Texas · Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area

Buying a home in Fort Worth, Texas

In Fort Worth, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $303,000, Tarrant County's effective property tax rate is 1.65%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $8,566 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,509 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Fort Worth home costs, fact by fact

About Fort Worth

Fort Worth lies in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, the 4th largest in the country with 8,344,032 residents, and the city itself counts 1,008,106. Tarrant County has an effective property tax rate of 1.65% (median tax as a share of home value), and 57% of homes are owner-occupied.

Reading the Fort Worth figures

Fort Worth is a large city that prices close to the Texas middle. Owners estimate $303,000, a little under the statewide $318,100, and the city sits just below Arlington ($304,700), then Conroe ($309,600). Dallas reports $320,700, New Braunfels $339,400, above, while Houston, at $277,800, is lower, as is San Antonio, at $235,700. Among the cities named here, Fort Worth is therefore a mid-priced option rather than an outlier.

Ownership is higher than in the biggest cities. 57% of households own, compared with 42.4% in Dallas, 42.1% in Houston or 38.1% in Irving. Grand Prairie reaches 58.7%, then Garland 61.6%, then Mesquite 62.8%, so Fort Worth sits in the middle of that group. Rent is $1,509 a month, close to Mesquite ($1,513) or Arlington ($1,470), under Garland ($1,641) or Grand Prairie ($1,629), yet above Houston ($1,361) or San Antonio ($1,324).

HUD's reference for the Fort Worth-Arlington zone is $1,745 for a 2-bedroom and $2,284 for a bigger home. It is a benchmark, not a market median, and it sits well above the city's median rent, so it works as a guide to larger or newer units. The county tax is the recurring cost to plan around. Tarrant County's effective rate is 1.65%, producing a median yearly bill of $5,334 where homes are valued around $323,900. That county value is above the city's owner estimate of $303,000, so the bill on a typical Fort Worth home may differ from the county median. Loan costs add a one-time layer. In the 2025 HMDA data, 18,567 loans in Tarrant County had a median cost of $8,566, with the typical spread between $5,646 and $12,005. A buyer comparing owning with renting should set the $1,509 rent against a mortgage payment plus that yearly tax, then add the upfront loan cost. Looking at cities close in value helps too. Midland ($319,200) pairs a 65.1% owner share with a $1,434 rent, whereas Irving ($315,600) pairs 38.1% with $1,619, so cities of similar price can differ sharply in how many households own. Conroe ($309,600) has 54.5% owners and a $1,393 rent, the closest to Fort Worth's profile. Payotte has no sector figures for Fort Worth, so the reading stays at the city level. Houston reports 42.1% owners and a $1,361 rent at a value of $277,800, so it is lower on both price and rent, while Garland shows a lower value of $270,800 yet a higher rent of $1,641. That mix is why you should read value, rent and ownership share together, and not rank cities on one figure, because a single number such as price hides how owners and renters actually split.

Calculate for Texas

If you buy

Texas state transfer tax

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$318,100
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Texas median value of owner-occupied homes, $318,100 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No transfer tax exists. Buyers pay county recording fees and a state-set title insurance premium. Who pays: No transfer tax to assign. Recording fees and the title insurance premium appear on the closing statement. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Texas transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Texas state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Fort Worth

How much is property tax in Fort Worth?

Homeowners in Tarrant County pay a median $5,334 a year in property tax, 1.65% of the county median home value of $323,900 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Fort Worth?

Home-purchase mortgages in Tarrant County carried median total loan costs of $8,566 in 2025; half of the 18,567 loans fell between $5,646 and $12,005 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Fort Worth?

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution, added November 3, 2015, says no law enacted after January 1, 2016 may impose a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Fort Worth?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Fort Worth ($303,000) equals 16.7 years of the median gross rent ($1,509 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Fort Worth?

Across Texas, the main hazards for home insurance are flood, tornado, wind and hail, and the insurer of last resort is Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA). Texas gets more tornadoes than any other state, according to the Texas Department of Insurance; on the coast, windstorm coverage comes from a separate policy, often from TWIA, in 14 coastal counties plus part of Harris County.

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Texas rules that apply in Fort Worth

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Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides