Texas Renters Spend 30 Cents of Every Dollar on Housing
Census data shows median household income reached $82,625 in 2025, yet rising costs for homeowners with mortgages and persistent rent burdens continue to squeeze household budgets across the state.
By Yara Nasser ·
Texas households faced heavy housing expenses in 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday.
The state’s median household income rose slightly to $82,625. This figure remains below the national median of $84,780. While income growth appeared in the Houston and San Antonio metro areas, it declined in the McAllen and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. Hispanic households posted the largest income increases. Black households also saw gains, with median incomes reaching $64,664. White households reported a median income of $92,479. Asian households earned a median of $122,370, a drop of 2.3% from the prior year.
Housing costs consumed a large share of family budgets. More than half of the state’s 4.3 million renters were cost-burdened. This group spent three dollars on housing for every ten dollars earned. Monthly rents stayed largely flat for these tenants. Homeowners with mortgages saw their housing costs rise. About 32% of this group was cost-burdened in 2025, a slight increase. The median property tax bill for mortgage-free homeowners fell by 4.2% from 2024 to 2025. Bills for homeowners with mortgages remained essentially flat. Lawmakers have allocated billions of dollars since 2020 to control property taxes.
Poverty metrics showed mixed results. Fewer children and total residents lived in poverty. However, the number of older Texans and families in poverty increased. Income inequality in Texas remains high, though it is lower than the national average.
The Census Bureau added new survey questions on solar panels and electric vehicles. Households in Travis County, home to a Tesla factory, were twice as likely to own an electric vehicle as the state average. Rural households owned solar panels at lower rates than urban areas. Still, more than 80,000 of the 2.3 million rural households reported having solar panels. Texas trailed the national solar adoption rate of 5.2%.
Texas continues to have the highest uninsured rate in the nation. The Census Bureau changed its health insurance survey questions, but the state maintained this ranking for over a decade.
