Town guide
Moving to New Braunfels
What renting here costs, which part of town fits which job, how long the drives really take, and which school district an address lands in. Every number below is a reading from our own nightly bank rather than a figure someone typed.
- 60
- Communities tracked
- 48
- With a proven rent
- $1,050
- Median starting rent
- 39 of 60
- Running a special
Checked against each community's own website. Latest check September 10, 2026.
The money
What starting rent looks like, by size
These are median starting rents, which is the lowest published figure at each community rather than the average unit. A renter walking in pays the first number more often than the middle one, so the first number is what we publish.
| Size | Median start | Sample | What it means here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | $1,055 | 36 communities priced | The size most people search for |
| 2 bedroom | $1,333 | 38 communities priced | The deepest part of the market |
| 3 bedroom | $1,800 | 29 communities priced | Almost entirely newer construction |
| 4 bedroom | $2,199 | 8 communities priced | A short list, and it moves fast |
Read from each community's own site and banked nightly. Latest bank September 10, 2026. A size appears only when enough communities price it for a median to mean anything.
The specials
Why the concessions here are unusually deep
New Braunfels took a lot of new supply in a short window, and a building in lease-up gives away weeks before it cuts the asking rent. That is why 39 of the 60 communities we track are running a concession right now, at an average of 7.5 weeks free.
A concession is worth reading as a monthly number rather than a headline. Eight weeks free on a thirteen-month lease is a different deal from eight weeks free on a twelve-month one, and the difference is real money.
The deepest concessions we can see today
See these on the mapLive from the bank the map reads, most weeks free first.
The map
Where the market actually sits
New arrivals tend to meet this town through one of a handful of areas. Below is every area we track, ranked by how much of the market sits in it, with what it costs to start there.
| Area | Communities tracked | Cheapest proven start |
|---|---|---|
| Creekside & Freiheit Village | 16 | $799 |
| Loop 337 & the FM 306 Corridor | 13 | $900 |
| I-35 South Corridor | 12 | $830 |
| Downtown, Main Plaza & Landa Park | 6 | $919 |
| Gruene Historic District | 6 | $844 |
| Veramendi & the West Side | 5 | $848 |
| Canyon Lake | 1 | $800 |
| Bulverde & Spring Branch | 1 | no proven rent yet |
Areas with nothing tracked are left out rather than shown empty.
The drives
Half this town works somewhere else
New Braunfels sits between two metros, and the honest version of that is a drive time rather than a distance in miles. These are measured drives to real destinations, across every community we have pinned.
| Destination | Median drive | From the closest | From the furthest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown San Antonio | 41 min | 32 min | 53 min |
| Downtown Austin | 64 min | 61 min | 87 min |
| Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph | 31 min | 22 min | 45 min |
| Texas State University | 26 min | 21 min | 52 min |
Measured drive times across 15 destinations in total, banked with the rest of the data. Traffic on a given morning is its own question.
The schools
Two districts, one town, no clean line
The city is split between two school districts, and the boundary does not follow a single road. Of the communities we track, 44 sit in Comal ISD and 23 sit in New Braunfels ISD. Which one an address lands in is worth confirming with the district before a lease is signed: it can change between one side of a street and the other.
Our full comparison of the two districts, with what each one costs to rent in, is on the Comal ISD against New Braunfels ISD page.
The stock
How new the buildings are
24 of the 60 communities we track opened in 2023 or later, which is a high share for a town this size. New stock means newer finishes and deeper concessions. It is one reason the cheapest rents in town are mostly not in those buildings.
The cheapest end of the market runs from $799, and the communities holding that line are listed on our cheapest apartments page.
Questions renters actually ask
What does an apartment in New Braunfels actually start at?+
The cheapest proven starting rent in our bank today is $799, and the median across every community we price is $1,050. Both are read from each community's own website, not from a paid feed, and both move.
Are move-in specials real here, or are they advertising?+
They are real and they are unusually common: 39 of the 60 communities we track are running one right now, averaging 7.5 weeks free. A lot of new supply arrived at once, and buildings in lease-up compete on weeks free before they compete on rent.
Do I need a car?+
For most of this town, yes. New Braunfels has no fixed-route city bus, so the places where a car is closest to optional are the ones near a full-line grocery store and the downtown core. Our grocery page measures that walk for every community rather than describing it.
Which school district will I be in?+
Two districts split the city, and the line does not follow one road. Of the communities we track, 44 sit in Comal ISD and 23 sit in New Braunfels ISD. The zone can change between one side of a street and the other, so confirm the address with the district before signing.
How new is the housing stock?+
Newer than most Texas towns this size. 24 of 60 communities we track were built in 2023 or later. That wave of delivery is the reason the concession numbers above look the way they do.
Where do people commute to?+
Out of town, mostly, in two directions. The median measured drive is 41 min to Downtown San Antonio, 64 min to Downtown Austin, 31 min to Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, 26 min to Texas State University. Those are measured drive times to real destinations, not estimates from a distance in miles.
Keep reading
New Braunfels against Austin
Both markets measured nightly, side by side.
New Braunfels against San Marcos
The other direction up the interstate.
The two school districts
Which address lands in which district.
Driving to JBSA-Randolph
Measured, community by community.
The cheapest end of the market
Where the floor actually is.
The live map
Every community we track, on one screen.