Rental Rumblings
New study reveals how much income San Antonians spend on rent

A new report from Apartment List delves into how rising San Antonio rents affect local renters. The apartment listing website analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data from 2005-2015 and found that a whopping 45.9 percent of San Antonio renters were cost-burdened in 2015, meaning they spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent. The median monthly rent was $926, while median monthly renter income was $3,175.
Believe it or not, that's below the 2015 national average of 50.9 percent. And while San Antonio has seen ups and downs in the past 10 years, the burden has actually decreased since 2005. Then, 47.7 percent of renters were cost-burdened; the median monthly renter income was $2,684 and the median monthly rent was $799.
Apartment List notes that San Antonio and the other Texas cities fared better than other cities in the U.S. thanks to strong income growth. "Texas metropolitan areas generally performed very well. Rental affordability has improved in [Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio] over the past decade, and the 2015 numbers are all well below the national average."
But we aren't out of the woods yet. "Despite the improvements, affordability continues to be a challenge for millions of renters. Even in relatively affordable metros, cost-burden rates are significantly higher than the nationwide average from 15 years ago."