State cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Cost of Living in Texas
Statewide Regional Price Parities for Texas from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100, across 26 metro areas.
- 97.1
- Statewide RPP
- #25
- of 51 states by cost
- 96.5
- Rents RPP
- 26
- Metro areas
Texas ranks #25 of 51 states by cost, and its statewide price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- fell -0.1 points in the 2023-2024 release
- similar cost to Maine
The verdict
Texas costs less than 49% of U.S. states, a statewide index of 97.1, 2.9% below the national average.
- Services
- furthest category from 100, at 87.5
- Maine
- closest statewide cost peer, 0.0 points away
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
- highest-cost metro, 103.1
- Eagle Pass
- lowest-cost metro, 83.8
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $103,032 when earned in Texas.
Texas vs every U.S. state
Where this state sits in the national cost distribution
97 Top 49% higher than 51% of 51 US states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. 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
Texas RPP history, 2008–2024
The statewide index has changed by only 0.0 points from 2008 to 2024. The line shows every retained BEA release against the national benchmark of 100; the table preserves the component detail.
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.1 |
| 2009 | 96.7 |
| 2010 | 97.7 |
| 2011 | 97.0 |
| 2012 | 97.7 |
| 2013 | 98.1 |
| 2014 | 98.4 |
| 2015 | 98.3 |
| 2016 | 98.1 |
| 2017 | 97.4 |
| 2018 | 97.8 |
| 2019 | 98.5 |
| 2020 | 98.8 |
| 2021 | 98.4 |
| 2022 | 97.4 |
| 2023 | 97.1 |
| 2024 | 97.1 |
Reading the Texas Cost of Living Picture
Texas clusters near the national line with Maine, Pennsylvania, Georgia as its closest statewide peers. In that near-par lane, the component mix matters more than the small headline distance from 100. Only 10.6 points separate its reported categories, so the statewide index transfers across household types more cleanly than it does in a polarized cost profile.
Texas captures 26 metro areas in the BEA dataset, and the range across them is meaningful. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX leads on cost at 103.1, while Eagle Pass, TX sits at the opposite end at 83.8 - a gap of 19.3 index points inside a single state. For goods the state indexes at 98.1, for services 87.5, and for rents 96.5. Rents sit within 0.6 points of the statewide index, so no single category is distorting the headline — unusual, and it makes the state number more transferable between households than most.
Over time, Texas's statewide index has held steady within 0.0 points, suggesting a stable competitive position against other states. Practically, this means a $100,000 national salary delivers the purchasing power of about $103,032 of national buying power when earned inside Texas, and a household relocating here would need roughly $97,057 to reproduce a $100K lifestyle. With 26 reporting metros inside the state, treat this figure as the midpoint of a range rather than a quote for any one address.
Metro areas in Texas, ranked by cost
| # | Metro area | Overall | Goods | Services | Rents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 103.1 | 102.8 | 90.7 | 117.9 |
| 2 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | 98.6 | 100.6 | 95.3 | 104.5 |
| 3 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | 98.1 | 93.8 | 82.0 | 120.4 |
| 4 | Midland | 95.8 | 93.8 | 83.2 | 101.5 |
| 5 | San Antonio-New Braunfels | 94.7 | 93.8 | 82.2 | 94.6 |
| 6 | Odessa | 93.9 | 93.8 | 82.9 | 89.7 |
| 7 | Sherman-Denison | 93.8 | 93.8 | 83.3 | 89.5 |
| 8 | Corpus Christi | 92.7 | 93.8 | 81.0 | 84.9 |
| 9 | Waco | 92.5 | 93.8 | 81.0 | 83.5 |
| 10 | San Angelo | 92.5 | 93.8 | 81.6 | 81.4 |
| 11 | Tyler | 92.2 | 93.8 | 82.9 | 79.9 |
| 12 | Amarillo | 91.8 | 93.8 | 83.5 | 78.4 |
| 13 | Lubbock | 91.3 | 93.8 | 82.8 | 76.4 |
| 14 | Killeen-Temple | 91.1 | 93.8 | 81.2 | 77.9 |
| 15 | College Station-Bryan | 91.0 | 93.8 | 84.4 | 75.1 |
| 16 | Abilene | 90.4 | 93.8 | 81.2 | 73.8 |
| 17 | Beaumont-Port Arthur | 90.0 | 93.8 | 83.1 | 70.9 |
| 18 | El Paso | 89.9 | 93.8 | 82.6 | 71.2 |
| 19 | Victoria | 89.8 | 93.8 | 85.3 | 69.3 |
| 20 | Wichita Falls | 89.5 | 93.8 | 84.1 | 68.2 |
| 21 | Longview | 89.5 | 93.8 | 83.5 | 66.7 |
| 22 | Laredo | 87.0 | 93.8 | 80.6 | 59.7 |
| 23 | Brownsville-Harlingen | 86.0 | 93.8 | 81.2 | 57.7 |
| 24 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | 85.9 | 93.8 | 81.2 | 55.9 |
| 25 | Texarkana | 84.0 | 93.7 | 79.3 | 49.9 |
| 26 | Eagle Pass | 83.8 | 93.8 | 81.9 | 53.7 |
The Rents RPP index measures housing costs relative to the national average (100). For the federal 40th-percentile Fair Market Rent by bedroom size and county, see the HUD Fair Market Rents dataset.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Texas's overall RPP fell -0.1 points, from 97.1 in 2023 to 97.1 in 2024. The largest category move was services, changing from 92.4 to 87.5. RPP is a relative price index, so this reports a change against the national benchmark rather than a household's dollar bill.
What this means in Texas
The statewide index is a starting point, cost varies metro to metro within Texas.
- Don't rely on the state figure alone: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (103.1) and Eagle Pass (83.8) sit 19 index points apart inside Texas. Check your specific metro.
- Rents index at 96.5 (3.5% below average) - the largest swing in the RPP. Review the housing line before any relocation decision. Highest rents
- Weighing Texas against another state? Convert your salary to local purchasing power first. Salary calculator
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark (national average = 100) for the data year shown, pair it with local wages and current rents before deciding.
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive rankings, cost of living vs wages, and how BEA constructs RPP data.
States with Similar Cost of Living
These states have RPP indices closest to Texas, making them useful peers for relocation or budget comparison.
Nationwide states with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Texas: nearest states by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are labelled nationwide neighborhoods, distinct from the closest-RPP list above.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest states by overall regional price parity (97.1 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest states by rents regional price parity (96.5 here).
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities Index where national average = 100
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Texas sit versus the national cost-of-living line?
Texas has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 97.1, meaning it is 2.9% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 98.1, services at 87.5, and rents at 96.5.
What salary in Texas equals $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $97,057 in Texas. Conversely, $100K earned in Texas has the purchasing power of $103,032 at the national average.
Is housing expensive in Texas?
Rents in Texas are indexed at 96.5, which is 3.5% below the national average. Housing costs are close to the national average.
Which metros stretch Texas's cost range the widest?
The most expensive metro area in Texas is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX with an RPP of 103.1. The most affordable is Eagle Pass, TX at 83.8. There are 26 metro areas in Texas with BEA price data.
Is Texas getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Texas's overall cost index changed by +-0.0 points (from 97.1 to 97.1). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
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 2024. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.