West Texas Rental Market is the Most Affordable in the Nation

West Texas has become the best place to afford to rent an apartment or house during the month of July 2021.

According to the Midland Reporter-Telegram, the only place in West Texas that is not on the affordable list is El Paso.

The website Dwellsy compares average rent price and median household income to come up with their numbers and Midland came in the cheapest with average rent being $879 and an average median household income of $82,650 to come up with a 12.8% ranking putting it at the lowest in the country.

Midland ranked ahead of Auburn, New York at 13.3%, and Rochester, Minnesota at 13.8%.

In West Texas, Amarillo was second at 15.6%, Odessa at 16.0%, Lubbock at 18.7%, and Abilene rounded out the top 5 at 20.0%.

Amarillo also ranked 22nd nationwide, Odessa was 31st, Lubbock 73rd, and Abilene ranked 99th nationwide.

The most expensive place to live in West Texas was El Paso at 27.6%, nationwide it was Miami, Florida at 45.2%.

All of these numbers were for the month of July 2021.

This is a definite turnaround from just a few years ago when Midland and Odessa were renting out one bedroom apartments for $1500-$2500 a month, now rent in the area is running $500-$1000 a month for a one bedroom apartment.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a lot to do with the decrease in rent since a lot of companies were doing mass layoffs when the pandemic was in full swing.

Now most of the jobs are back, but with new rental property companies coming in and causing competition for the main apartment corporations that were jacking up rent and making rent more affordable, it looks like the trend of Midland/Odessa being an affordable place to live is back.

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