Overall
103.1
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Cost-of-living indicators for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 103.1
- Overall RPP
- #48
- of 387 metros
- 117.9
- Rents RPP
- $97K
- $100K national buys
Dallas ranks #48 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Trenton-Princeton
The verdict
Dallas is more expensive than 88% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 103.1, 3.1% above the national average, led by rents at 117.9.
- top 12%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 102.8
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 90.7
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $97,003 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $103,090.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$103,090
in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$51,545
$75,000 nationally
$77,318
$125,000 nationally
$128,862
$150,000 nationally
$154,635
$200,000 nationally
$206,180
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
12/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
12th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.7 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2019, when the index jumped 2.3 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Dallas overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 101.4 |
| 2009 | 101.5 |
| 2010 | 101.3 |
| 2011 | 100.2 |
| 2012 | 100.8 |
| 2013 | 101.0 |
| 2014 | 100.2 |
| 2015 | 99.1 |
| 2016 | 98.0 |
| 2017 | 99.7 |
| 2018 | 101.1 |
| 2019 | 103.4 |
| 2020 | 104.5 |
| 2021 | 104.0 |
| 2022 | 103.4 |
| 2023 | 102.5 |
| 2024 | 103.1 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Dallas's overall RPP rose +0.6 points, from 102.5 in 2023 to 103.1 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 96.5 to 90.7. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Housing-led cost profile
How Dallas's cost structure works
Housing is the defining pressure in Dallas: rents index at 117.9, the furthest component above the national benchmark. The overall index of 103.1 places Dallas among the priciest quarter of U.S. metros; the rent line explains why a similar headline RPP can still require a different housing budget.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV. They resemble Dallas across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Dallas's overall index has stayed within 1.7 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Dallas vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
103 Top 12% higher than 88% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Dallas cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
117.9 RPP
- Services
Services
90.7 RPP
- Overall
Overall
103.1 RPP
- Goods
Goods
102.8 RPP
What this shows Dallas's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 117.9 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 90.7. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Dallas's cost comes from
Metros near Dallas's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Dallas (Dallas, this metro): goods RPP 102.8, rents RPP 117.9
- Trenton: goods RPP 99.8, rents RPP 135.1
- Naples: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 129.4
- Fairbanks: goods RPP 107.3, rents RPP 92.6
- Phoenix: goods RPP 95, rents RPP 121.2
- Ithaca: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 128.4
- Bellingham: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 112.9
Price Index Summary
Goods
102.8
Above avg
Services
90.7
Below avg
Rents
117.9
Expensive
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX's index of 103.1.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Dallas's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA
Goods 105.0 · Services 91.7 · Rents 116.7 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Goods 103.1 · Services 93.5 · Rents 111.8 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV
Goods 96.3 · Services 90.6 · Rents 115.5 Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 88.2 · Rents 119.8 Port St. Lucie, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 87.0 · Rents 113.6 Punta Gorda, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 87.3 · Rents 113.3
TX-relative analysis
Goods prices is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX's strongest outlier among TX metros
Among the 26 TX metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ranks #1 - the 96th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 26
96th percentile in TX
Services prices
#2 of 26
92nd percentile in TX
Rent prices
#2 of 26
92nd percentile in TX
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within TX only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (103.1 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (117.9 here).
Other TX Metros
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 98.6 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 98.1 Midland, TX 95.8 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 94.7 Odessa, TX 93.9 Sherman-Denison, TX 93.8
View all TX metros → Cheapest in TX → Most expensive in TX →
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Dallas
How to read Dallas's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $97,003 in Dallas. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 117.9, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Dallas head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 103.1, meaning it is 3.1% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 102.8, services at 90.7, and rents at 117.9. It ranks #48 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $103,090 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. Conversely, $100K earned in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX has the purchasing power of $97,003 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?
Rents in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX are indexed at 117.9, which is 17.9% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX's overall cost index changed by +1.7 points (from 101.4 to 103.1). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?
The priciest category in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX is rents at 117.9, 17.9% above the national average. The most affordable category is services at 90.7, 9.3% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Trenton-Princeton, Naples-Marco Island, Fairbanks-College. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX's 103.1.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.