Garland pulls in a practical, working crowd: commuters who want a real house within striking distance of Dallas, families drawn to Firewheel-area schools, and industrial workers anchored by employers like ABB and Sasol in a city of 240,000 that still prices below its neighbors. This report breaks down where Garland rents stand in May 2026, what's pushing them lower, and what that means if you own a single-family rental here.
1. Garland Rental Market Snapshot — May 2026
Here's where Garland rents stand as of May 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.
Garland's median single-family rent sits at $1,767 in May 2026, down 3.7% year-over-year and off 1.0% from last month, with homes averaging 40 days on market — a clear signal that landlords are competing for tenants in a market that has more supply than it did a year ago.
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Median Rent (All Types) | $1,767 | -1.0% MoM |
| Avg. Days on Market | 40 days | — |
| Rent Growth YoY | -3.7% | — |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types, May 2026.
2. Garland Rent by Bedroom Size — May 2026
Three-bedroom single-family homes in Garland rent for $2,077 per month on average, sitting squarely between the 2-bedroom median of $1,692 and the 4-bedroom median of $2,460. The $385 step up from a 2BR to a 3BR is the most meaningful jump in relative terms, which matters if you're deciding whether to list a flex room as a bedroom. The $383 gap between 3BR and 4BR is nearly identical, so larger homes are pulling consistent premiums across the size spectrum rather than tapering off.
| Bedrooms | SFR Median Rent |
|---|---|
| 2-Bedroom | $1,692 |
| 3-Bedroom | $2,077 |
| 4-Bedroom | $2,460 |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, single-family properties, May 2026. |
What's Driving Rental Conditions in Garland
Garland Rental Supply & New Construction
Housing supply in Garland has climbed roughly 37% year-over-year, pushing active listings past 100 and stretching average days on market to 40 days. The pipeline skews industrial and commercial rather than large-scale multifamily, with developers like Spires Engineering converting industrial sites near Forest Lane and Zone Dev pursuing planned multifamily projects under the city's new by-right zoning policy. That said, statewide apartment deliveries are expected to fall sharply to under 40,000 units through summer 2026, down from 92,000+ the prior year, so the wave of new rental inventory hitting Garland specifically should be limited in the near term.
Why People Rent in Garland
Garland pulls renters in because it offers affordability relative to neighbors like Plano and Richardson without requiring a long commute to the jobs that matter. Major employers including ABB and Sasol anchor local demand, and the city's highway network (I-635, I-30, US-75, and the President George Bush Turnpike) plus DART Light Rail service puts Downtown Dallas, Plano, and Richardson within easy reach. With Garland's population exceeding 240,000 and Texas continuing to attract net new residents, the city's value proposition keeps drawing households who want proximity to DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) employment corridors without paying Plano prices.
Garland Rental Market Outlook
Rents are under real pressure right now: the blended median sits at $1,767, down 3.7% year-over-year and another 1.0% month-over-month, which tells you the softening isn't a blip. The Dallas Fed's April 2026 forecast projects 1.9% statewide job growth, and the coming drop in new apartment deliveries could gradually tighten vacancy later in the year, but landlords shouldn't bank on a quick recovery. For now, price your property competitively and focus on minimizing vacancy days, because sitting empty at last year's rent will cost you more than adjusting to where the market actually is.
3. How Garland Compares to Dallas and Fort Worth
Garland's blended median rent of $1,767 runs 14.9% below Dallas and 24.5% above Fort Worth, putting it in the middle of the metro but clearly on the affordable end of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) corridor. The 3BR gap with Dallas is stark: $2,077 versus $4,282, a difference driven largely by Dallas's urban core inventory, proximity to major corporate campuses, and tighter supply rather than anything Garland lacks in connectivity or employment access. Garland landlords are sitting at 40 days on market compared to 29 in Dallas and 22 in Fort Worth, so pricing tightly from day one matters more here than in either adjacent market right now.
| City | Median Rent (All Types) | 3BR SFR Rent | Avg. Days on Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garland | $1,767 | $2,077 | 40 days |
| Dallas | $2,077 | $4,282 | 29 days |
| Fort Worth | $1,419 | $2,190 | 22 days |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, May 2026.
4. Garland Single-Family Rental — What Landlords Need to Know
For a three-bedroom single-family home, price between $1,973 and $2,181 — that's the 5% band around the current $2,077 median, and you'll be positioned where the market is actually clearing. The ceiling for a 3BR in Garland sits at $2,300; push past that and you're competing against four-bedroom inventory, which has its own median of $2,460 and a different renter profile entirely. With 100-plus active listings on the market and rents down 3.7% year-over-year, renters have options and will skip over anything that feels even slightly overpriced. The one move every Garland landlord should make before listing: pull current comps in your specific zip code rather than anchoring to the citywide figure, because renter demand concentrates unevenly across Garland's commute corridors and neighborhoods like Firewheel, and a home near a DART station or a major employer like ABB can justify landing closer to the top of that range than the bottom.
Data Sources & Methodology
- Rental market data: Median rents, days on market, listing counts, and rent change figures. Sourced from county public records, deed and tax assessor data, and rental listings on publicly accessible platforms.
- Doorstead Platform Data: Internal leasing outcomes from Doorstead-managed single-family homes — days to lease, pricing tier benchmarks. Garland, TX, trailing 12 months.