Moving from Houston to Austin

Within the IRS SOI 2022–2023 release, corridor households reported $112,310.82 of AGI per return. Austin’s inbound and outbound per-return mover-AGI figures were $100,732 and $99,199; Houston’s were $78,893 and $86,392. Census ACS 2024 five-year median household income was also higher in Austin, at $100,431 versus $82,168 in Houston. These measures profile different populations: IRS AGI covers filing households associated with migration, while ACS median household income covers the broader resident household base. Neither is a wage offer, applicant income statement or renter-only measure.

BLS CES payroll employment over the 12 months to 2026-06 changed 1.39% in Austin and 0.57% in Houston, a destination change of 0.82 percentage points. This is a later labor snapshot than either the IRS migration release or the ACS income release. The Austin reading is stronger on the stated payroll measure, but payroll change does not establish rental-property vacancy or collections, nor does it show that corridor households work in the expanding payroll categories. The next diligence question is whether the target Austin renter segment has documented income depth and industry diversity at the property’s proposed effective rent.

At Zillow’s 2026-06-30 observation, metro ZORI was $1,648 in Houston and $1,653 in Austin. The year-over-year rent reading was essentially flat in Houston and negative in Austin. HUD’s FY2026 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom was $1,573 in Houston and $1,852 in Austin. Fair Market Rent is a HUD standard, not a Zillow market-rent observation, so the two series should not be treated as interchangeable lease quotes. For a relocating household, the immediate question is the available unit’s effective rent, utility responsibility and concessions—not which metro-wide measure appears more favorable.

Using ACS 2024 five-year median household income with Zillow’s 2026-06-30 metro observations, the rent-to-income screening ratios are 24.07% for Houston and 19.75% for Austin; the price-to-income screens are 3.76 and 4.25, respectively. These are cross-release directional screens, not current household budget shares. They show a more favorable Austin rent-income relationship but a less favorable home-value-income relationship. At the Zillow observation date, the gross-yield screen was 6.40% in Houston and 4.65% in Austin. That is a metro screening contrast, not a property yield. Underwriting still requires an actual property price, achievable rent, concessions and complete operating expenses.

FEMA’s NRI counties release reports a modeled climate/hazard loss ratio of 0.1969% for Houston and 0.1182% for Austin. Inland flood is the top listed hazard in both markets, so Austin’s lower ratio is not a property-level flood finding or an insurance quote. In Redfin’s metro tracker through 2026-05-01, Austin showed 5.2 months of supply versus Houston’s 4.2, while price drops appeared on 35.78% of Austin listings and 36.88% of Houston listings. Those are descriptive for-sale-market observations; they do not establish rental vacancy, achievable rent or eventual transaction terms.

A permits-per-thousand-residents screen combining Census BPS 2026 YTD through M06 permits with ACS 2024 population reads 8.66 for Austin and 7.88 for Houston. This is a cross-period descriptive screen, not a same-period supply rate, and permits do not establish deliveries, vacancy or rent pressure. HMDA 2024 purchase originations show investor shares of 9.84% in Austin and 8.65% in Houston. Those shares are descriptive screens, not proof of buyer competition. The next risk question is the subject property’s flood designation, insurance quote and deductible, together with the actual status and unit mix of nearby permitted projects.