McAllen is giving renters more apartment space for a $1,500 monthly budget than any other large U.S. city included in a recent RentCafe analysis.
The study, published June 23, found that a $1,500 rent budget can secure about 1,378 square feet in McAllen. That amount of space is enough for many three- to four-bedroom apartments, depending on the property and floor plan.
RentCafe reported McAllen’s average apartment rent at $993, with a typical apartment size of 912 square feet. Nationally, the average apartment measured 835 square feet, while the average rent stood at $1,740 as of March 2026.
The comparison puts McAllen well ahead of high-cost markets. Across the 200 cities studied, $1,500 rented an average of 703 square feet. In Manhattan, the same budget secured about 210 square feet.
The finding gives McAllen another data point in its affordability story. Housing costs remain one of the largest expenses for families, workers and retirees, and the amount of space renters can get for the money can shape household budgets and quality of life.
The study also noted that McAllen’s available square footage for the same budget declined slightly from the prior year, when $1,500 rented about 1,393 square feet. That suggests even lower-cost rental markets are seeing some tightening.
Brownsville also appeared in the study among markets where $1,500 can reach the three- to four-bedroom range, though it posted a year-over-year decline in available space.
RentCafe said the analysis used Yardi Matrix apartment data from March 2026 and reviewed multifamily properties of 50 or more units in 200 of the largest cities in the contiguous United States.
