Dallas trails nearby suburbs in square footage per rent dollar, as major projects break ground across the region
A $1,500 rent budget doesn’t stretch the same way across every corner of North Texas, and if you’re renting in Dallas proper, you’re getting less room than renters in several nearby suburbs, according to a new ranking from Rent Cafe.
The site’s 2026 breakdown of apartment space available for $1,500 a month across 200 U.S. cities put Dallas at 806 square feet. That’s enough to beat the national average of 703 square feet, but it lags behind a handful of DFW-area cities where the same monthly budget buys noticeably more room.
How Dallas Stacks Up Against Neighbors
Mesquite topped the local comparison, with $1,500 renting 988 square feet — nearly 200 square feet more than what’s available in Dallas. Arlington (927 square feet) and Garland (924 square feet) weren’t far behind, and both McKinney (885 square feet) and Irving (859 square feet) also outpaced Dallas.
Plano landed at 820 square feet, while Frisco came in at 798 square feet, just under the Dallas figure.
Zoomed out, Dallas ranked 103rd nationally out of the 200 cities Rent Cafe studied, and 21st out of 23 Texas cities included in the ranking.
New Apartment Projects Could Reshape The Math
Multiple large residential developments moving through the pipeline could add thousands of units to the region’s supply in the coming years, potentially shifting how far a renter’s dollar goes.
In Plano, StreetLights Residential unveiled plans for a 22-story residential tower alongside a set of townhomes on the former JCPenney corporate campus at 6501 Legacy Drive. The project is set to bring 261 apartment homes and three townhomes to the 100-acre site near Legacy West as that property continues its transition into a mixed-use hub.
Not far away in The Colony, JPI has broken ground on Jefferson Grandscape II, a 277-unit community going up along Nebraska Furniture Mart Drive at Grandscape. The $77.8 million project is backed by a partnership with Nebraska Furniture Mart and financing from QuadReal, adding to JPI’s growing list of DFW developments.
Frisco’s Firefly Park, a multi-billion-dollar development, is also in the mix. The project includes 420 residential units, anchored by Aurora, an 18-story luxury apartment tower billed as the “crown jewel” of the development.
For now, Dallas renters are paying a premium in square footage compared to much of the region. Whether that gap narrows will likely depend on how quickly projects like these come online, and how demand across the region responds as they do.
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