relocating to Fort Worth from out of town or working against a move-in date, that conversational format can be easier than criteria-based filtering.
Sunny is an apartment search that gives you cash back when you sign a lease on an eligible apartment and move in; each Fort Worth listing shows its amount. Payment comes through Venmo or a gift card after your move-in is confirmed and doesn't change the rent in your lease. Sunny also lists fees alongside rent. Read its eligibility rules before you contact a building; they cover how you first reach out and who's on the lease.
Apartments.com works with large property management companies, and its listings for their buildings carry floor plans and unit-level pricing. Paid ads appear first in its results, according to Apartments.com's help center, so scroll past them and use the filters, then confirm availability and charges with the property.
HotPads is part of Zillow Group and shows Zillow's listings on a map. The cities around Fort Worth sit along its highways: Arlington east on I-30, Hurst and North Richland Hills to the northeast off Loop 820, Keller and the Alliance area north on I-35W, and Burleson south on I-35W. If your job is in Dallas, the Trinity Railway Express runs between the two downtowns. Draw your search area along the road you'd commute on, then check the drive from a specific address at the hour you'd make it.
Set Zumper alerts for rentals matching your area and budget. An alert gives you another way to spot a listing; confirm its price and availability with the property.
Smart City Locating is a free service whose licensed agents build a list from your wants, needs and dealbreakers and can also set up your utilities, wifi and renters insurance when you move. Stake, formerly UMoveFree, covers Dallas-Fort Worth and pays up to $200 cash back on a lease signed through it. Both say the apartment community pays them a fee when you sign, so ask each one whether its list is limited to communities that pay it, and keep your own search running alongside.
Fort Worth Housing Solutions runs public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program for the city. It fills its voucher waiting list by lottery when the list opens, so check its website to see whether the list is taking applications. When it's closed, the agency suggests contacting its affordable communities directly to ask whether you qualify for income-based rent.
According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, median rent in Fort Worth is $1,336 a month. Rents fell 1.7% from September 2025 and 0.2% from August 2026. The national median in the same release was $1,388, down 0.4% from a year earlier, which puts Fort Worth $52 below it. Dallas's median in the same release was $1,324, $12 below Fort Worth's; its one-bedroom median was $1,209, $68 above Fort Worth's. Our Dallas guide covers that side of the metro.
| Fort Worth apartment size | Median monthly rent, September 2026 |
|---|---|
| One bedroom | $1,141 |
| Two bedrooms | $1,317 |
Source: Apartment List Rent Index, Fort Worth city, October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Each median describes its own set of apartments.
At the $1,336 citywide median from Apartment List's October 2026 report, a household paying that full monthly rent would need about $53,400 a year in gross income for rent to equal 30% of income. Against the $1,141 one-bedroom median from the same release, about $45,600. These rent-only calculations are illustrations, not income requirements for a particular listing. HUD's affordability measure also accounts for utilities. Put a specific apartment's asking rent into the Apartment List rent calculator, and see our Fort Worth cost of living guide for expenses beyond rent.
Ask who pays for electricity. Fort Worth is in the part of Texas where you pick your own electricity plan, and Oncor's delivery charge is added to whichever plan you choose. Our Fort Worth cost of living guide estimates about $124 to $149 a month at 1,000 kWh on a 12-month fixed plan before taxes, as of August 2026, and says bills run higher in summer. Some buildings bill electricity through the property instead. Ask which a listing does and what a unit that size cost last summer. If you're setting up your own account, compare plans on Power to Choose, the Public Utility Commission of Texas's comparison site.
Ask for the tenant selection criteria before you pay an application fee. Texas law requires a landlord to make its written selection criteria available when it gives you an application, including what it can deny you for: criminal history, rental history, current income, credit history, or an inaccurate or incomplete application. Read them against your own record before you pay. If you're rejected and the landlord never made them available, it has to refund your application fee and any application deposit.
Give your forwarding address in writing when you move out. Under Texas law, a landlord has 30 days after you move out to refund your deposit or send a written description and itemized list of any deductions, but it doesn't owe you either until it has your forwarding address in writing. Hand it over with the keys and keep a copy. A landlord can't keep any of your deposit for normal wear and tear. If your lease makes the refund conditional on advance notice of your move-out date, that condition counts only if it's underlined or in bold in the lease. The lease sets the deposit amount.
Apartment List is the best place to start a Fort Worth search. It's free, and it builds a shortlist from your budget cap, commute and must-haves. Cross-check Zillow for houses and owner-listed homes, and check Sunny for cash back on apartments you're considering. If you'd rather have someone build the list for you, Fort Worth's apartment locators are free to renters.
Apartment List, Zillow, Apartments.com, Zumper and HotPads all offer mobile apps with saved searches and alerts. Apartment List's app matches on your budget, commute and amenities and alerts you to price drops and rent specials on saved listings; Zumper's sends alerts as new listings post; HotPads' opens on a map. Confirm price and availability with the property before you tour.
For one- and two-bedrooms, Fort Worth's medians are lower. In the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, Fort Worth's one-bedroom median was $1,141, compared with $1,209 in Dallas, and its two-bedroom median is $1,317, compared with $1,432. Across all sizes the two cities sit within $12 of each other, at $1,336 and $1,324. Compare listings for the size you need on both sides, and factor in the drive.
At the two in this guide, yes. Smart City Locating says its service is free and the apartment complex pays it a commission when you sign, and Stake says it's free, is paid a referral fee by the property, and shares part of that fee with you as up to $200 cash back. Ask whether a locator's list is limited to communities that pay it, and if you go with Stake, list it as your locator on the application so the cash back pays out.
The Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index reports a median rent of $1,336 per month for Fort Worth. Its one-bedroom median is $1,141 and its two-bedroom median is $1,317.
Down year over year, and roughly flat month over month. According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, Fort Worth's median rent is $1,336 a month, down 1.7% from September 2025 and down 0.2% from August 2026. Since January, rents in the city have risen 1.8%. Over the same year the national median fell 0.4%.
Using the $1,336 Fort Worth citywide median from the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, rent would equal 30% of about $53,400 in annual gross household income. Against the $1,141 one-bedroom median, about $45,600. Those are rent-only illustrations, not a property's qualification rule. Check the rent on the listing you want, your electricity plan, and the property's own application requirements.
Apartment List can build a shortlist using your budget, commute and amenities, and its map lets you compare Fort Worth neighborhoods and nearby cities. The service is free for renters.
Kaleno is an AI search agent built for apartment hunting. You describe what you're looking for in plain language, and it finds listings, contacts leasing teams and books tours, with no filters to set up. Review what it finds alongside other options in the areas you're considering.
No. Under Texas law, a city can adopt rent control only if it finds a housing emergency exists because of a disaster and the governor approves the ordinance. Your lease sets what happens to your rent at renewal, so read its renewal and notice terms before you sign.
Public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers run through Fort Worth Housing Solutions, which fills its voucher waiting list by lottery when it opens; check the agency's website to see whether the list is taking applications. When it's closed, the agency suggests contacting its affordable communities directly about income-based rent. For income-restricted apartments elsewhere, ask a property's leasing office whether it has income-restricted units.
Rent and rent-change figures: Apartment List Rent Index, Fort Worth city, Dallas city and national, October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Electricity estimate: Apartment List's Fort Worth cost of living guide, August 2026, citing Oncor delivery rates. Texas rental rules, 2025 Texas Statutes: tenant selection criteria (Property Code § 92.3515), security deposit refund (§ 92.103), deductions and itemization (§ 92.104) and forwarding address (§ 92.107), and rent control (Local Government Code § 214.902). Platform fees and sort order: Zillow's help center and Apartments.com's help center. Cash back terms: Sunny. Locator terms: Smart City Locating and Stake. Housing resources: Fort Worth Housing Solutions and Power to Choose. Platform features reviewed September 2026; availability and eligibility vary by property.
In unit laundry, Patio / balcony, Hardwood floors, Pet friendly, Garage, Recently renovated + more
In unit laundry, Granite counters, Hardwood floors, Dishwasher, Pet friendly, Stainless steel + more
