San Angelo's Rental Rates are Rising Fast

Tanya Curiel is a single parent with three children, ages 6 to 15, and she’s a full-time senior at Angelo State University. She moved to San Angelo from Phoenix, Arizona in May of 2012 because of family, and she heard the cost of living was much lower. Although that was the case when she got here, good rental homes went quick and the ones left that fit her budget needed lots of work. Therefore, she had no choice but to go with an apartment. By the time a home came up for rent, the single mother couldn’t believe the asking price, and after looking at different apartment rental prices in contrast, she couldn’t understand how, in such a short time, the rent prices had changed so drastically.

At that point, Curiel realized the cost of living in a town with a population of 100,000 wasn’t much different than a metropolitan city with a population of approximately 4 million. Unfortunately for the single mother, Curiel moved to San Angelo right at the time the city started experiencing its temporary oil boom, which spiked rental rates and living costs overall.

Today, the single mother, who lives on a fixed income, says she pays $875 per month for a 900-square-foot two-bedroom, one-bath, home near the base; and the home, with its issues, doesn’t compare to the last two homes she rented in Phoenix for $850. Those homes had three bedrooms with two bathrooms, and comprised of more than 1,200 square feet. She also didn't have the same issues with the homes there as she does in San Angelo, nor has she dealt with the type of landlords she’s experienced here. Additionally, her living expenses at $1,845 per month has her living on the border of constantly broke. Curiel now falls into the 17^th percentile of San Angelo residents living below the poverty level.

“The effect is going from struggling to can’t make it,” Curiel said about the effects this has had on her family.

In fact, the effects have been so drastic that the single mother plans on moving back to Phoenix after she graduates in May 2016 from ASU since prices there have gone down substantially in the past few years as a result of the housing bust in 2008. The housing rates are comparable to San Angelo, but the pay range is much higher. Her family here also plans on moving back to the city for the same reason.

“People at Costco are starting at more than $20 an hour, and that’s without a degree,” Curiel said. “I’m a single mother with three children. The full-time college education I’m getting at ASU and my qualifications, which are pretty good, could get me a part-time job making anywhere from minimum wage to maybe $10 an hour. I was lucky to find a job on campus this summer for $10 an hour. Most campus jobs pay $8. I made up to $16 an hour at my last few jobs in Phoenix. If I didn’t have my mother helping me, it would cost me more for gas and babysitting than what it’s worth going to work.”

According to Payscale.com, a company that researches and compares national average salaries and also provides real-time data on what people can expect to pay to live in cities across the U.S., the average cost of living in Phoenix and Dallas is only 3 percent higher than San Angelo. Plus, Phoenix's average median income sits at approximately $49,000, which is about $6,000 higher than San Angelo's. The U.S. Census Bureau last reported the median income in San Angelo at $42,000 in 2013. San Angelo's median income also comes in at $9,515 lower than Texas' average.

Cathy Ballard, director of planning for the Concho Valley Workforce Development Board, said during the first quarter of 2015, the average weekly income in the private business sector for San Angelo came out to $765 per week and $803.67 per week for the Concho Valley, which means if numbers remain consistent, that will average to $39,780 annually, a -$2,100 difference from the average median income the Census reported in 2013. Additionally, In Texas overall, the average weekly income came in at $1,089.18, so workers in San Angelo make $324.18 less than the state average.

"We haven't changed that much from one year to the next," Ballard said about wage increases. She also said salaries went up only by an average of $9 a week in the Concho Valley, and for San Angelo, that amount is about the same. 

However, for people like Curiel, the individuals who work for COSA making $21,000 a year (will increase with this year's raise) and workers who aren't seeing a big difference in their incomes to offset the increase of living expenses, median income makes no difference, and rental rate increases have depleted their budgets. 

Crystal Chen with Zumper.com, a home and apartment rental search site, said her company recently published a comprehensive report on rental trends across Texas. Researchers assessed 60,000 listings in Texas of which over 500 were located in and around San Angelo, which made the top 10 list for cities with the fastest-rising rents.

“San Angelo's median one-bedroom rent price is tied with Galveston's as the second fastest-rising in Texas, with a growth rate of 14.3 percent (the state median growth rate is 2.4 percent),” Chen said. “San Angelo's median one-bedroom rent is currently $800, up over $100 from last year.”

Although San Angelo didn’t make the 11 Most Expensive Cities in Texas list, it definitely didn’t make the top 11 list for least expensive, but Abilene did. In our sister city to the north, a one-bedroom rental is $300 less expensive than San Angelo. Odessa and Midland have median one-bedroom rentals that rank above both San Angelo and the state median. Chen also added that San Angelo currently ties with Galveston and DeSoto in the Metroplex for the 46^th most expensive city in Texas to rent.

While rent rates are rising, and it seems more unaffordable, San Angelo is still more affordable than 35 other Texas cities the agency analyzed.

“Compared to Addison, the most expensive city in Texas to rent, San Angelo’s median one-bed rent is $410 less expensive and San Angelo’s growth rate is 12.6 percent higher,” Chen stated. “Compared to Copperas Cove, the least expensive city in Texas to rent, San Angelo’s median one-bed rent is $460 more expensive and San Angelo’s growth rate is 17.2 percent higher (Copperas Cove had a -2.9 percent growth rate).”

Chen also explained that compared to the larger Texas cities, San Angelo’s 14.3 percent growth rate is higher than any of the growth rates of the 10 most populous cities. Austin had the largest growth rate at 12 percent. Also, in regards to rent prices, San Angelo’s $800 median for a one-bedroom is higher than 4 out of the 10 most populous cities.

Overall, Chen said dozens of factors contribute to rent prices in a region, including rent versus buy preference, population influx, mortgage rates and median incomes to name a few; but, with the experienced growth, San Angelo may experience an increase in commercial development, a trend the city is now witnessing.

“In the near term, San Angelo can become attractive for larger real estate development projects given demand associated with higher rents,” Chen said.

Although many people in San Angelo might find growth a positive thing, those families like Curiel’s, who live on a fixed income, will continue to struggle.

“With all else being equal, higher rent prices in an area will lead to less disposable income for the population,” Chen confirmed about the impact of growth.