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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: Amarillo, Mcallen, Beaumont, Killeen, Tyler are all within 2 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision.
The race is tight: Amarillo, Mcallen, Beaumont, Killeen, Tyler are all within 2 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision.
Rent in #1-ranked Amarillo has increased from $1,204 to $1,245/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time.
Amarillo (index 73) and Sugar Land (index 116) sit 43 points apart on the cost index — proof that Texas is far from monolithic in affordability.
Top 5 separated by only 2 points. The race is tight: Amarillo, Mcallen, Beaumont, Killeen, Tyler are all within 2 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision.
Look, this is one of the closest races in our database: the top 5 cities are separated by just 2 points on the cost index. Amarillo, Mcallen, Beaumont, Killeen, Tyler are all within striking distance. At this margin, secondary factors — taxes, rent trends, category-specific costs — become the tiebreakers. Here's the full breakdown.
What does daily life actually cost in Amarillo? Start with the 24% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. And most of the time, on the category level, Housing (index 73) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 95) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $62,469 and homes at $202,835 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
The way we see it, What makes this tricky: Here's the state-level backdrop: Texas averages a 90 cost index, $1,536/mo — for better or worse — rent, and $79,780 income across 40 cities. And most of the time, that's $359 less than the national rent average. Fairly typical for a city this size. No income tax, massive metros, and wide-open affordability — and that context shapes every city in this ranking (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
Bottom line: Amarillo leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. And for many people, 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.
#1 Ranked: Amarillo — cost index 73, rent $1,245/mo, income $62,469
Top 5 separated by only 2 points
39 of 40 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
202,408 residents · Texas
In plain English: Dive into Amarillo's numbers: cost index 73 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (38 points below national average), rent $1,245/month, income $62,469, and a home price of $202,835. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 73, while Healthcare runs 95. With 202,408 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs. Hard to argue with that.
146,593 residents · Texas
Here's Mcallen by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 74. Rent: $1,272/month. Income: $60,165/year. Home price: $225,568. Population: 146,593. The strongest category is Housing at 74; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $7,476 per year vs. the national median. That kind of value just doesn't show up in expensive metros (though the trend is moving in the right direction).
112,193 residents · Texas
So, Beaumont. Cost index of 74 — this is the part where it gets real — , rent at $1,275/month. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $57,530, which is below the national median. That's about what we'd expect given the state context (your mileage may vary — literally). Surprising? Maybe. But the data's clear.
159,643 residents · Texas
Why Killeen ranks #4: the numbers tell a clear story. At 75 on the cost index, residents save roughly 36% 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 75, though Healthcare (95) lags behind. Home prices average $218,425 — $248,945 below the national median.
110,327 residents · Texas
A closer look at Tyler: the cost index of 75 breaks down to a Housing index of 75 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 95 (weakest). Median rent is $1,290/month — 32% below the national median — while household income sits at $65,527, meaning locals spend about 24% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
Rent is the single largest expense for most households. We rank all tracked cities in Texas by median 1-bedroom rent (Zillow ZORI) from lowest to highest, filtering out any cities with incomplete data. 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.
Amarillo ranks #1 in Texas for this analysis with a cost index of 73 and median income of $62,469.
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.
Amarillo (ranked #1) has a cost index of 73 and rent of $1,245/mo, while Sugar Land (ranked #40) has a cost index of 116 and rent of $1,990/mo — a 43-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 Amarillo is $1,245/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $650 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Amarillo is $202,835, which is 3.2× 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.