renter friendly

San Antonio neighbor leads U.S. in housing and cost of living, says report

San Marcos topped the list for its cost of living and housing, the report said.

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Texans looking for their next apartment or house to rent have many options to choose from, but only one city tops RentCafe's annual ranking of the cities with the best balance of housing and cost of living: San Marcos.

San Marcos ranked No. 55 overall in RentCafe's "Best Cities for Renters to Live in" report, but it came in No. 1 for the category that compares housing options and cost. The apartment rental marketplace annually compares 150 U.S. cities based on their quality of life, local economy, and more.

Charleston, South Carolina, maintained its position as the No. 1 best city for renters for the second consecutive year. Rounding out the top five top rental markets are Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2), Sarasota, Florida (No. 3), McKinney, Texas (No. 4), and Scottsdale, Arizona (No. 5).

Located halfway between Austin and San Antonio, San Marcos boasts the biggest apartments in Texas, with the average apartment size spanning 996 square feet. About 21 percent of all apartments in San Marcos were built within the last five years, the report found. Plus, the city's cost of living is 9.6 percent lower than the national average. These two metrics combined took the No. 1 spot of the whole report, meaning that renters in San Marcos are getting more for their money than anyone else on the list.

Like other cities that made the rankings, some other standout characteristics for San Marcos were its "small town feel" and its community-focused residents, according to RentCafe. No coincidence that it was also ranked one of the fastest growing college towns in 2023.

However, for whatever makes up for San Marcos' cost of living, the city loses in the "quality of life" category. RentCafe says San Marcos has the worst quality of life out of all U.S. cities, ranking No. 106, without much of an explanation why. The city also ranked toward the bottom of the rankings in the "local economy" category, landing at No. 122.

Meanwhile, San Antonio ranked the No. 65 best city for renters in 2024, tumbling from its former rank as No. 55 in 2023.

Here's how San Antonio performed in the study's three main categories out of all 150 cities:

No. 29 – Housing and cost of living rank
No. 40 – Quality of life rank
No. 124 – Local economy rank

San Antonio's cost of living has dropped 8.7 percent below the national average, RentCafe said, but only 15 percent of the city's apartments have been built within the last five years. The average size of an apartment in San Antonio is 867 square feet, which is 129 square feet smaller than San Marcos' average apartment size.

Other top cities for renters in Texas
The northern Dallas suburb of McKinney made its first appearance in RentCafe's study, claiming the No. 4 best rental market in the nation. Austin (No. 7) and its northern suburb Round Rock (No. 6) both held on to their positions among the top 10 best U.S. cities for renters for the second year in a row.

"When looking for the best place to rent in 2024, factors such as the size of apartments, employment or the quality of schools can really make a difference in the vetting process," the report said. "And while no city has everything, there are quite a few that come close and rank high for renters searching for options that better fit their wallets and lifestyle."

Here's how other Texas cities stacked up among the top 100 in RentCafe's report:

No. 17 – Plano (down from No. 2 in 2023)
No. 31 – Conroe (down from No. 9 in 2023)
No. 38 – Denton (down from No. 19 in 2023)
No. 52 – Midland (no data from 2023)
No. 53 – Fort Worth (down from No. 37 in 2023)
No. 57 – Dallas (down from No. 32 in 2023)
No. 58 – Lubbock (down from No. 43 in 2023)
No. 85 – Amarillo (no data from 2023)
No. 91 – Waco (unchanged from 2023)

RentCafe used data from their sister site Yardi Matrix to determine each city's ranking based on 20 metrics, including average apartment size, the cost of living and housing, the share of renter-occupied households, renter household median income growth, and more. Cities were chosen if they had an "apartment stock" of a minimum of 10,000 units, and any cities with lower apartment stocks were excluded.

The full report can be found on rentcafe.com.

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bang for your buck

San Antonio ZIP code is 4th most affordable place for renters in U.S.

Photo by Florian Schmid on Unsplash

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Trying to afford buying a home in San Antonio is difficult enough with current mortgage rates, and doubly so if you're already paying high rent on an apartment or a house. But there are six San Antonio ZIP codes where renters can get the most bang for their buck, according to a new study by financial services company CashNetUSA.

To find the most affordable ZIP codes for renters in the U.S., analysts compared median household incomes by ZIP code to the average annual rent costs in those areas using the Zillow Observed Rent Index. ZIP codes where the average annual rental constituted the lowest percentage of median household income were considered the "most affordable."

San Antonio's 78248 ZIP code specifically stood out as the No. 4 most affordable in the country, and the No. 1 most affordable in Texas. This area encompasses the north San Antonio neighborhoods of Inwood, Forests at Inwood, Oakwood, The Park at Deerfield, Canyon Creek Bluffs, Canyon Creek Village, Blanco Village, Deerfield, Cadillac Drive, and Churchill Estates.

According to the study's findings, the average monthly cost of a rental in 78248 comes out to $1,259.17, and the median annual income of a household in the area is $122,986. Analysts then calculated that the annual rent of a home in this ZIP code only takes up 12.29 percent of a household's median income, which is the fourth-lowest in the nation.

CashNetUSA found the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code for renters nationwide is 66224 in Leawood, Kansas, where annual rent only takes a 10.57 percent cut out of a household's median annual income.

Elsewhere in Texas, two Houston-area ZIP codes – 77401 and 77094 – ranked No. 9 and No. 12 nationally, while Allen's 75013 ZIP code fell two spots behind to claim the No. 14 spot.

The most affordable San Antonio-area ZIP codes for renters
CashNetUSA further unveiled the five most affordable ZIP codes across major U.S. cities, including in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.

Following 78248 (which took the No. 1 spot citywide) is 78261 (No. 2), which spans east of Highway 281, across Smithson Valley Road. Rent costs in this ZIP code averaged out to $1,698 per month, the report found.

Landing in the No. 3 spot is 78258, which includes Rogers Ranch, The Vineyard, Stone Oak, Summit, Hidden Canyon, and Big Springs neighborhoods. The report said average rent in the area comes out to $1,507 per month, which takes up 17.54 percent of a household's median annual income.

The remaining top two most affordable ZIP codes for San Antonio renters are located in 78259 (Encino Park, Encino Ranch, Cavalo Creek Estates, Northwood Hills, Summit at Bulverde Creek, Roseheart, Redland Woods) and 78260 in Timberwood Park, which is about 25 miles north of downtown San Antonio.

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