A $1,500 rent budget doesn’t stretch the same way across every corner of North Texas, and if you’re renting in Dallas proper, you’re getting less room than renters in several nearby suburbs, according to a new ranking from Rent Cafe.
The site’s 2026 breakdown of apartment space available for $1,500 a month across 200 U.S. cities put Dallas at 806 square feet. That’s enough to beat the national average of 703 square feet, but it lags behind a handful of DFW-area cities where the same monthly budget buys noticeably more room.
How Dallas Stacks Up Against Neighbors
Mesquite topped the local comparison, with $1,500 renting 988 square feet — nearly 200 square feet more than what’s available in Dallas. Arlington (927 square feet) and Garland (924 square feet) weren’t far behind, and both McKinney (885 square feet) and Irving (859 square feet) also outpaced Dallas.
Plano landed at 820 square feet, while Frisco came in at 798 square feet, just under the Dallas figure…