Local apartment hunters are seeking better rental opportunities outside the Dallas metroplex.

The latest migration data shows that nearly one in four apartment seekers wish to relocate to Dallas from outside the metroplex versus one in three local apartment seekers who are eyeing locations outside of Dallas, according to a new report from the online rental platform Apartment List (AL).

AL compiled its migration 2023 report by analyzing data from millions of searches by registered users between January 1 and December 31, 2022. AL then analyzed the data to “[shed] new light on the migration patterns of America’s renters” by “[seeing] where our users are looking to move.”

In terms of outbound searches, the top three destinations for apartment seekers wishing to depart the Dallas area include Houston (6.4%), Austin (6.2%), and Oklahoma City (4.4%), according to the report. On the opposite spectrum, the top three inbound searches from outside Dallas came from Houston (9.3%), Austin (6.2%), and San Antonio (3.6%).

“2022 was a bit of a roller coaster for the rental market,” AL said in its report.

The rental market roller coaster “started where 2021 left off, with prices continuing to rise and low vacancy rates leaving renters with few affordable housing options,” the report stated.  AL went on to explain that “the market reversed quickly in the second half of the year, as inflation and a worsening economic outlook dampened housing demand and pushed rents down for five consecutive months.”

In 2022, the average budget for apartment seekers wanting to relocate to a new metro was $1,669 versus $1,582 for those renters searching within their current metro, a difference of 5.5%, according to the report.

Cross-state apartment seekers tend to have a larger budget than those already living in the region, according to AL, which noted that “long-distance moves are logistically difficult and expensive and are therefore more common among high-earners.”

The AL report indicated that much of the reshuffling came about because of the “long-term adoption of remote work,” which boosted employees’ availability and flexibility to relocate.

With the added flexibility from remote work and the likelihood that the policy will continue, AL concluded its report by highlighting that 40% of registered AL users searched for rental apartments in a different metro, while 27% sought apartments in an entirely separate state.

Despite apartment seekers searching for rentals in places outside Dallas, major Texas cities were all top searches for individuals outside the state.

In 2021, Texas was listed as the largest-gaining state in the nation, reaching a total population of 30 million. Growth in Texas is primarily fueled by net domestic migration, net international migration, and natural increase, according to a December press release from the U.S. Census Bureau.