Rents are 12% below what Temple'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 $1,381 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: September 25, 2026
What the numbers show
January. Asking rents in Temple usually run 0.6% below trend in January and 0.7% above it in August, about $18 a month apart at today's median. Based on 11 years of data.
Rent in Temple is 1.3% below its high of $1,399 in June 2023, at $1,381 as of August 2026.
Rent in Temple changed +0.3% over the year to August 2026. Across the 222 Texas cities Zillow tracks, the typical change was +0.8%.
From 2019 to 2024, rent in Temple rose 35.5% while median household income rose 24.3% ($54,873 to $68,204). Rent outpaced income.
Rent in Temple is 33.4% higher than in March 2020. Across the US, rent is up 36.8% over the same stretch.
Rent rose in 4 of the last 12 months.
30% of the median household income ($68,204) is $1,705 a month. That covers HUD's Fair Market Rent for up to a 2-bedroom ($1,227); a 3-bedroom is $1,710.
The priciest of 3 ZIP codes in Temple, 76502 ($1,572/mo), costs 28% more than the cheapest, 76504 ($1,231/mo).
From Zillow's monthly rent index (ZORI) for Temple. 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
Temple, TX is roughly split between renters and owners, has a large share of families with children, 30.6% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates
How Temple, TX has changed in 5 years
Rent in Temple, TX has climbed 17.8% since 2021, going from about $1,172 per month to roughly $1,381 today. Median household income grew from $56,058 to $68,204 between 2021 and 2024, a 21.7% shift. Income growth outran rent by about 3.9 percentage points, easing the affordability math somewhat compared with 2021. Headcount in the area went from 80,793 to 89,602 between 2021 and 2024, a 10.9% change. About 47.7% of households rent today, against 46.1% in 2021. Taken together, the five-year picture in Temple, 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 $1,381/mo, how Temple rent compares to typical pay (30% rule).
Temple rent by bedroom count
Median rent for each apartment size in Temple. Click any size for full breakdown.
Tips for renters in Temple
Last updated: September 25, 2026
The median rent in Temple is $1,381/mo as of September 2026. A studio apartment averages $967/mo while a 2-bedroom runs $1,227/mo. One-bedroom apartments average $970/mo and 3-bedroom units go for $1,710/mo.
At 24% of local median household income ($68,204/yr), Temple ranks as affordable compared to the national benchmark of 30%. Rents have increased 0.3% over the past year.
Frequently asked questions
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How does Temple rent compare to other cities in Texas?
At $1,381/mo, rent takes ~24% of Temple's median household income ($68,204/yr). The standard benchmark is 30%.
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Estimated from ZIP-level data
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