Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.
It is a city that touts the motto “Keep Austin Weird” and feels far from Texas, although it’s right at the center. Known for BBQ, Tex-Mex and festivals like South by Southwest, Austin also has to beautiful lakes and green spaces, provides affordable living and is a great place to build a career.
We combed through Google data using generic keyword searches and combined those results with the most searched Austin neighborhoods on ApartmentGuide.com to determine the five most popular Austin neighborhoods with renters.
Here is a quick overview of each neighborhood and what you’d expect to pay for rent in each area.
This walkable city center provides the Texas State Capitol as a landmark to navigate your way to taco trucks or fancy restaurants. Downtown’s vibrant nightlife offers live music. It is also close to parks, trails and green spaces. Although a bit higher than the average rent in the city, living Downtown means easy access for young professionals, active empty nesters or high-level executives to work, play, eat, explore and connect with others.
If you want a quiet, yet rapidly transforming neighborhood, Riverside is a great option. Already home to creatives and young professionals, this affordable neighborhood is opening up more businesses and has seen many new housing options pop up in recent years. Perched at the edge of Lady Bird Lake, Riverside is just minutes from Downtown and is one of the most affordable options in central Austin.
Previously the old Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, this vast property is one of the newest purposefully planned, urban communities. Features of the Mueller neighborhood include a variety of new housing options, a park with a 6.5-acre lake, repurposed hangars for community events and its very own retail and commercial centers. Young couples, empty nesters and small families looking for a cozy, modern neighborhood often find their way here.
Clarksville is a community dedicated to preserving a way of life that is definitively Austin. Supporting mom-and-pop shops, maintaining historic landmarks and building a way of life that encourages togetherness is what living in Clarksville is about. Its prime location gives young professionals, students and new families access to all the hot spots in Austin with the option to retreat into its quiet tree-lined streets.
Low-key shops, markets and galleries nestled between eateries in South Lamar – or SoLa – make this one of the most attractive neighborhoods for young professionals, students and anyone interested in living in the heart of Austin. Home to the two-stepping Broken Spoke and close to the blue waters of Barton Springs, this neighborhood is actively constructing apartments to keep up with the increased housing demand.
Brian Carberry has more than 15 years of experience as a content creator and award-winning journalist. He is currently the senior managing editor of Apartment Guide and Rent.com, based in Atlanta. His work has been featured or mentioned by CNN, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, Bankrate and hundreds of local media outlets across the country. In his free time, Brian enjoys sports, cooking (followed by eating) and debating the correct pronunciation of "gif."