Research / Rent vs. buy / Texas / Wichita Falls

Rent or buy in Wichita Falls?
Renting is $216 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Wichita Falls costs $216 less a month than owning it. Counting equity, price growth and what a renter could earn by investing the difference, buying comes out ahead in year 6.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 27 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$1,578typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,362Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 63.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$40,694$176,929 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$63,129vs. $54,480 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Wichita Falls home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $115 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Wichita Falls is $60,177 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 31% of it; renting would take 27%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Wichita Falls, TX MSA area is $1,542 a month, still $36 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $945
  • Property tax $248
  • Home insurance $239
  • Maintenance $147

How long you would need to stay.

Net worth of a buyer compared with a renter who invests the down payment, closing costs and any monthly savings at 6% a year. Home values and rents grow 3.5% a year; selling costs 6%.

Change the assumptions

Buying vs. renting in Wichita Falls, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $8,774
5 yearsRenting ahead by $2,245
7 yearsBuying ahead by $5,974
10 yearsBuying ahead by $22,094
15 yearsBuying ahead by $61,987
20 yearsBuying ahead by $124,293
30 yearsBuying ahead by $358,160

Rent or buy elsewhere in Texas.

Other large Texas cities in the study.

All cities
HoustonRenting $642/mo cheaperSan AntonioRenting $741/mo cheaperDallasRenting $938/mo cheaperAustinRenting $2,322/mo cheaperFort WorthRenting $872/mo cheaperEl PasoRenting $597/mo cheaperArlingtonRenting $1,089/mo cheaperCorpus ChristiRenting $491/mo cheaper

More on Wichita Falls

See the full Wichita Falls rental market profile with Census medians, or check how a typical rental performs for an investor in our cash-flow ranking.

How we calculated this

Price is the Zillow Home Value Index and rent the Zillow Observed Rent Index for Wichita Falls. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 1.68% effective rate (Census ACS), the Texas average homeowners premium (NAIC 2023) and 1% yearly maintenance. It leaves out income-tax effects, HOA dues and utilities. The typical rental may be smaller than the typical home for sale. Full methodology. This is a citywide estimate, not advice about a specific home.