Relocation guide
Dallas vs New York
In short
Across Dallas-Fort Worth, the Census median gross rent for a one-bedroom, utilities included, is $1,393, against $1,686 in the New York metro (ACS 2020–2024). Texas has no state income tax. In DFW, 0.7% of workers commute by public transportation; in the New York metro, 24.1% do. Figures checked October 2026.
Updated October 2026 · Source: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 2020–2024), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024 price parities), NOAA (1991–2020 normals) and state tax agencies
What changes in rent, prices, taxes and the daily commute when you trade the New York area for Dallas-Fort Worth, with the source and date of every number.
By Joon Ma, designated broker, TREC #709941
Rent by bedroom, metro to metro
The fair comparison is metro to metro. The Census Bureau’s New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area includes New York City, Long Island, Westchester and northern New Jersey. Its Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area covers Dallas, Fort Worth and the cities around them. Both columns come from the same survey, over the same five years.
| Bedrooms | Dallas-Fort Worth | New York metro | DFW is lower by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,388 | $1,592 | $204 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,393 | $1,686 | $293 |
| 2 bedrooms | $1,660 | $1,869 | $209 |
| 3 bedrooms | $1,934 | $2,162 | $228 |
| All rentals | $1,614 | $1,830 | $216 |
At the medians, a one-bedroom costs $293 less a month in DFW, and a two-bedroom $209 less. Across a 12-month lease, the one-bedroom gap comes to $3,516.
Read these numbers for what they are. The survey asks people what they pay today, so it counts tenants who signed years ago, and it covers every kind of rental, from apartments to houses. It is not what a unit listed this month is asking, in either metro. When we build your list, we confirm the current rent with each community by phone.
Inside DFW, rents change from city to city. The city of Dallas alone has a one-bedroom median gross rent of $1,354. Each city page has its own table: start with Dallas, Plano or Irving, or see the Dallas suburbs guide for every city we cover.
Prices beyond rent
For everything else, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes Regional Price Parities. They compare price levels between metro areas, with the U.S. average set at 100.
- All goods and services
- Dallas-Fort Worth 103.1 · New York metro 112.6
- Housing rents
- Dallas-Fort Worth 117.9 · New York metro 148.6
Put simply, prices across DFW ran about 3% above the national average in 2024, and prices across the New York metro about 13% above it. The wider gap is in housing rents. Groceries, gas and a dinner out still vary from one neighborhood to the next in both metros, so treat the index as an average, not as your receipt.
Gross rent in the Census table already counts utilities. On a lease here, ask each community which ones are in the rent and which come on their own bill; our utilities guide for Dallas walks through the usual ones.
Taxes: income and sales
Texas has no state personal income tax. Article 8, Section 24-a of the Texas Constitution, added in November 2019, prohibits the legislature from taxing individuals’ net incomes. Here are the state rates side by side:
- Texas
- No state income tax. Sales tax: 6.25% state rate; local rates add up to 2%, for a combined maximum of 8.25%.
- New York State
- Income tax from 4% to 10.9% (tax year 2025). Sales tax: 4% state rate; local rates add, plus 0.375% in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, which includes New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester.
- New York City
- City income tax for residents, from 3.078% to 3.876% (tax year 2025), on top of the state tax.
- New Jersey
- Income tax from 1.4% to 10.75% (rate schedules for 2020 and after). Sales tax: 6.625% state rate.
Moving partway through the year makes you a part-year resident of New York. The state’s Form IT-203 is the return for that case: you pay New York tax on everything you earned while you lived there, and on New York-source income after you left. Whether pay from a New York employer still counts as New York-source once you leave depends on your situation.
This is general information from the state agencies, not tax advice. A tax professional can tell you what applies to you.
From the subway to a car-first metro
The Census asks workers how they get to work and how long it takes.
- Average one-way commute
- Dallas-Fort Worth 27.9 minutes · New York metro 35.6 minutes
- Workers who commute by public transportation
- Dallas-Fort Worth 0.7% · New York metro 24.1%
New York’s subway runs around the clock. DFW has rail too. DART runs four light rail lines, Red, Blue, Green and Orange, and all four cross downtown Dallas. Its Silver Line, open since October 25, 2025, runs across the northern suburbs, from Shiloh Road in Plano to DFW Airport. The Trinity Railway Express links Dallas Union Station with downtown Fort Worth.
Still, with 0.7% of workers on transit, plan on a car for most of the metro, unless you choose a home and an office on the same line.
Several main highways here are toll roads. The North Texas Tollway Authority runs the Dallas North Tollway, the President George Bush Turnpike and the Sam Rayburn Tollway, among others, and gives lower rates to drivers with its TollTag.
Flying back east
If you fly back to New York often, both of the metro’s airports connect to rail. At DFW Airport, the DART Orange Line stops at Terminal A, and the Silver Line and TEXRail stop at Terminal B.
Dallas Love Field sits northwest of downtown Dallas, inside the city. A DART shuttle links its terminal with the Inwood/Love Field station on the Green and Orange lines. Uptown to Love Field by car: Maps: minutes, weekday 5 p.m.. For homes close to the larger airport, see Near DFW Airport.
Office districts and the cities that reach them
Office jobs in Dallas-Fort Worth sit in several centers, so the city to look at depends on which one you commute to. Drive times are without traffic (rush hour adds time) and train times come from Google Maps at the hour shown; both are filled in before the page goes live.
Downtown Dallas and Uptown
All four DART light rail lines meet downtown, and Uptown starts just north of it. You can ride in from Irving on the Orange Line, or from Richardson and Plano on the Red Line. Downtown Plano to downtown Dallas by car: Maps: minutes, weekday 8 a.m..
Las Colinas, in Irving
Las Colinas is a planned development in Irving, begun in 1972, with Orange Line stations at Las Colinas Urban Center and Irving Convention Center. Besides Las Colinas itself, look at Coppell, Farmers Branch and Carrollton. Carrollton to Las Colinas by car: Maps: minutes, weekday 8 a.m..
Legacy West, in Plano
Legacy West, open since 2017, sits in west Plano between the Dallas North Tollway and the Sam Rayburn Tollway, with offices next to shops and homes. No rail line reaches it, so plan on driving. Legacy West has its own page, and Frisco is just north. Frisco to Legacy West by car: Maps: minutes, weekday 8 a.m..
The Telecom Corridor, in Richardson
Richardson’s Telecom Corridor runs along US 75 between the President George Bush Turnpike and Interstate 635. At its north end, the CityLine/Bush station has both the Red Line and the Silver Line. Look at Richardson, Plano or Addison. Addison to CityLine/Bush on the Silver Line: Maps: minutes by train, weekday 8 a.m..
Don’t know the office address yet? Send it when you have it. We start your list from where you will work, then look outward.
Weather, by the numbers
NOAA’s 1991–2020 climate normals give the averages. At DFW Airport, January averages 46.3°F and July 85.7°F, with 37.01 inches of precipitation a year. In Central Park, January averages 33.7°F and July 77.5°F, with 49.52 inches (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, checked October 2, 2026).
So winters here are milder and summers are hotter. When you tour, ask how the unit is cooled and whether parking is covered.
Touring from New York
Dallas is one hour behind New York: Dallas runs on Central Time, New York on Eastern. A 10 a.m. video call with a leasing office here is 11 a.m. at your desk, so a tour fits into a morning break.
Before you book a flight, we shorten the list. We call each community, check what is open for your dates and send you the photos and floor plans it lets us share. Where a community offers a live video tour, ask the agent to start at the parking and walk to the unit door, so you see the route you would take every day.
If you can make one trip, take it once the list is down to a few finalists, and group them by area. Two communities in Plano and one in Fort Worth make a long day of driving.
Applying from out of state
Start about 45 to 60 days before your move-in date. That is as far ahead as most communities will hold a unit, because their residents give around 60 days of notice.
Each community sets its own rules. A common one is household income of about three times the monthly rent, counted on the full rent rather than a discounted one. If your income starts with a new job in Dallas, ask us which communities accept an offer letter before you pay any application fee.
Name us before your first visit. Register the community on our register page, or write AptViva on the guest card. That is how the community knows we sent you, and it is how the search stays free to you: the community pays us.
Getting your things to Dallas
The long-distance part, from New York to Dallas, is yours to plan. The 3 hours of moving we include at participating communities are local to Dallas-Fort Worth: if you land in a furnished rental first, they can take you from there to your new apartment. Or choose the cash option instead. Restrictions apply. See terms
Tell us where
One clear request is enough to start. A licensed agent reads it and gets back to you the way you asked.
We also look in
A licensed agent will get back to you the way you asked, and will build your list from there.