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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The remote work era changed the math: earn a tech salary, live in an affordable market. We analyzed 40 cities across Texas for that equation. Austin — cost index 89, utilities 97, rent $1,531/mo — leads.
Austin earns above the national median ($91,461 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 89 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
The race is tight: Austin, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Garland 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 Austin has decreased from $1,578 to $1,531/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% decrease. The downward trend makes it an even stronger pick.
The remote work era changed the math: earn a tech salary, live in an affordable market. We analyzed 40 cities across Texas for that equation. Austin — cost index 89, utilities 97, rent $1,531/mo — leads.
Here's Austin by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 89. Rent: $1,531/month. Income: $91,461/year. Home price: $500,627. Population: 979,882. The strongest category is Housing at 89; the most expensive is Healthcare at 98. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $4,368 per year vs. the national median. That's a meaningful edge in practice. There's an argument to be made — and I think the data supports it — that the cities getting all the attention right now are exactly the wrong places to move. The spotlight drives migration, migration drives demand, demand drives costs, and eventually the value proposition disappears. Meanwhile, cities like this one keep quietly being affordable, and the people who find them early are the ones who benefit most.
Remote workers profit from geographic arbitrage. Our model scores cost index (20pts), local income as a proxy for economic infrastructure (15pts), and utility costs (10pts) — because when your living room is your office, reliable affordable internet and power matter. Austin scores highest with a 89 cost index and 97 utilities index. Fort Worth offers a different cost profile.
Austin: high income, low cost — a rare combo. And broadly, austin earns above the national median ($91,461 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 89 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
Flip the lens, and you get a different read: Across Texas, the average cost of living index is 90 — 21 points below the national median. 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. If two cities have the same income, this cost gap is the tiebreaker.
Bottom line: Austin 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.
#1 Ranked: Austin — cost index 89, rent $1,531/mo, income $91,461
Austin: high income, low cost — a rare combo
Remote-worker scoring: cost index 89, utilities index 97, income $91,461 — maximizing geographic arbitrage
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
979,882 residents · Texas
The #1 spot goes to Austin, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,531/month — saving renters $4,368 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 89, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 98. At a 20% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
978,468 residents · Texas
Why Fort Worth ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 91 on the cost index, residents save roughly 20% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,554/month while the median household pulls in $76,602/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 91, though Healthcare (98) lags behind. Home prices average $295,822 — $171,548 below the national median.
398,431 residents · Texas
Here's the thing: Dive into Arlington's numbers: cost index 85 (26 points below national average), rent $1,462/month, income $73,519, and a home price of $307,792. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 85, while Healthcare runs 97. With 398,431 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (we double-checked this one).
254,373 residents · Texas
A closer look at Irving: the cost index of 93 breaks down to a Housing index of 93 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 99 (weakest). Median rent is $1,587/month — 16% below the national median — while household income sits at $79,641, meaning locals spend about 24% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
243,470 residents · Texas
The #5 spot goes to Garland, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,563/month — saving renters $3,984 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 91, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Healthcare at 98. A 25% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to remote workers. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Texas by this personalized metric. 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.
Austin ranks #1 in Texas for this analysis with a cost index of 89 and median income of $91,461.
Austin scores highest for remote workers due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,531/mo, and above-average median income of $91,461.
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.
Austin (ranked #1) has a cost index of 89 and rent of $1,531/mo, while College Station (ranked #40) has a cost index of 102 and rent of $1,755/mo — a 13-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 Austin is $1,531/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $364 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Austin is $500,627, which is 5.5× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. 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.