Gen Z adults have proven to be huge fans of moving to Texas, and they have a special appreciation for San Antonio in particular. Still, the price of housing in Alamo City is taking a big bite out of their wallets.

A new housing cost analysis from RentCafe, published March 26, has revealed Gen Z adults living in San Antonio are likely to spend a total of $128,673 on rent by the time they are 30 years old.

While the initial amount seems shocking, it really means Gen Z San Antonians will spend an average of $1,340.34 on monthly rent from the age of 22-29 years old, based on the report's findings.

For comparison, millennials spent a bit less on rent during the same time period in their lives. The average rent cost for a millennial living in San Antonio came out to $112,500 by the time they were 30 years old. That amount can be extrapolated into a monthly rent cost of about $1,172 from the age of 22-29. This is only an average, so this doesn't factor in any rent price increases.

For the purpose of the study, RentCafe defined a Gen Z adult as a person who is born between 1996 and 2000. Millennials are defined as adults born between 1981 and 1996. The study examined the average amount of money each generation spent (or would spend) on renting versus owning, and the average total income earned during the same period. Data was calculated based on an eight-year period between the ages of 22 and 29 for each generation, and all costs and income were adjusted for the 2023 value of the U.S. dollar.

Homeownership costs for Gen Z adults living in San Antonio
RentCafe determined homeownership is also much further out of reach than renting for San Antonio-based Gen Z'ers. If a Gen Z adult (somehow) buys a house at age 22, they will have spent nearly $182,220 on homeownership costs by the time they're 30 years old (excluding the down payment).

These findings show the difference between renting versus owning for Gen Z'ers in the River City is $53,547.

Using the same method from earlier, it can be presumed a 22-year-old Gen Z homeowner would be spending nearly $1,900 a month on homeownership for the eight-year period until their 30th birthday. That includes the mortgage, fees, and insurance.

For additional context, San Antonio-based millennials hypothetically spent an even $167,000 on homeownership by the time they were 30. That breaks down to $1,739.58 monthly.

The difference between renting versus owning for millennials is $54,500, the report found.

Total household income earnings by age 30
By the time a San Antonio-residing Gen Z adult reaches their 30th birthday, RentCafe says, they will have earned a total household income of $458,400 for the eight-year period. This can be roughly calculated to about $57,300 in average annual income during that time.

Assuming a Gen Z adult rents for that entire period, they would be spending about 28 percent of their total household income on rent from age 22-29. If they own a home for the majority of their 20s, they would be spending nearly 40 percent of their total household income on homeownership.

Meanwhile, millennials living in San Antonio were fortunate to have a little more income than Gen Z'ers are making now. The report found that the average millennial San Antonian made $467,300 in total earnings by the time they reached age 30, or $8,900 more than Gen Z's total income. That would assume the millennial was making $58,412.50 a year while in their 20s.

That would make affording rent much easier on the older group. San Antonio-based millennials who only rented from the age of 22-29 spent about 24 percent of their total income on rent, while millennial homeowners spent nearly 36 percent of their total earnings on their housing costs.

The full report can be found on rentcafe.com.