When it comes to any major city it is fair to say that the most popular option for living is to rent; whether that be a home, apartment, or a duplex. For many renting is a way of life. What happens when the rent begins to rise though? Not everyone can makeup the extra cost by budgeting differently. Sometimes the answer is to move, but what happens when the rent across the board is rising? That is exactly the situation facing Austin, Texas.
The cost of living in Austin has been rising over the past few years as an influx of new residents have moved in, drawn by a number of factors. One reason is comparably cheaper housing costs then other states and another reason being the increase in Tech jobs coming to the area with Austin earning the title “The Silicon Hills”. For instance, Apple announcing their new campus at the tail end of 2018 promising to bring in thousands of jobs, it has been steadily drawing in new residents. According to the Austin Chamber of Commerce the Austin metropolitan area has grown by roughly 152 people per day since 2010. To quote them, “The majority, 56.2%, of Austin’s growth since 2010 is attributable to net domestic migration. Net international migration accounts for another 12.3% of total change, and 30.4% is due to natural increase.” So while the natural cause of city growth (babies born every year) is a factor it is easy to see that migration is a steady constant factor.
This influx in new residents has had a large effect on the rent prices across the city. According to data collected by the site Rentjungle.com a two bedroom apartment in Austin Texas in 2011 on average cost $1,120 and in January 2020 it cost $1,699 on average. From 2019 to 2020 Austin also saw an average rent increase of roughly 3.23% across all apartment types year to year. According to apartmentguide.com the most expensive neighborhood to live in is Bouldin Creek with the average one bedroom apartment renting for $2,223 (in 2018). Bouldin Creek is located south of the river in downtown Austin. This is a common trend in cities where the rent costs more the closer you get to downtown. In Austin this sphere of high rent is growing and expanding farther from downtown, driving up the rent in more areas. For reference the cost of apartments in the north of Austin are increasing as well, though the average on as of 2018 was only $860. So rent can vary vastly across the city.
In comparison to the rest of Texas, Austin is considerably more expensive. Bestplaces.net rates the US cost of living at a flat 100 on their index and compares states and cities against that 100 rating. Texas as a whole is rated at 84.3 for the cost of housing, 15.7 points lower than the US average. Austin on the other hand is rated at 159.6. That is 59.6 points higher.
To bring things to a close, while Austin is known as a major Tech hub and is continually growing, it is at a cost that some people can’t pay. Rent. With the increase of rent many people currently living in Austin will find that they may have to alter their lifestyle or move to a new location to accommodate for the increase in rent costs. Austin is also facing a homeless crisis that can only get worse with the increase in rent year to year. So in short save your money, rent wisely, and be ready to see your rent increase.
For those interested here all the sites I gathered information from.
https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/austin-neighborhoods-by-average-rent/
https://www.austinchamber.com/blog/02-21-2019-austin-migration
https://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-austin-rent-trends/
https://www.deptofnumbers.com/rent/texas/austin/
https://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/city/texas/austin
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