Across Travis County's census tracts, the middle tract reports a median gross rent of $1,769 a month in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey. In the 2015-2019 survey the same measure was $1,319. That is a 34% increase in dollars paid, before any adjustment for inflation.
It is a different kind of number from the rents in listings and from the federal fair market rents we covered last Saturday. It describes what households living in Travis County rentals reported paying across five years, including renters who signed leases years ago. Here is how to read it, what is in it, and where it can mislead.
What "gross rent" counts
The Census Bureau defines gross rent as the contract rent plus the estimated average monthly cost of utilities and heating fuel, if the renter pays them. Two apartments at the same lease price can land at different gross rents if one includes water and the other does not. That is why a gross figure is more comparable than a lease price, and why it is a bit higher than the number on a lease.
The survey is also slow by design. The Census Bureau describes its 5-year estimates as drawing on 60 months of data, the most reliable product for small areas and the least current. The 2020-2024 file blends responses collected across all five of those years.
Five years of tract rents in Travis County
| Survey period | Tracts with a rent figure | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-2019 | 212 | $1,170 | $1,319 | $1,549 |
| 2018-2022 | 270 | $1,408 | $1,611 | $1,830 |
| 2020-2024 | 272 | $1,594 | $1,769 | $2,008 |
| Change, 2015-2019 to 2020-2024 | +36% | +34% | +30% |
Two cautions on the table. First, this is a median of tract medians, not a county median: a tract with 400 renter households counts the same as one with 3,000. Second, the Census Bureau redrew tract boundaries for 2020, so the 2015-2019 row (212 tracts) and the later rows (about 270) do not cover identical map areas. Read it as the shape of the distribution, not a tract-by-tract comparison. The Census Bureau also raised the highest contract rent it accepts, from $10,000 for 2020-2023 to $20,000 for 2024, and tells users to use caution comparing rents with prior years in high-rent areas. At these rent levels the effect on a median is small, but it is a reason not to read the 34% to the decimal.
Who rents, by housing type
In the same tract records, about 47.9% of Travis County households rent in 2020-2024, against 47.6% in 2015-2019 (our household-weighted calculation from the survey's owner-occupancy rates). The mix of buildings shifted a little: units in buildings with five or more homes were 35.4% of all units, up from 33.2%, while detached single-family homes slipped from 52.6% to 51.5%.
That building mix matters for the rent you see. We sorted the 2020-2024 tracts by the share of their homes that are in buildings with five or more units:
| Share of units in 5+ unit buildings | Tracts | Median of tract median gross rents | Renter households in these tracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10% | 70 | $2,057 | about 20,200 |
| 10% to 30% | 67 | $1,752 | about 48,800 |
| 30% to 60% | 77 | $1,672 | about 103,200 |
| 60% or more | 58 | $1,684 | about 103,900 |
Three in four renter households in these tracts, about 207,000 of 276,000, live where at least 30% of homes are in larger buildings. The tracts made up mostly of houses have the highest median rent, $2,057, and few renters. A plausible reading is that a house rented on its own lot costs more than a unit in a larger building, but a tract median cannot prove that. It describes tracts, not any building or street, and we are not saying anything about who lives there.
How solid are tract numbers
They are survey estimates with margins of error, and the Census Bureau publishes those margins for a reason. In the 2020-2024 file, 47 of the county's 272 tracts with a rent figure have a margin of error larger than 20% of their own estimate. The county-level story is firm; any single tract's figure is a rough guide. Our research pages show the underlying records, and we do not rank or score areas from them.
Next to the federal number
HUD's fiscal 2027 fair market rent for a two-bedroom in the Austin-Round Rock metro is $1,817, down from $1,949 at the 2025 peak. We covered it on October 3: it is a gross-rent figure aimed at the 40th percentile of the metro's rentals, used in voucher programs, built from the same survey. The Census Bureau figure in this piece is a tract median across all unit sizes in Travis County alone, so the two are not meant to match. They share one concept, gross rent, and one practical lesson: ask what is counted before comparing.
What this means if you're renting here
- Compare gross to gross. Ask which utilities are in the rent, what the monthly fees are, and what the building's average utility bill runs. For illustration, not a listing: a $1,650 apartment with water and trash included can cost the same as a $1,720 one without.
- Expect the listing price and the in-place price to differ. This survey reflects leases across five years. What a new lease costs today depends on the building, the unit and the month.
- Know the deposit clock. Under Texas Property Code section 92.103, a landlord must refund the security deposit on or before the 30th day after you surrender the premises, with an exception tied to the forwarding-address rules in section 92.107. Keep move-out photos and give the landlord a forwarding address.
- Read the lease for the rest. Increases at renewal, late fees and notice periods are set by the lease and the Property Code. For a dispute, a lease question or a legal deadline, talk with a licensed attorney or a tenant-rights organization; this is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Austin Local Team analysis of Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2015-2019, 2018-2022 and 2020-2024), Travis County census tracts, pulled into our research database September 30, 2026. Variables: median gross rent, households, owner-occupancy rate, units in structure. Percent changes, tract groupings and weighted shares are ours.
- Census Bureau, ACS estimates guidance (5-year period and tradeoffs).
- Census Bureau, ACS user note: change to monthly contract rent estimates (rent caps of $4,000, $10,000 and $20,000 by year).
- Census Bureau, Housing Availability and Affordability: 2023 American Community Survey Reports (gross rent definition).
- Austin Local Team analysis of HUD fair market rent records, source date October 1, 2026, as published in our October 3 article.
- Texas Property Code, chapter 92, section 92.103 (security deposit refund).
If you are weighing where to rent in Austin, our apartment search and quiz is the place to start, and a local agent can walk through a lease with you before you sign.