Which city in Texas leaves you best off?

Texarkana, at $89,408 of purchasing power on $100,000 with a $400,000 home — $19,116 a year more than Dallas at the other end of the table. Because the income tax is identical everywhere in Texas, that ranking is made of two things only: the price level and property tax.

Which is the cheapest city in Texas?

Eagle Pass, at 83.805 on the Bureau of Economic Analysis price index where 100 is the US average, against 103.09 in Dallas. Cheapest is not the same as best off, though: property tax is set separately and can move a household by $1,140 a year on the same house.

Does income tax differ between cities in Texas?

No. Texas sets one set of brackets for the whole state — in fact it does not tax wage income at all, and it does not let counties or cities levy their own income tax. On $100,000 the bill is federal $13,170, FICA $7,650 and state $0 in every one of these 26 areas. That is what makes comparing them clean.

How much does cost of living vary inside Texas?

From 83.805 to 103.09 on the price index — 19.3 points between Eagle Pass and Dallas. In take-home terms that is $19,116 a year of purchasing power on the same salary.

How many Texas city comparisons are there?

325, one page each, every pair of the 26 metropolitan areas the Bureau of Economic Analysis prices in Texas. Each resolves the same way — income tax, property tax and price level — and each shows the break-even salary in both directions.

2026 · 26 metro areas · 325 comparisons

Texas cities compared

All 26 Texas metropolitan areas on the same $100,000 salary and the same $400,000 home. Texarkana leaves you $19,116 a year better off than Dallas — and none of it is income tax, which is identical everywhere in the state.

Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz QuinteroSources checked September 1, 2026Price level from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis; property tax from US Census Bureau county data

Texarkana to Dallas: $19,116 a year apart, same tax code

Texas has 26 metropolitan areas with a published price index, and on $100,000 with a $400,000 home they are not interchangeable: $89,408 of purchasing power in Texarkana against $70,292 in Dallas — $19,116 a year, 19.1% of the salary, without leaving the state.

That gap is unusually easy to trust, because the income tax is identical in every row. Federal $13,170, FICA $7,650, Texas state income tax $0 — the state does not levy one, and no county or city in Texas levies its own. Two things move down this table and only two: what a house costs in property tax, and what everything costs at the till.

Every Texas metropolitan area, by what a $100,000 salary buys

Metropolitan area	Buys	Behind the best	Prices	Property tax
1Texarkana	$89,408	best	84.012	1.02%
2Eagle Pass	$87,827	−$1,581	83.805	1.39%
3Brownsville-Harlingen	$84,552	−$4,857	85.975	1.62%
4McAllen-Edinburg-Mission	$83,969	−$5,439	85.895	1.76%
5Longview	$83,414	−$5,994	89.485	1.13%
6Laredo	$82,542	−$6,867	86.956	1.85%
7Victoria	$81,675	−$7,733	89.839	1.45%
8Beaumont-Port Arthur	$81,526	−$7,882	90.046	1.44%
9Abilene	$81,475	−$7,933	90.364	1.39%
10Wichita Falls	$80,828	−$8,580	89.513	1.71%
11Tyler	$80,516	−$8,893	92.156	1.24%
12College Station-Bryan	$80,299	−$9,109	90.951	1.54%
13Killeen-Temple	$80,265	−$9,144	91.132	1.51%
14Lubbock	$79,865	−$9,544	91.317	1.56%
15San Angelo	$79,823	−$9,586	92.453	1.35%
16Amarillo	$79,538	−$9,870	91.82	1.54%
17Waco	$79,139	−$10,270	92.55	1.48%
18Sherman-Denison	$78,922	−$10,486	93.771	1.29%
19Odessa	$78,875	−$10,533	93.896	1.28%
20El Paso	$78,797	−$10,611	89.912	2.08%
21Corpus Christi	$78,524	−$10,884	92.671	1.60%
22Midland	$77,444	−$11,964	95.783	1.25%
23San Antonio-New Braunfels	$76,413	−$12,995	94.716	1.70%
24Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos	$74,241	−$15,167	98.066	1.59%
25Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands	$73,339	−$16,069	98.629	1.71%
26Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington	$70,292	−$19,116	103.09	1.68%

Purchasing power on a $100,000 salary with a $400,000 home: take-home after federal, FICA, Texas income tax and property tax, divided by that area’s price level. The income tax is identical in every row — the whole of the spread is property tax and the price level. Price index 100 is the US average.

1 of the 26 price above the national average and 25 below it — inside one state, under one tax code. A single state-level cost of living number averages that away and tells you about none of them.

Property tax runs from 1.02% in Texarkana to 2.08% in El Paso — on a $400,000 home that is $4,066 against $8,332 a year, a difference of $4,265. Each rate is that area's counties averaged and weighted by how many homes are in each, because a house pays the tax and a rural county of a few thousand homes should not weigh the same as an urban one of several hundred thousand.

The 325 Texas comparisons, resolved

Every pair of Texas cities, each on its own page with the full working, the break-even salary and the property tax bill house by house. Ordered by the population that could plausibly be choosing between them:

Dallas vs Houston — Houston by $3,048 a year. Price level 103.09 against 98.629; property tax 1.68% against 1.71%.

Dallas vs San Antonio — San Antonio by $6,121 a year. Price level 103.09 against 94.716; property tax 1.68% against 1.70%.

Austin vs Dallas — Austin by $3,949 a year. Price level 98.066 against 103.09; property tax 1.59% against 1.68%.

Houston vs San Antonio — San Antonio by $3,073 a year. Price level 98.629 against 94.716; property tax 1.71% against 1.70%.

Austin vs Houston — Austin by $902 a year. Price level 98.066 against 98.629; property tax 1.59% against 1.71%.

Dallas vs McAllen — McAllen by $13,677 a year. Price level 103.09 against 85.895; property tax 1.68% against 1.76%.

Dallas vs El Paso — El Paso by $8,506 a year. Price level 103.09 against 89.912; property tax 1.68% against 2.08%.

Dallas vs Killeen — Killeen by $9,973 a year. Price level 103.09 against 91.132; property tax 1.68% against 1.51%.

Corpus Christi vs Dallas — Corpus Christi by $8,232 a year. Price level 92.671 against 103.09; property tax 1.60% against 1.68%.

Brownsville vs Dallas — Brownsville by $14,260 a year. Price level 85.975 against 103.09; property tax 1.62% against 1.68%.

Beaumont vs Dallas — Beaumont by $11,234 a year. Price level 90.046 against 103.09; property tax 1.44% against 1.68%.

Dallas vs Lubbock — Lubbock by $9,573 a year. Price level 103.09 against 91.317; property tax 1.68% against 1.56%.

Houston vs McAllen — McAllen by $10,630 a year. Price level 98.629 against 85.895; property tax 1.71% against 1.76%.

El Paso vs Houston — El Paso by $5,458 a year. Price level 89.912 against 98.629; property tax 2.08% against 1.71%.

Dallas vs Waco — Waco by $8,847 a year. Price level 103.09 against 92.55; property tax 1.68% against 1.48%.

Dallas vs Longview — Longview by $13,122 a year. Price level 103.09 against 89.485; property tax 1.68% against 1.13%.

College Station vs Dallas — College Station by $10,007 a year. Price level 90.951 against 103.09; property tax 1.54% against 1.68%.

Amarillo vs Dallas — Amarillo by $9,246 a year. Price level 91.82 against 103.09; property tax 1.54% against 1.68%.

Dallas vs Laredo — Laredo by $12,250 a year. Price level 103.09 against 86.956; property tax 1.68% against 1.85%.

Dallas vs Tyler — Tyler by $10,224 a year. Price level 103.09 against 92.156; property tax 1.68% against 1.24%.

Abilene vs Dallas — Abilene by $11,183 a year. Price level 90.364 against 103.09; property tax 1.39% against 1.68%.

Dallas vs Midland — Midland by $7,152 a year. Price level 103.09 against 95.783; property tax 1.68% against 1.25%.

Dallas vs Odessa — Odessa by $8,583 a year. Price level 103.09 against 93.896; property tax 1.68% against 1.28%.

Dallas vs Wichita Falls — Wichita Falls by $10,537 a year. Price level 103.09 against 89.513; property tax 1.68% against 1.71%.

And 301 more pairs of Texas cities, each with its own page.

Every Texas city, and what it can be compared with

The areas themselves, largest first. Each line has what defines that city on the two measures that matter here, and then every comparison it takes part in:

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington — 7.8m people across 11 counties. Price level 103.09, housing 117.874, property tax 1.68%. Compared with Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands — 7.3m people across 10 counties. Price level 98.629, housing 104.51, property tax 1.71%. Compared with Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

San Antonio-New Braunfels — 2.6m people across 8 counties. Price level 94.716, housing 94.575, property tax 1.70%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos — 2.4m people across 5 counties. Price level 98.066, housing 120.361, property tax 1.59%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission — 881k people across 1 county. Price level 85.895, housing 55.892, property tax 1.76%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

El Paso — 870k people across 2 counties. Price level 89.912, housing 71.248, property tax 2.08%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Killeen-Temple — 486k people across 3 counties. Price level 91.132, housing 77.884, property tax 1.51%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Corpus Christi — 447k people across 3 counties. Price level 92.671, housing 84.905, property tax 1.60%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Brownsville-Harlingen — 423k people across 1 county. Price level 85.975, housing 57.72, property tax 1.62%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Beaumont-Port Arthur — 396k people across 3 counties. Price level 90.046, housing 70.939, property tax 1.44%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Lubbock — 355k people across 6 counties. Price level 91.317, housing 76.357, property tax 1.56%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Waco — 299k people across 3 counties. Price level 92.55, housing 83.531, property tax 1.48%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Longview — 289k people across 4 counties. Price level 89.485, housing 66.749, property tax 1.13%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

College Station-Bryan — 273k people across 3 counties. Price level 90.951, housing 75.088, property tax 1.54%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Amarillo — 270k people across 5 counties. Price level 91.82, housing 78.38, property tax 1.54%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Laredo — 268k people across 1 county. Price level 86.956, housing 59.746, property tax 1.85%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Tyler — 238k people across 1 county. Price level 92.156, housing 79.911, property tax 1.24%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Abilene — 178k people across 3 counties. Price level 90.364, housing 73.791, property tax 1.39%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Midland — 177k people across 2 counties. Price level 95.783, housing 101.497, property tax 1.25%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Odessa — 163k people across 1 county. Price level 93.896, housing 89.709, property tax 1.28%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Wichita Falls — 149k people across 3 counties. Price level 89.513, housing 68.208, property tax 1.71%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Texarkana — 147k people across 3 counties. Price level 84.012, housing 49.885, property tax 1.02%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Sherman-Denison — 140k people across 1 county. Price level 93.771, housing 89.466, property tax 1.29%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, San Angelo, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

San Angelo — 121k people across 2 counties. Price level 92.453, housing 81.442, property tax 1.35%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, Victoria, Eagle Pass.

Victoria — 98k people across 2 counties. Price level 89.839, housing 69.318, property tax 1.45%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Eagle Pass.

Eagle Pass — 58k people across 1 county. Price level 83.805, housing 53.681, property tax 1.39%. Compared with Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen, El Paso, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Beaumont, Lubbock, Waco, Longview, College Station, Amarillo, Laredo, Tyler, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Sherman, San Angelo, Victoria.

The counties behind each rate

Nobody pays a metropolitan area's property tax rate. They pay their county's, and the figures above are those county rates averaged and weighted by how many homes each county holds. Opened up:

Dallas averages 1.68% across 11 counties: Dallas County 1.68%, Tarrant County 1.77%, Collin County 1.66%, Denton County 1.72%, Ellis County 1.46%, Johnson County 1.28%, Parker County 1.45%, Kaufman County 1.73%, and 3 more. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.19% in Wise County to 1.77% in Tarrant County, which is $2,335 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Houston averages 1.71% across 10 counties: Harris County 1.72%, Fort Bend County 1.99%, Montgomery County 1.65%, Galveston County 1.49%, Brazoria County 1.75%, Liberty County 1.25%, Waller County 1.36%, Chambers County 1.13%, and 2 more. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.13% in Chambers County to 1.99% in Fort Bend County, which is $3,414 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

San Antonio averages 1.70% across 8 counties: Bexar County 1.81%, Comal County 1.21%, Guadalupe County 1.49%, Medina County 1.31%, Wilson County 1.30%, Atascosa County 1.32%, Kendall County 1.20%, Bandera County 0.94%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.94% in Bandera County to 1.81% in Bexar County, which is $3,499 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Austin averages 1.59% across 5 counties: Travis County 1.54%, Williamson County 1.71%, Hays County 1.73%, Bastrop County 1.51%, Caldwell County 1.33%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.33% in Caldwell County to 1.73% in Hays County, which is $1,588 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

McAllen averages 1.76% across 1 county: Hidalgo County 1.76%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

El Paso averages 2.08% across 2 counties: El Paso County 2.09%, Hudspeth County 1.18%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.18% in Hudspeth County to 2.09% in El Paso County, which is $3,627 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Killeen averages 1.51% across 3 counties: Bell County 1.54%, Coryell County 1.41%, Lampasas County 1.27%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.27% in Lampasas County to 1.54% in Bell County, which is $1,094 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Corpus Christi averages 1.60% across 3 counties: Nueces County 1.68%, San Patricio County 1.53%, Aransas County 1.01%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.01% in Aransas County to 1.68% in Nueces County, which is $2,658 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Brownsville averages 1.62% across 1 county: Cameron County 1.62%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Beaumont averages 1.44% across 3 counties: Jefferson County 1.57%, Orange County 1.25%, Hardin County 1.16%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.16% in Hardin County to 1.57% in Jefferson County, which is $1,678 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Lubbock averages 1.56% across 6 counties: Lubbock County 1.56%, Hockley County 1.48%, Crosby County 1.78%, Lynn County 1.73%, Garza County 1.66%, Cochran County 1.19%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.19% in Cochran County to 1.78% in Crosby County, which is $2,384 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Waco averages 1.48% across 3 counties: McLennan County 1.53%, Bosque County 1.01%, Falls County 1.47%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.01% in Bosque County to 1.53% in McLennan County, which is $2,077 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Longview averages 1.13% across 4 counties: Gregg County 1.22%, Harrison County 1.02%, Rusk County 1.00%, Upshur County 1.23%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.00% in Rusk County to 1.23% in Upshur County, which is $902 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

College Station averages 1.54% across 3 counties: Brazos County 1.64%, Burleson County 1.04%, Robertson County 0.92%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.92% in Robertson County to 1.64% in Brazos County, which is $2,884 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Amarillo averages 1.54% across 5 counties: Randall County 1.58%, Potter County 1.50%, Carson County 1.36%, Armstrong County 1.44%, Oldham County 1.30%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.30% in Oldham County to 1.58% in Randall County, which is $1,119 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Laredo averages 1.85% across 1 county: Webb County 1.85%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Tyler averages 1.24% across 1 county: Smith County 1.24%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Abilene averages 1.39% across 3 counties: Taylor County 1.40%, Jones County 1.54%, Callahan County 1.10%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.10% in Callahan County to 1.54% in Jones County, which is $1,765 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Midland averages 1.25% across 2 counties: Midland County 1.26%, Martin County 0.88%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.88% in Martin County to 1.26% in Midland County, which is $1,511 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Odessa averages 1.28% across 1 county: Ector County 1.28%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Wichita Falls averages 1.71% across 3 counties: Wichita County 1.77%, Clay County 1.36%, Archer County 1.32%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.32% in Archer County to 1.77% in Wichita County, which is $1,778 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Texarkana averages 1.02% across 3 counties: Bowie County 1.30%, Miller County 0.62%, Little River County 0.48%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.48% in Little River County to 1.30% in Bowie County, which is $3,249 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Sherman averages 1.29% across 1 county: Grayson County 1.29%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

San Angelo averages 1.35% across 2 counties: Tom Green County 1.35%, Irion County 0.95%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.95% in Irion County to 1.35% in Tom Green County, which is $1,589 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Victoria averages 1.45% across 2 counties: Victoria County 1.49%, Goliad County 1.03%. Inside the area the rate runs from 1.03% in Goliad County to 1.49% in Victoria County, which is $1,814 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Eagle Pass averages 1.39% across 1 county: Maverick County 1.39%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Which is the limitation of every figure on this page, stated rather than buried: an area rate is an average, and your address decides what you actually pay. The county pages linked above carry the rate, the assessment basis and the source for each one.

Where Texas cities sit among the 380 in the country

A state ranking answers "where in Texas". It does not answer whether Texas is an expensive place to begin with, and the two questions have different answers often enough to be worth separating.

Against all 380 metropolitan areas the Bureau of Economic Analysis prices, Dallas ranks 46 and Eagle Pass ranks 379, counting from the most expensive. The national median area sits at 93.492 — Monroe — so 7 of these 26 Texas areas are dearer than the typical American metropolitan area and 19 are cheaper.

Eagle Pass is in the cheapest tenth of the country, so the bottom of this state's table is genuinely cheap and not just cheap relative to its neighbours.

The distinction matters for a specific reason. Everything on this page holds the income tax constant because these cities share a state; the moment a move crosses a state line that stops being true, and the comparison becomes the harder one — which is what Texas against every other state is for.

The tax that is the same in all 26

Worth spelling out, because it is what makes the ranking above readable at all. On $100,000, in every one of these areas:

Federal income tax — $13,170. Set by Congress, identical everywhere in the United States.

Social Security and Medicare — $7,650. Also federal, and also flat across the country up to the Social Security ceiling.

Texas income tax — $0. The state does not tax wage income at all, so the line is genuinely zero rather than unmodelled. One set of brackets for the whole state.

Local income tax — $0. Texas does not permit counties, cities or school districts to levy their own. That is not a modelling shortcut, it is the law, and it is the condition on which these pages get published: in the eleven states that do permit it, the levying jurisdictions do not line up with metropolitan areas and no honest rate can be assigned.

Which leaves property tax as the only tax in the whole comparison that moves — from $4,066 to $8,332 a year on the same $400,000 home — and the price level as the only other thing. Two variables, both measured, both sourced. It is as clean as a cost-of-living comparison gets.

The top of this table changes depending on whether you buy

A ranking built on one salary and one house value is worth exactly as much as its assumptions, so here are the same 26 areas resolved again with those assumptions changed.

Renting, with no property tax at all: Eagle Pass moves to the top, ahead of Texarkana. Property tax is what was holding the order in place, which means a renter and a buyer looking at the same two cities should reach different answers.

On $60,000 instead of $100,000: Texarkana still leads. The gap narrows to $12,774 — smaller in dollars, but a larger share of a smaller salary.

On $250,000: Texarkana still leads, and by $42,026 — the spread widens with income, because the price level applies to everything you have left after tax.

This is the same discipline applied to a single published figure elsewhere on this site: a number without its range is half a number. Every page linked above lets you set your own salary, your own house and your own horizon, and recomputes the whole comparison rather than scaling it.

How this is worked out, and what it does not claim

Every row is the same calculation: gross salary in, federal income tax and FICA out, Texas income tax out, property tax on a $400,000 home out — then what is left divided by that area's price level, so the figure is what the money buys rather than what the payslip says.

The price index is the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity, 2024, published per metropolitan area with a documented method and broken into housing, goods, utilities and services. Which counties make up each area comes from the Census Bureau delineation file, joined by CBSA code and never by name — there are thirty "Washington County" in the United States and a join on names would have failed silently.

US Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area, 2024 (released 19 February 2026) — read 2026-09-10. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

US Census Bureau — Core Based Statistical Areas delineation file, 2023 (which counties form each metropolitan area) — read 2026-09-10. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/demo/metro-micro/delineation-files.html

US Census Bureau, American Community Survey — county effective property tax rates and housing units — read 2026-08-31. https://data.census.gov/

What it does not claim: that the city at the top is the better place to live. This measures what a salary buys. Schools, the commute, the weather and how far you are from your family are not in it, and on a move inside one state they are usually what actually decides it.

It also assumes one salary, one house value and a buyer rather than a renter. Every page linked above lets you change all three, and the answer moves with them — on some pairs enough to change which city comes out ahead.

Where to go next

Texas vs every stateThe other silo: all 50 destinations out of this state.Texas property tax by countyWhere every property tax rate on this page comes from.Texas income tax calculatorThe layer that is identical in every row above.Every city comparisonAll 1,522 pairs, indexed by state.

Questions

Which city in Texas leaves you best off?: Texarkana, at $89,408 of purchasing power on $100,000 with a $400,000 home — $19,116 a year more than Dallas at the other end of the table. Because the income tax is identical everywhere in Texas, that ranking is made of two things only: the price level and property tax.
Which is the cheapest city in Texas?: Eagle Pass, at 83.805 on the Bureau of Economic Analysis price index where 100 is the US average, against 103.09 in Dallas. Cheapest is not the same as best off, though: property tax is set separately and can move a household by $1,140 a year on the same house.
Does income tax differ between cities in Texas?: No. Texas sets one set of brackets for the whole state — in fact it does not tax wage income at all, and it does not let counties or cities levy their own income tax. On $100,000 the bill is federal $13,170, FICA $7,650 and state $0 in every one of these 26 areas. That is what makes comparing them clean.
How much does cost of living vary inside Texas?: From 83.805 to 103.09 on the price index — 19.3 points between Eagle Pass and Dallas. In take-home terms that is $19,116 a year of purchasing power on the same salary.
How many Texas city comparisons are there?: 325, one page each, every pair of the 26 metropolitan areas the Bureau of Economic Analysis prices in Texas. Each resolves the same way — income tax, property tax and price level — and each shows the break-even salary in both directions.