Plano Gets Top Marks for Most Apartment Amenities in Texas

Plano is the Marcia Brady of real estate studies. Like The Brady Bunch overachieving big sister, the Collin County city is always scoring high in best-of studies. You might think it’s all “Plano, Plano, Plano.”

This time, Plano is tops in Texas for apartment community amenities, according to a STORAGECafé analysis.

This comes on the heels of Plano being selected best city for renters by Forbes Advisor and the city being identified as the nation’s largest one- and two-bedroom apartments. Also, Plano was highlighted for having the best parks in Texas. Plus, apparently it’s Best for gamers.

In STORAGECafé’s study, Plano is ranked seventh nationally in rental community amenities such as well-manicured outdoor space, swimming pools, spas, and fitness centers.

Fort Worth (24th), Irving (29th), Garland (38th), Dallas (41st), and Arlington (49th) also made the top-100 list. Arlington ranked 10th in best renter outdoor space and pools.

Gilbert and Chandler, Arizona’s top rankings provide insight for what might be the next big amenity: storage facilities for renters.

“Developers acknowledged this increasing demand for extra storage and have found new ways to respond to renters’ needs,” said Doug Ressler, Business Intelligence Manager at Yardi Matrix. “Many developers already offer on-site storage as an amenity in rental communities. Others locate new developments in close vicinity of self storage facilities, which allows convenient access to extra space. I think in the next decade we will continue to see a growth in storage facilities in the country as the population ages.”

The cities that have the highest self storage inventory per capita are also often the places that have been continuously attracting people on the move. Orlando boasts the highest square footage per capita (26 square feet per person), almost four times larger than the national average. Plano has 12.5 square feet per person and Dallas has 7.3 sq. ft/person.

Here are some of the more important highlights on Plano’s rental scene:

• Plano ranked highest for fitness centers (85 percent), clubhouses (77 percent), spas (53 percent), and business centers (70 percent). Plano’s business center ranking was second-best nationally.
• Plano has also seen a 20-percent increase in rental units built over the past decade

Plano isn’t perfect. Its apartments are not especially family-friendly, according to the study. Only about 31 percent of rental communities have playgrounds.

Sorry little sis. “Plano, Plano, Plano.”