Cost of Living in Houston, TX (2026): What Renters Should Budget

Updated October 2026. Rent figures reflect September 2026 estimates from Apartment List's October report.

Houston's median rent is $1,269, down 2.33% from a year earlier, per the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index. The country's fourth-largest city, per the Census Bureau's 2024 estimate, rents below both Dallas ($1,324) and Austin ($1,326) city for city; among Texas's biggest cities only San Antonio, at $1,121, comes in lower.

A renter living alone in a median one-bedroom should plan on about $1,571 to $1,648 a month for rent, electricity, and groceries, before water, a car, and anything else. Houston is a car-first city, so for most renters the second-biggest cost after rent is a car, and summer air conditioning pushes the electric bill past the mild-month figure in that total.

Houston Cost of Living at a Glance

Source for rent rows: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Full method and sources are in the appendix.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering. Add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with listing-specific charges and your expected usage.

What Is the Median Rent in Houston in 2026?

A median one-bedroom in Houston rents for $1,120 and a two-bedroom for $1,327, per the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index. The all-sizes city median is $1,269.

Apartment List reports median rent, not a simple average. The median is the market midpoint, so it's less swayed than an average by a handful of very expensive listings. Apartment List's methodology frames it as the median rent an apartment searcher could expect across the full rental market, not only what's advertised right now.

Houston's median rent fell 2.33% over the 12 months through September 2026, the 18th-largest decline among the 100 largest U.S. cities, and was unchanged in September. That's a citywide midpoint, so don't treat the decline as a discount on any one apartment. Choose your size first, then compare current listings in the neighborhoods you want.

How Does Houston Rent Compare With Dallas and Austin?

Houston runs below both Dallas and Austin on the all-sizes median: Apartment List's October 2026 report puts Houston at $1,269, Dallas at $1,324, and Austin at $1,326. San Antonio, the state's second-largest city, is cheaper than all three at $1,121. The Apartment List Renter Migration Report shows Dallas is the metro Houston renters most often search when they move, in both directions, so it's the comparison that matters most.

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. City-level medians at the same grain, not total-cost comparisons.

Dallas's all-sizes median is $55 higher than Houston's and Austin's $57 higher; on one-bedrooms the gaps are $89 and $54. Before you treat either as savings, compare listings for the same size and add what you'd spend on a car in each city. Weighing Houston against Dallas specifically? The Dallas cost-of-living guide covers the other side of that move.

What Income Corresponds to Houston Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Using the $1,120 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $44,800 in annual gross income.

Each income figure is the monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30. The shared row assumes an equal split of the two-bedroom median between two renters. Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates.

The 30% figure is the share of gross income the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers affordable, and HUD counts utilities inside it where this table does not, so add the electricity figure above to get closer to a housing budget. Use gross income here; the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for take-home pay, so its answer will differ.

Treat these as planning benchmarks, not salary requirements or screening rules. Many renter budgets don't fit beneath 30%: Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households, about 22.2 million, spent more than that on rent in 2024, a national figure rather than a Houston one. Our guide to the 30% rule and how much to spend on rent walks through when to flex it.

Texas has no state income tax, so a $44,800 salary here isn't reduced by a state wage tax the way the same salary would be in a state that levies one. Texas offsets that with higher property and sales taxes.

How Do You Know if You Can Afford a Houston Apartment?

Run the same math on the listing's rent rather than the city median. Divide the advertised rent, or your share of a split or a rented room, by 0.30 and multiply by 12 to see the income it implies. Then add electricity, the car, and the other costs your household carries, ask what rent includes and how any shared bills are divided, and compare that fuller estimate against your income, debts, and savings goals before applying. If you'll share rent, confirm how the property weighs co-applicants, since qualification rules vary. The Rent Calculator runs it against your actual income, and our guide to finding an apartment in your budget walks through the rest.

What Should You Budget for Beyond Rent in Houston?

Price the costs that apply to you, then confirm which charges the building bills separately. Houston is a car-first city, so for most renters the second-biggest cost after rent is a car. Payment, insurance, fuel, and parking vary too much from one household to the next to estimate here.

How Much Does Electricity Cost in Houston?

Budget around $121 to $149 a month at 1,000 kWh, before taxes, and expect summer to run higher. Houston is a deregulated market, so you pick the company that sells you power on the state's Power to Choose marketplace, and the rate you choose sets most of the bill. CenterPoint Energy delivers it and collects about $69 of that total on every plan, a regulated charge that rose from about $55 on September 1, 2026 and resets each March 1 and September 1. When you compare plans, use the average price at 1,000 kWh printed on each one's Electricity Facts Label; it already includes CenterPoint's charge, and on 12-month fixed plans with no usage conditions it runs roughly 12 to 15 cents per kilowatt-hour. Power to Choose lists plans under 10 cents, but those are mostly bill-credit plans that only pay off at one exact usage level, so budget against a plain fixed plan.

1,000 kWh is a mild month here. Summer air conditioning pushes a Houston apartment past 1,200 to 1,500 kWh, where the same plans run roughly $180 to $225 before taxes, so budget for August and ask the landlord for a recent summer bill from a similar unit.

How Much Are Water and Sewer Bills in Houston?

There is no single renter estimate, because buildings charge for water and sewer in different ways: some fold them into rent, some bill you directly, and some divide one building bill across units. Ask each landlord which applies, how any shared bill is split, and what comparable apartments paid recently.

Who sets the rate also depends on your address. A Houston postal address doesn't mean City of Houston water: many area apartments sit inside a municipal utility district (MUD) or private district, especially newer complexes in Katy, Cypress, and north and west Harris County, and those districts set their own rates and often bill sewer and trash as a flat monthly fee. Houston Water raised City of Houston rates about 7.87% effective April 1, 2026, but that applies only if your apartment is on a City of Houston account. Check which provider is printed on the bill before assuming a rate.

How Much Is Public Transit in Houston?

METRO charges $1.25 for a local bus, METRORail, or curb2curb ride, with free transfers for up to three hours. There is no monthly pass; METRO replaced it with a pay-as-you-go fare card and a 1-for-10 loyalty program that gives one free ride after every ten paid, so a daily round-trip commuter making about 44 rides a month pays roughly $55, closer to $50 after loyalty credits. Park & Ride express routes run $2.00 to $4.50 by zone. Check that a route and schedule fit your commute before you count on transit replacing the car.

How Much Should You Budget for Groceries in Houston?

The national USDA Low-Cost plan puts groceries for one adult at about $330 to $379 a month, as of the May 2026 report. That's a national benchmark for food you cook at home, not a Houston price, so treat it as a starting point and adjust for your household and how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Houston Budgets Compare?

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. The shared column splits one two-bedroom and one electric bill between two renters and uses the USDA two-adult grocery plan. Water, the car, transit, and other costs are excluded; see the appendix.

Splitting a two-bedroom equally costs about $456 a month less per renter in rent than a one-bedroom on your own, roughly $5,472 a year, and $521 to $584 less once you count the shared power bill. The $207 step from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom is about 18.5% here, close to the 19.5% typical across the 50 largest U.S. cities (Apartment List, October 2026 report), so the savings come from the split itself rather than from an unusually cheap second bedroom.

How Do You Find Lower Rent in Houston?

The citywide median is a starting point, not your ceiling, and the neighborhood moves the number more than waiting out the market. The cheapest neighborhoods in Houston guide ranks places to start if price is driving your search, the best Houston neighborhoods guide covers lifestyle fit, and the safest Houston neighborhoods guide adds published safety data to the same search.

Once you've narrowed the area, the Apartment List Rent Calculator shows what rent fits your income, and Rate My Rent checks whether a listing you're already considering is priced fairly for its market.

What Should You Check Before Applying for a Houston Apartment?

An application fee is an up-front, usually non-refundable charge for screening your application, separate from the refundable security deposit and from any one-time move-in fee, so run the numbers before you pay one. Add up the listing's rent and its required recurring charges, confirm what rent includes and how shared bills are calculated, and ask which water provider is on the bill. The estimate you build from a listing's rent and its charges is specific to that one apartment, not a citywide total, and it is the number that should drive the decision.

If you're moving in from elsewhere, the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares your current city against Houston using after-tax income. Then browse Houston apartments and run the check on real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Rent figures come from the Apartment List Rent Estimates, October 2026 release, with data as of September 2026, built on the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology, a same-unit, repeat-transaction analysis.

Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

The $1,571 to $1,648 monthly planning total combines the median one-bedroom rent with the electricity and grocery estimates from the At-a-Glance table. Electricity is a range because the supply rate is shopped; it is the Electricity Facts Label average price at 1,000 kWh, which includes CenterPoint's delivery charge, assumes a mild month, and sits before taxes, so a summer bill runs higher. The total excludes water, sewer, trash, the car, transit, internet, insurance, parking, and anything discretionary.

Frequently Asked Questions About Houston Rent and Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Houston?

Apartment List reports median rent, not a simple average. The median is less affected by unusually expensive listings that can pull an average upward. The one-bedroom median is $1,120 and the two-bedroom median is $1,327, for an all-sizes city median of $1,269 as of September 2026.

Is Houston Affordable for Renters?

Houston runs below both Dallas and Austin by median rent, though San Antonio is cheaper than all three. Whether it's affordable for you depends on your income and the size you need. Under a rent-only 30% benchmark, a $1,120 one-bedroom lines up with about $44,800 in annual gross income, and a $1,327 two-bedroom with about $53,080. That's a planning benchmark, not an approval standard, and it doesn't include utilities and other living costs. Houston's all-sizes median of $1,269 sits $119 below the national median of $1,388 as of September 2026.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Houston?

Houston doesn't have one required renter salary. Using Apartment List's September 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $1,120, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $44,800 in annual gross income, and the $1,327 two-bedroom to about $53,080, within the 30% of gross income HUD treats as affordable. Landlords set their own qualification rules, and separately paid costs also affect what works for your budget.

How Much Are Utilities in Houston?

It depends on the building and the power plan you choose, since Houston is deregulated. At 1,000 kWh a typical electric bill runs about $121 to $149 before taxes on a 12-month fixed plan, including CenterPoint's $69 delivery charge, and summer AC pushes it past $180. Water and sewer may be included in rent or billed separately, and whether the rate-setter is the City of Houston or a suburban MUD depends on your address, so confirm with each building what rent covers.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It's a planning benchmark, not a rule or an approval standard. Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households, about 22.2 million, spent more than 30% of income on rent in 2024, and 26.1% were severely cost-burdened, spending more than half their income on housing, based on 2024 ACS data. Those are national figures, not Houston-specific. Use the 30% figure to see what a given rent leaves for everything else, then decide what fits.

Do You Need a Car in Houston?

For most renters, yes. Houston is a car-dependent, sprawling metro, and the car (payment, insurance, fuel, and parking) is one of the biggest costs to price before you sign a lease. METRO covers parts of the city at $1.25 a local ride with a 1-for-10 loyalty discount and no monthly pass. Confirm a route fits your commute before relying on it.

How Do Solo and Shared Houston Budgets Compare?

Using the medians from the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, a two-bedroom costs about $664 per renter if two people split the rent equally, against $1,120 for a one-bedroom on your own, a difference of roughly $456 a month before utilities and fees. With a mild-month electric bill and groceries added, a solo renter is looking at about $1,571 to $1,648 a month and each roommate at about $1,050 to $1,064, before the car, water, and fees. That $664 share corresponds to about $26,560 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark.