Texas on Top

New Zillow study crowns Texas homes the most valuable in the country

Just making up our share of housing values.

Photo courtesy of AmCap

If it seems like home values in Texas are soaring, that's because, well, they are. Real estate site Zillow confirmed in a new study that Texas added more housing value than any other state in 2019, thanks in large part to a slowdown across much of California.

The Lone Star State grew its total housing by a whopping $89 billion in 2019, the most in the country. California, by comparison, came in second at $77 billion, with Florida ($69 billion), Pennsylvania ($47 billion), and Washington ($45 billion) rounding out the top five.

The total value of the U.S. housing market right now is $33.6 trillion, nearly as much as the GDP of the U.S. ($20.5 trillion) and China ($13.6 trillion) combined. That's up 3.4 percent ($1.1 trillion) from a year ago and 51 percent ($11.3 trillion) from the start of the decade.

On a closer level, however, there are two Texas cities that made huge contributions to these numbers. Dallas-Fort Worth was one of five that added the most to the U.S. housing stock ($23 billion) — along with Washington, D.C. ($38 billion); Phoenix ($30 billion); Seattle ($30 billion); and Los Angeles ($29 billion) — while Austin's new-home surge mirrored that of Charlotte's for an impressive boost in value.

Austin is also third in Texas with a housing market worth $252 billion. In the 2010s, its total housing value grew $141 billion but slowed down significantly in 2019, growing only $22 billion.

The story is similar throughout Texas. San Antonio grew $70 billion from a decade ago, including $9 billion in 2019, which makes up 0.5 percent of the nation's total. The city's total housing market worth is now $161 billion.

Houston growing $20 billion now compared to $221 billion in the 2010s, for a total market share of 0.7 percent. In total, Houston homes are currently worth a total of $481 billion.

It's not a surprise where the most valuable homes in America are located. New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco markets are all worth more than $1 trillion. Despite being worth $3.2 trillion, New York actually lost value last year, while at $2.5 trillion, Los Angeles added the most value over the full decade.

California lives up to its Golden State nickname, making up a whopping 21.2 percent of the nation's housing value with 12 percent of the population. To put that into context, the next most populous state, Texas, makes up 8.8 percent of the U.S. population, but only 5.9 percent of the country's housing value.

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Rent check

Here's how San Antonio rent prices compare to other U.S. cities in 2025

Photo by Trac Vu on Unsplash

San Antonio rents rank 8th lowest in North America for 2025.

A new cost-of-living index highlights how San Antonio's rent prices rank among the rest of the country's, and how they stack up against other major cities in Texas.

Numbeo’s cost-of-living index for 2025 shows the rent index for San Antonio sits at 34.6, putting it in 42nd place among 52 major cities in North America (or 10th cheapest). It's also the second least expensive in the United States, behind Tucson, Arizona.

In Texas, San Antonio falls well below the rent indexes for Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

The rent index in New York City, which tops the list, is 100. As Numbeo explains, the rent index estimates the cost of renting an apartment in a city compared with New York City. If the rent index is 50, for example, this suggests the average rent in that city is 50 percent below the average rent in New York City.

Around Texas, the rent index is:

50.1 in Austin
46.2 in Dallas
39.8 in Houston
34.6 in San Antonio

San Antonio renters aren't the only ones getting a break, even if other markets are priced higher. A new report from Apartment List says 2024 marked the second straight year that the national median rent ended the year lower than it started.

“Rent increases are currently being moderated by a robust construction pipeline that delivered a decades-high number of new apartment units in 2024. While the supply boom may have peaked in 2024, there is considerable runway still to go in 2025,” says Apartment List.

Cost of living
While Austin holds the top Texas spot on Numbeo’s rent index, Dallas ranks first in the Lone Star State and 24th in North America on the overall cost-of-living index, landing at 65.8. As with the rent index, the cost-of-living index compares the cost of living in New York City (which sits at 100) with the cost of living in another city. Among Texas cities, Austin is at 61.7, Houston at 60.6, and San Antonio at 58.8.

Numbeo’s cost-of-living index takes into account the cost of items like groceries, restaurant meals, transportation, and utilities. The index excludes rent.

When rent is added to the cost-of-living index, Dallas grabs the No. 21 spot in North America (57.1), one notch above Austin (56.6). Houston ranks 35th (51.4) and San Antonio ranks 42nd (34.6).

Restaurant index
In contrast to its showing on the rent and cost-of-living indexes, Houston outranks Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio on Numbeo’s restaurant index. This index compares the prices of meals and drinks at restaurants and bars to those in New York City.

Houston sits at No. 25 on the restaurant index, at 68.9. Dallas comes in at No. 32 (67.1), Austin at No. 34 (66.6), and San Antonio at No. 36 (65.2).

The National Restaurant Association reported in December that menu prices in the U.S. had risen 3.6 percent in the past 12 months, outpacing gains in grocery prices and the federal government’s overall Consumer Price Index. Fortunately for diners, that was the smallest 12-month increase in menu prices since August 2020, according to the association.

Toast, which provides a cloud-based restaurant management system, says the higher menu prices reflect higher food prices.

“Food prices have been increasing due to inflation, labor expenses, fuel costs, and supply chain disruptions, all of which impact restaurant profitability, Toast says. “While raising menu prices is one option to combat rising food costs, some restaurants have introduced service charges and simplified menus to avoid passing all costs onto customers.”

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