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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Top 5 separated by only 2 points. The race is tight: San Antonio, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Laredo are all within 2 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision. For families with student loans, that cost gap is a second income.
#1 Ranked: San Antonio — cost index 93, rent $1,361/mo, income $62,917
Top 5 separated by only 2 points
Retiree-weighted scoring: healthcare index 96, no state income tax, cost index 93 — protecting fixed retirement income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Top 5 separated by only 2 points. The race is tight: San Antonio, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Laredo are all within 2 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision. For families with student loans, that cost gap is a second income.
Retirement planning isn't just about lowest rent — it's about protecting a fixed income from healthcare costs and state taxes. We scored 40 cities in Texas on what hits retirees hardest: cost of living, healthcare, and tax burden. San Antonio leads with index 93, no state income tax, and a healthcare index of 96.
Real talk: the numbers for San Antonio are straightforward: 93 on the cost index, $1,361/month rent, $62,917 income. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. You get the picture (if you're keeping score at home).
(Tangentially — this is the kind of city where you can actually build equity on a median salary, which is increasingly rare.)
Now zoom in on the cost categories. The 40 cities we track in Texas paint a clearly affordable picture. Average cost index: 99. Median rent: $1,536/month. Household income: $79,780. Texas is known for no income tax, massive metros, and wide-open affordability — and the data backs that reputation convincingly.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
1,495,295 residents · Texas
Here's San Antonio by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 93. Rent: $1,361/month. Income: $62,917/year. Home price: $247,132. Population: 1,495,295. The strongest category is Housing at 83; the most expensive is Healthcare at 96. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,408 per year vs. the national median. The practical impact: more room for childcare, savings, or just breathing room. The definition of value.
678,958 residents · Texas
A closer look at El Paso: the cost index of 94 breaks down to a Housing index of 84 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 96 (weakest). Median rent is $1,441/month — 24% below the national median — while household income sits at $58,734, meaning locals spend about 29% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room (we double-checked this one).
316,595 residents · Texas
Why Corpus Christi ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 93 on the cost index, residents save roughly 19% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,433/month while the median household pulls in $66,325/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 82, though Healthcare (96) lags behind. Home prices average $220,110 — $247,260 below the national median. Solidly above average.
266,878 residents · Texas
In plain English: a closer look at Lubbock: the cost index of 92 breaks down to a Housing index of 79 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 94 (weakest). Median rent is $1,388/month — 27% below the national median — while household income sits at $60,487, meaning locals spend about 28% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
257,602 residents · Texas
A closer look at Laredo: the cost index of 91 breaks down to a Housing index of 78 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 94 (weakest). Median rent is $1,327/month — 30% below the national median — while household income sits at $63,264, meaning locals spend about 25% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to retirees. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
San Antonio ranks #1 in Texas for this analysis with a cost index of 93 and median income of $62,917.
San Antonio scores highest for retirees due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,361/mo, and competitive median income of $62,917.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
San Antonio (ranked #1) has a cost index of 93 and rent of $1,361/mo, while Sugar Land (ranked #40) has a cost index of 112 and rent of $1,990/mo — a 19-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in San Antonio is $1,361/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $534 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in San Antonio is $247,132, which is 3.9× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Texas has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.19%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.6%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.