Nearly 1 in 5 Residents Would Consider Leaving Texas Over Housing Costs

Rising housing costs have nearly one in five Texans thinking about leaving the state, according to a new survey of 1,100 residents by the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers. Another 14% said they would consider moving to a cheaper part of Texas. A slim majority, about 55%, said they would not leave the state at all.

Renters, who made up 32% of the respondents, are feeling it hardest. About 75% reported their housing costs rose over the past year, and 57% of those renters said they cut back on daily expenses such as groceries to keep up.

Renters and homeowners see the problem differently

The survey asked Texans whether housing affordability is improving or deteriorating. Renters were considerably more pessimistic than homeowners.

Source: Texas Affordable Housing Survey, Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers.

The burden behind the numbers

The group reports that about 45% of the state's 4.2 million renter households spend more than 30% of their income on housing, the federal threshold for being cost burdened. Among extremely low-income renters, more than 80% spend over half their income on housing.

That frustration extends to the statehouse. A 56% majority of Texans, and 66% of renters, said state officials are doing too little on housing affordability, and nearly a third said it should be a top priority for elected officials. Respondents skewed middle and working class, at 43% and 28% respectively.

"We now have some data that actually says what we've been talking about," said Roger Arriaga, executive director of the association, which focuses on multifamily rental housing for residents earning below the area median income.

The renter-to-homeowner pipeline

According to the Dallas Morning News, last year the legislature took up housing affordability, but the focus landed mostly on homeownership and single-family housing, said Naomi Bludworth, the group's deputy executive director.

"If the governor or the legislators really want to get people into being homeowners, then they need to turn their focus to serving the people who are in a rental state," Bludworth said. "That particular area is not getting any better."

Arriaga said the shortage has stretched the gap between renting and buying. "Families that would otherwise be first-time homebuyers are being further and further distanced from that opportunity," he said. "Add on the costs of transportation, education and healthcare, and the families that would have been moving into single-family homes years ago are still having to rent because there's just not an easy path to get there."

Does moving actually save money?

Arriaga suggested priced-out Texans might look to Louisiana, Oklahoma, or New Mexico, or simply move from Dallas to a cheaper metro. RentDataNow's figures show how much each of those moves is actually worth. Texas has a typical rent of about $1,586 a month statewide.

Only Oklahoma delivers a substantial discount, about $241 a month or roughly $2,900 a year. New Mexico is close to a wash at $37. The better in-state option may be simpler: moving from Dallas, at about $1,618, to San Antonio, at about $1,382, saves roughly $236 a month without leaving Texas, more than a move to either New Mexico or Louisiana would.

Measured against their own long-run trends, rents across much of Texas have actually cooled after the state's apartment-building boom, as we covered in our look at the Texas rental market. Affordability is a question of rent against income, though, and that is where the strain in this survey shows up.

What the group is asking for

The association is pushing to streamline regulations so affordable projects stay viable, and for more funding, incentives, and tax exemptions. Arriaga said subsidy requirements have driven costs up sharply.

"The bar is so high for affordable housing developments, the costs are through the roof, even beyond a regular market-rate development that doesn't get any subsidy," he said, adding that fewer are being built and those that are must be smaller. A majority of respondents also backed expanding first-time homebuyer programs and offering help to essential workers such as teachers, police officers, EMTs, firefighters, and veterans.

Sources

• The Dallas Morning News, "Rising housing costs are driving some Texans to look elsewhere"

• Texas Affordable Housing Survey, Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers

• RentDataNow Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico rent data (Zillow Observed Rent Index, June 2026)