Cost of living in Texas

Texas at a glance

Median rent

$1,403

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$78,476

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$283,800

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$4,232

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

27 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

5.3%

Census ACS, DP03

Texas's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 3% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in Texas

These are the most populous places in Texas, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Harris County

  Population

  4.84M

  Rent

  $1,401

  Household income

  $74,983

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $4,489

  Set as targetPlan

• Dallas County

  Population

  2.62M

  Rent

  $1,565

  Household income

  $76,547

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $4,798

  Set as targetPlan

• Tarrant County

  Population

  2.17M

  Rent

  $1,547

  Household income

  $84,207

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $5,334

  Set as targetPlan

Texas, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state. Texans declared independence from Mexico in 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos and formed the Republic of Texas. Sam Houston secured victory on April 21 with a surprise attack at the San Jacinto River.

• Big Bend National Park

  River canyons cut in limestone, a mountain range ringed by desert and dark night skies in Far West Texas.

• Guadalupe Mountains National Park

  The world's most extensive Permian fossil reef and the four highest peaks in Texas.

• San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

  Missions that have been centers of community since the early 1700s, now the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Texas

Current owners in Texas pay a median 1.49% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $4,232 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $583 in Cochran County to $7,727 in Travis County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

A buyer in Texas should expect a higher bill than these: the 10% homestead cap ends when the seller stops qualifying, so a buyer is appraised at market value until their own cap starts the year after they claim the exemption. Source: Texas Comptroller, valuing property and the residence homestead limitation.

Health in Texas

Life expectancy

76.7 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

18.8%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

19.8%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

66

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Texas as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Texas

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$12.3B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.51

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$4.9B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

Harris County, TX is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 254 counties in Texas

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.