Gen Z adults have proven to be huge fans of moving to Texas, and they have a special appreciation for Austin in particular. Still, the price of housing in the state capital is taking a big bite out of their wallets.

A new housing cost analysis from RentCafe, published March 26, has revealed Gen Z adults living in Austin are likely to spend a total of $160,514 on rent by the time they are 30 years old.

While the initial amount seems shocking, it really means Gen Z Austinites will spend an average of $1,672.02 on monthly rent from the age of 22-29 years old, or $20,064.25 a year, based on the report's findings.

For comparison, millennials spent about $19,500 less on rent during the same time period in their lives. The average rent cost for a millennial living in Austin came out to $140,995 by the time they were 30 years old. That amount can be extrapolated into a monthly rent cost of $1,468.70 (or $17,624.34 annually) from the age of 22-29.

For the purpose of the study, RentCafe defined a Gen Z adult as a person who is born between 1996 and 2000. Millennials are defined as adults born between 1981 and 1996. The study examined the average amount of money each generation spent (or would spend) on renting versus owning, and the average total income earned during the same period. Data was calculated based on an eight-year period between the ages of 22 and 29 for each generation, and all costs and income were adjusted for the 2023 value of the U.S. dollar.

Homeownership costs for Gen Z adults living in Austin
RentCafe determined homeownership is also much further out of reach than renting for Austin-based Gen Z'ers. If a Gen Z adult (somehow) buys a house at age 22, they will have spent nearly $211,000 on homeownership costs by the time they're 30 years old (excluding the down payment).

These findings show the difference between renting versus owning for Gen Z'ers in Austin is a $50,410 gap.

Using the same method from earlier, it can be presumed a 22-year-old Gen Z homeowner would be spending nearly $2,200 a month (or $26,366 annually) to own a home in the Texas capital for the eight-year period until their 30th birthday.

For additional context, Austin-based millennials spent an even $209,000 on homeownership by the time they were 30. That breaks down to $26,125 for eight years, or about $2,177 monthly.

The difference between renting versus owning for millennials is $68,005, the report found.

Total household income earnings by age 30
By the time an Austin-residing Gen Z adult reaches their 30th birthday, RentCafe says, they will have earned a total household income of $612,319 for the eight-year period. This can be roughly calculated to about $76,540 in annual income during that time.

Assuming a Gen Z adult rents for that entire period, they would be spending about 26 percent of their total household income on rent from age 22-29. If they own a home for the majority of their 20s, they would be spending about 35 percent of their total household income on homeownership.

Meanwhile, millennials living in Austin had to manage on far less income than Gen Z'ers are making now. The report found that the average millennial Austinite made $568,187 in total earnings by the time they reached age 30, or $44,132 less than Gen Z's total income. That would assume the millennial was making $71,023 a year while in their 20s.

However, millennials fared similarly to how Gen Z adults are now. Austin-based millennials who only rented from the age of 22-29 spent about 25 percent of their total income on rent, while millennial homeowners spent nearly 37 percent of their total earnings on their housing costs.

The full report can be found on rentcafe.com.