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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. Amarillo, Mcallen, Beaumont, Killeen, Tyler are all within striking distance. It's fine. Not great, not bad. At this margin, secondary factors — taxes, rent trends, category-specific …
#1 Ranked: Amarillo — cost index 89, rent $1,245/mo, income $62,469
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. Amarillo, Mcallen, Beaumont, Killeen, Tyler are all within striking distance. It's fine. Not great, not bad. At this margin, secondary factors — taxes, rent trends, category-specific costs — become the tiebreakers. Here's the full breakdown.
Dive into Amarillo's numbers: cost index 89 — though some people might weigh that differently — (23 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 92. With 202,408 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
Bottom line: Amarillo 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 (that's pre-tax, of course).
The race is tight: Amarillo, Mcallen, Beaumont, Killeen, Tyler are all within 3 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.
202,408 residents · Texas
The way we see it, Why Amarillo ranks #1: 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 — make of that what you will — 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.
146,593 residents · Texas
Look, 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. 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.
112,193 residents · Texas
Beaumont is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,275/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 88. Income sits at $57,530. Fairly typical for a city this size.
159,643 residents · Texas
Dive into Killeen's numbers: cost index 90 (22 points below national average), rent $1,280/month, income $58,339, and a home price of $218,425. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 76, while Healthcare runs 93. With 159,643 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (that's pre-tax, of course).
110,327 residents · Texas
Tyler comes in at #5. Rent is $1,290 a month. Household income is $65,527. The cost of living index is 92. It's fine. Not great, not bad.
Cities are ranked by median 1-bedroom rent from Zillow's Observed Rent Index (ZORI). ZORI reflects the median rent across all listed units, not just new leases, providing a more stable and representative figure. 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 89 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 89 and rent of $1,245/mo, while Sugar Land (ranked #40) has a cost index of 112 and rent of $1,990/mo — a 23-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.