Renters in Houston may have the luxury of spending less than in other major metropolitan cities, but a Rice University study says it’s not exactly the flex it used to be.
Researchers with the Kinder Institute for Urban Research found Houston had the second-largest share of “cost-burdened” renters among the 10 largest U.S. cities in 2024. That means they spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing. The analysis only covers the city of Houston, not the rest of Harris County or surrounding counties.
About 293,000 Houston renters-or roughly 55 percent of those included in the analysis-fell into that category. And that’s where Houston’s reputation for affordability gets complicated.
Median rent in Houston was about $1,400 per month, the second-lowest among the country’s 10 largest cities, according to the study. But Houston renters also had the lowest median household income at roughly $48,100. Renters in several other major cities earned at least $10,000 more.
In comparison, New York City renters paid a median $1,811 per month in 2024, while Los Angeles renters paid $1,958. But only 49.3 percent of New York renters were considered cost-burdened, compared with Houston’s 55.5 percent. Los Angeles was the only city with a higher rate than Houston at 56.3 percent, according to the Kinder Institute’s analysis of Census estimates.
“There are a lot of advantages that we have in Houston, but that obscures the fact that we are doing really poorly for the poor, and increasingly for the middle class,” said Michelle Smirnova, director of the Kinder Institute’s Center for Housing and Neighborhoods, in the study.
The problem also appears to be getting worse. Houston’s share of cost-burdened renters increased from 50.9 percent in 2022 to 55.5 percent in 2024. During the latter year, renters’ median household income fell by $2,600 while median rent for a two-bedroom apartment increased about $26 per month.
More Houstonians are renting, too. The Kinder Institute found the city’s renter population jumped by about 90,000 people in 2024 compared with the previous year, while the number of homeowners fell by nearly 13,500.
That’s consistent with a rental market Chron has been watching throughout 2026. Houston-area rental home activity hit record levels this spring as affordability concerns and uncertainty surrounding homeownership kept more residents renting (or in some cases, living with their parents).
For Smirnova, Houston’s relatively cheap sticker price only tells part of the story.
“Houston attracts people for oil and gas and healthcare, and it’s attractive and affordable to people at the higher income strata,” she said. “But we are such an unequal city that the experience of people at the bottom is dire, and increasingly there is no middle.”
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This article originally published at Houston rent is hundreds less than NYC. Renters still can’t afford it.