Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Odessa's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Odessa?
Your $100,000 in Odessa has the same purchasing power as $108,061 in the average US city. You'd need $8,061 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Odessa's cost index of 93, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Odessa usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: living costs come in under the us baseline, wage income stays untaxed at the state level, plus 4 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Odessa sits at 93 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 7% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $1,282/mo against a typical household income of $71,293, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Wage income in Odessa isn't taxed at the state level. Texas is one of the few US states with no income tax, which is one of the reasons people relocating from high-tax states tend to land here in the first place.
Odessa reports about 2,606 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Odessa earns a Walk Score of 62/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Odessa's air quality index averages about 42 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Odessa is about 23 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Odessa's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is a regular feature, not a surprise. With winter temperatures hovering near 29°F, Odessa sees enough snowfall that locals don't think twice about it but also enough mild stretches that nobody owns three pairs of boots.
Cold but workable. Winter in Odessa averages about 29°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Genuinely hot. Summer in Odessa averages about 92°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Zone 8, give or take a half-zone. Odessa's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 8 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Odessa sits at about 2,943 feet (897 m) — meaningfully higher than coastal cities, but not high enough to noticeably affect breathing or cooking.
Average for an American city. Odessa's reported crime rate of about 2,606 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Roughly average. Odessa's cost-of-living index is 93, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Somewhat. Odessa earns a Walk Score of 62/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips.
Roughly $64,778 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Odessa runs about $1,282/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.