Living here
What renters actually pay, by number of bedrooms, and how McAllen compares with Texas and the US.
Median rent
$1,017/mo
25% below US
1 bedroom
$744/mo
37% below US
2 bedrooms
$1,012/mo
24% below US
Renters paying 30%+ of income
50%
US 50%
Renter households
19,809
Median gross rent (contract rent plus utilities) for occupied rental units, by bedrooms. Income needed uses the 30% rule.
Nearby cities are other Local City Network guides in Texas, nearest first.
At 30% of income you can spend about $1,012 a month.
Green means the median McAllen rent for that size fits your budget. Landlords often ask for income of 2.5–3× the monthly rent.
50% of McAllen renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent, and 28% spend half or more. The typical renter household puts 30% of its income toward rent (US: 50% and 25%).
Median gross rent for each ZIP Code Tabulation Area that overlaps McAllen.
HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX MSA are the payment benchmarks for housing vouchers (about the 40th percentile of recent movers’ rents), so they often differ from the medians above.
A DRIVE AROUND TOWN
Mileage Mike Travels’ recorded May 2023 drive through McAllen, with sampled scenes on Jackson Avenue and South and North 10th Street. It is not a live traffic camera; streets and businesses may have changed.
Watch on YouTube ↗The median gross rent (rent plus utilities) is $1,017 a month, 24% below the Texas median and 25% below the national median.
The median one-bedroom rents for $744 a month (US: $1,180).
The median two-bedroom rents for $1,012 a month (US: $1,338).
Using the common 30% rule, a median two-bedroom ($1,012) takes a household income of about $40,480 a year, and a one-bedroom about $29,760.
About 50% of McAllen renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent, and 28% spend at least half (US: 50% and 25%).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables B25031, B25070 and B25071). Estimates have margins of error; figures are in 2023 dollars.