Rents are 11% below what Leander's 10-year trend predicts — a better deal than its own history suggests.
Rent by unit size
These are HUD Fair Market Rents, the payment standard for a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8). They often differ from the $1,897 market median above, and that is expected: FMR is the 40th percentile of standard-quality units and counts gross rent, so it includes essential utilities such as electricity, water, gas, sewer, and trash. The market median is asking rent, which usually excludes utilities. HUD sets FMR once a year; market rent here updates monthly.
Source: HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents. Read the methodology →
12-month history
Last updated: October 17, 2026
What the numbers show
December. Asking rents in Leander usually run 1.5% below trend in December and 1.3% above it in July, about $53 a month apart at today's median. Based on 11 years of data.
Rent in Leander is 5.6% below its high of $2,010 in March 2023, at $1,897 as of September 2026.
Rent in Leander changed +2.4% over the year to September 2026. Across the 224 Texas cities Zillow tracks, the typical change was +1.0%.
From 2019 to 2024, rent in Leander rose 25.3% while median household income rose 36.5% ($101,872 to $139,048). Income kept ahead of rent.
Rent in Leander is 19.7% higher than in March 2020. Across the US, rent is up 37.3% over the same stretch.
Rent has risen 5 months in a row, and rose in 8 of the last 12 months.
30% of the median household income ($139,048) is $3,476 a month. That covers HUD's Fair Market Rent for up to a 4-bedroom ($3,340).
Cedar Park, 6 miles away, rents for 10% less ($1,702/mo), about $2,300 a year in savings.
From Zillow's monthly rent index (ZORI) for Leander. The seasonal pattern compares Zillow’s seasonally adjusted and unadjusted series. Income is the Census median household income (5-year estimates). Fair Market Rents are HUD’s, which include utilities.
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Who lives here
Leander, TX is majority owner-occupied, has a large share of families with children, has a median income above the national average, 53.3% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates
How Leander, TX has changed in 5 years
Across the past five years, the going rent in Leander, TX has shifted from $1,699 to $1,897, up 11.7% since 2021. Median household income climbed from $117,090 to $139,048 between 2021 and 2024, a 18.8% shift. With wages climbing faster than rent over the same window, renters here have a bit more breathing room than they did five years back. Census counts show Leander, TX adding about 16,371 residents over the five-year window, up 28.4% on net. The renter share has risen from 23.2% to 26.6%, with owner-occupied housing accounting for the remainder. Bachelor's-degree-or-higher attainment moved from 45.4% to 53.3% across the same window. Taken together, the five-year picture in Leander, TX reflects how housing costs and the people paying them have evolved through a stretch that included a pandemic, a hot rental market, and a recent cooling phase.
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At $1,897/mo, how Leander rent compares to typical pay (30% rule).
Leander rent by bedroom count
Median rent for each apartment size in Leander. Click any size for full breakdown.
Tips for renters in Leander
Last updated: October 17, 2026
The median rent in Leander is $1,897/mo as of October 2026. A studio apartment averages $1,800/mo while a 2-bedroom runs $2,260/mo. One-bedroom apartments average $1,910/mo and 3-bedroom units go for $2,880/mo.
At 16% of local median household income ($139,048/yr), Leander ranks as affordable compared to the national benchmark of 30%. Rents have increased 2.4% over the past year.
Frequently asked questions
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At $1,897/mo, rent takes ~16% of Leander's median household income ($139,048/yr). The standard benchmark is 30%.
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