Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
This is one of the closest races in our database: the top 5 cities are separated by just 3 points on the cost index. Beaumont, Amarillo, Killeen, Laredo, Mcallen are all within striking distance. At this margin, secondary factors — taxes, rent trends, category-specific costs — become the tiebreakers…
#1 Ranked: Beaumont — cost index 88, rent $1,275/mo, income $57,530
Top 5 separated by only 3 points
38 of 40 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
This is one of the closest races in our database: the top 5 cities are separated by just 3 points on the cost index. Beaumont, Amarillo, Killeen, Laredo, Mcallen are all within striking distance. At this margin, secondary factors — taxes, rent trends, category-specific costs — become the tiebreakers. Here's the full breakdown.
This is the kind of insight that only shows up in the data: Top 5 separated by only 3 points. The race is tight: Beaumont, Amarillo, Killeen, Laredo, Mcallen are all within 3 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision. That could be a concern depending on your priorities.
The numbers for Beaumont are straightforward: 88 on the cost index, $1,275/month rent, $57,530 income. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. You get the picture.
Real talk: and here's what ties it all together: Across Texas, the average cost of living index is 99 — 13 points below the national median. And as far as the data shows, known for no income tax, massive metros, and wide-open affordability, the state offers 40 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,536/month. That's $359 less than the national average of $1,895. That's the kind of affordability that turns 'maybe someday' into 'next month.'. The definition of value.
Bottom line: Beaumont leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
112,193 residents · Texas
Look, Beaumont is one of the cheaper options here. And broadly, rent is $1,275/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 88. Income sits at $57,530. That's a reasonable number.
202,408 residents · Texas
Why Amarillo ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 89 on the cost index, residents save roughly 23% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,245/month while the median household pulls in $62,469/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 73, though Healthcare (92) lags behind. Home prices average $202,835 — $264,535 below the national median.
159,643 residents · Texas
Why Killeen ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 90 on the cost index, residents save roughly 22% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,280/month while the median household pulls in $58,339/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 76, though Healthcare (93) lags behind. That's more or less in line with the region. Home prices average $218,425 — $248,945 below the national median.
257,602 residents · Texas
Here's Laredo by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 91. Rent: $1,327/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — . Income: $63,264/year. Home price: $217,648. Population: 257,602. The strongest category is Housing at 78; the most expensive is Healthcare at 94. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,816 per year vs. the national median. If two cities have the same income, this cost gap is the tiebreaker.
146,593 residents · Texas
Dive into Mcallen's numbers: cost index 91 (21 points below national average), rent $1,272/month, income $60,165, and a home price of $225,568. And roughly speaking, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 77, while Healthcare runs 93. With 146,593 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
Cities are ranked by overall cost of living index in ascending order. This index weights housing (Zillow ZORI rent data) most heavily, with food, transportation, utilities, and healthcare sub-indices providing a composite picture. A score of 80 means overall costs are 20% below the national median. 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.
Beaumont ranks #1 in Texas for this analysis with a cost index of 88 and median income of $57,530.
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.
Beaumont (ranked #1) has a cost index of 88 and rent of $1,275/mo, while Frisco (ranked #40) has a cost index of 118 and rent of $1,751/mo — a 30-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 Beaumont is $1,275/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $620 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Beaumont is $165,122, which is 2.9× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. 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.