South ranking
82 Texas cities ranked by cost of living, cheapest first.
Index 78
Index 109
Sorted by cost-of-living index — lowest (most affordable) first.
| # | City | Cost index | Median rent | Median income | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mission | 78 | $876/mo | $56,421 | 86K | Compare → |
| 2 | Edinburg | 78 | $920/mo | $54,139 | 101K | Compare → |
| 3 | Pharr | 78 | $926/mo | $45,016 | 79K | Compare → |
| 4 | McAllen | 78 | $955/mo | $56,326 | 143K | Compare → |
| 5 | Harlingen | 79 | $867/mo | $50,367 | 71K | Compare → |
| 6 | Brownsville | 79 | $872/mo | $46,735 | 187K | Compare → |
| 7 | Laredo | 80 | $968/mo | $60,928 | 255K | Compare → |
| 8 | Longview | 83 | $1,000/mo | $61,003 | 82K | Compare → |
| 9 | Wichita Falls | 83 | $949/mo | $55,584 | 102K | Compare → |
| 10 | Port Arthur | 84 | $938/mo | $45,357 | 56K | Compare → |
| 11 | Victoria | 84 | $1,094/mo | $64,832 | 65K | Compare → |
| 12 | Beaumont | 84 | $992/mo | $53,745 | 115K | Compare → |
| 13 | El Paso | 84 | $976/mo | $55,710 | 677K | Compare → |
| 14 | Abilene | 86 | $1,060/mo | $59,254 | 126K | Compare → |
| 15 | Bryan | 87 | $1,109/mo | $55,234 | 85K | Compare → |
| 16 | College Station | 87 | $1,129/mo | $52,397 | 120K | Compare → |
| 17 | Lubbock | 87 | $1,093/mo | $58,734 | 258K | Compare → |
| 18 | Killeen | 87 | $1,084/mo | $57,086 | 154K | Compare → |
| 19 | Temple | 87 | $1,088/mo | $61,003 | 83K | Compare → |
| 20 | Amarillo | 87 | $997/mo | $60,628 | 200K | Compare → |
| 21 | Tyler | 88 | $1,113/mo | $63,056 | 106K | Compare → |
| 22 | San Angelo | 89 | $1,037/mo | $65,040 | 99K | Compare → |
| 23 | Waco | 89 | $1,038/mo | $47,421 | 141K | Compare → |
| 24 | Corpus Christi | 90 | $1,178/mo | $64,449 | 318K | Compare → |
| 25 | Sherman | 92 | $1,109/mo | $58,020 | 44K | Compare → |
| 26 | Odessa | 93 | $1,282/mo | $71,293 | 113K | Compare → |
| 27 | San Antonio | 94 | $1,189/mo | $59,593 | 1.4M | Compare → |
| 28 | New Braunfels | 95 | $1,426/mo | $85,827 | 93K | Compare → |
| 29 | Midland | 97 | $1,400/mo | $90,448 | 132K | Compare → |
| 30 | Huntsville | 99 | $970/mo | $37,419 | 46K | Compare → |
| 31 | Texas City | 100 | $1,137/mo | $61,359 | 53K | Compare → |
| 32 | Pasadena | 100 | $1,159/mo | $64,698 | 151K | Compare → |
| 33 | Galveston | 100 | $1,200/mo | $57,453 | 53K | Compare → |
| 34 | Baytown | 100 | $1,207/mo | $61,158 | 84K | Compare → |
| 35 | Houston | 100 | $1,235/mo | $60,440 | 2.3M | Compare → |
| 36 | Conroe | 100 | $1,255/mo | $71,630 | 92K | Compare → |
| 37 | League City | 101 | $1,598/mo | $117,316 | 113K | Compare → |
| 38 | Pearland | 101 | $1,622/mo | $111,123 | 124K | Compare → |
| 39 | Spring | 101 | $1,631/mo | $83,754 | 64K | Compare → |
| 40 | Atascocita | 101 | $1,706/mo | $115,687 | 89K | Compare → |
| 41 | The Woodlands | 101 | $1,723/mo | $142,384 | 118K | Compare → |
| 42 | Missouri City | 102 | $1,781/mo | $97,211 | 75K | Compare → |
| 43 | Sugar Land | 102 | $1,868/mo | $132,247 | 110K | Compare → |
| 44 | San Marcos | 104 | $1,251/mo | $47,394 | 67K | Compare → |
| 45 | Austin | 105 | $1,549/mo | $86,556 | 958K | Compare → |
| 46 | Kyle | 105 | $1,572/mo | $85,199 | 48K | Compare → |
| 47 | Georgetown | 105 | $1,575/mo | $87,465 | 72K | Compare → |
| 48 | Round Rock | 105 | $1,586/mo | $91,888 | 120K | Compare → |
| 49 | Cedar Park | 105 | $1,677/mo | $118,903 | 76K | Compare → |
| 50 | Pflugerville | 105 | $1,677/mo | $111,151 | 65K | Compare → |
| 51 | Leander | 106 | $1,802/mo | $129,684 | 62K | Compare → |
| 52 | Arlington | 106 | $1,297/mo | $71,736 | 393K | Compare → |
| 53 | Dallas | 106 | $1,305/mo | $63,985 | 1.3M | Compare → |
| 54 | Fort Worth | 106 | $1,313/mo | $72,726 | 925K | Compare → |
| 55 | Haltom City | 106 | $1,239/mo | $57,649 | 46K | Compare → |
| 56 | Denton | 106 | $1,264/mo | $71,921 | 142K | Compare → |
| 57 | Mesquite | 107 | $1,323/mo | $69,649 | 149K | Compare → |
| 58 | Bedford | 107 | $1,332/mo | $80,924 | 49K | Compare → |
| 59 | Grand Prairie | 107 | $1,381/mo | $76,626 | 197K | Compare → |
| 60 | DeSoto | 107 | $1,414/mo | $81,736 | 56K | Compare → |
| 61 | Irving | 107 | $1,423/mo | $76,686 | 255K | Compare → |
| 62 | Garland | 107 | $1,421/mo | $71,044 | 244K | Compare → |
| 63 | Lewisville | 107 | $1,455/mo | $82,006 | 125K | Compare → |
| 64 | North Richland Hills | 107 | $1,465/mo | $88,656 | 70K | Compare → |
| 65 | Euless | 107 | $1,497/mo | $77,403 | 60K | Compare → |
| 66 | Carrollton | 107 | $1,555/mo | $95,380 | 132K | Compare → |
| 67 | Burleson | 107 | $1,571/mo | $87,312 | 49K | Compare → |
| 68 | Mansfield | 108 | $1,670/mo | $112,465 | 74K | Compare → |
| 69 | Cedar Hill | 108 | $1,676/mo | $84,132 | 49K | Compare → |
| 70 | Plano | 108 | $1,699/mo | $105,679 | 285K | Compare → |
| 71 | Richardson | 108 | $1,725/mo | $94,362 | 118K | Compare → |
| 72 | Rockwall | 108 | $1,728/mo | $114,799 | 48K | Compare → |
| 73 | The Colony | 108 | $1,739/mo | $106,518 | 44K | Compare → |
| 74 | McKinney | 108 | $1,740/mo | $113,286 | 196K | Compare → |
| 75 | Allen | 108 | $1,747/mo | $121,259 | 105K | Compare → |
| 76 | Grapevine | 108 | $1,750/mo | $107,165 | 51K | Compare → |
| 77 | Frisco | 108 | $1,803/mo | $144,567 | 202K | Compare → |
| 78 | Rowlett | 108 | $1,807/mo | $110,954 | 63K | Compare → |
| 79 | Wylie | 108 | $1,844/mo | $109,465 | 57K | Compare → |
| 80 | Keller | 108 | $1,850/mo | $162,094 | 45K | Compare → |
| 81 | Little Elm | 108 | $1,916/mo | $110,218 | 48K | Compare → |
| 82 | Flower Mound | 109 | $2,039/mo | $154,471 | 77K | Compare → |
Texas has a handful of real selling points, and they're concrete rather than vague. Cheaper than the US average, statewide and there's a genuinely cheap city to fall back on are the headliners, plus 5 more.
Texas averages a cost-of-living index of roughly 98 across its cities, about 2% under the national average. Different cities vary — see the full ranking above — but the overall state picture is on the affordable side. Average median rent across Texas cities runs about $1,371/mo.
Mission ranks as Texas's most affordable city at a composite cost index of 78 (22% below US average). Worth a look as a baseline for the cost ceiling — most of the rest of the state's cities are more expensive than this, not less.
Texas is one of just nine US states with no state income tax on wages. For a household earning $100,000, that's typically several thousand dollars a year that stay in the account instead of going to a state revenue department — and it stacks every year you live here.
Across our Texas city data, typical household income lands near $81,276. That's above the national median, which puts more cushion under whatever the local cost of living happens to be.
Living in Texas comes with access to Houston, a city of roughly 2,296,253 with the infrastructure that follows from real urban scale. The benefit isn't just for the people inside the city limits — the airport, hospitals, and labor market serve most of the state.
Texas has 82 cities in our ranking, covering a real spread of size, density, and cost. People talk about a state like it's monolithic; in practice, the place you actually live varies a lot, and Texas gives you a real menu to pick from.
Living in Texas puts Gulf of Mexico coastline within driving range of most of the state. The practical upshot: weekend beach trips, easier access to seafood that hasn't been on a truck for a week, and a milder climate near the coast than the same latitude would have inland.
Reasons reflect aggregated city data for Texas (Census ACS, BLS, BEA) plus well-known state-level geography. We only list points that are actually supported — different states show different sections.
Across Texas, Mission is the most affordable city we track (cost index 78, with median rent around $876/mo), while Flower Mound sits at the top of the range with an index of 109—roughly 39% pricier than Mission. Use the table above to compare any Texas city directly against Mission.
The other end of the ranking — priciest first.