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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
For retirees on a fixed income, every percentage point matters. Our retiree-weighted model scored 40 cities in Texas and Houston (index 90, healthcare 98, zero state income tax) takes the top spot.
For retirees on a fixed income, every percentage point matters. Our retiree-weighted model scored 40 cities in Texas and Houston (index 90, healthcare 98, zero state income tax) takes the top spot.
Retirement affordability is about protecting fixed income. Our model weights healthcare costs at 25 points (medical bills are the #1 financial risk in retirement), cost index at 25 points, and state tax burden at 15 points (taxes directly reduce pension and Social Security income). Houston leads with low healthcare costs, no state income tax, and a cost index of 90. San Antonio offers competitive healthcare and cost metrics (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
The #1 spot goes to Houston, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,542/month — saving renters $4,236 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 90, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Healthcare at 98. A 29% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
It checks most boxes — but the healthcare costs are the asterisk. And more often than not, in Houston, the healthcare index sits at 98 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about (that's pre-tax, of course).
In plain English: If you're comparing cities, this is the number to watch. It's fine. Not great, not bad. Top 5 separated by only 1 points. The race is tight: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth are all within 1 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision. That's a meaningful edge in practice.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
#1 Ranked: Houston — cost index 90, rent $1,542/mo, income $62,894
Top 5 separated by only 1 points
Retiree-weighted scoring: healthcare index 98, no state income tax, cost index 90 — protecting fixed retirement income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
2,314,157 residents · Texas
In plain English: Here's Houston by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And from what we can tell, cost index: 90. Rent: $1,542/month. Income: $62,894/year. Home price: $261,976. Population: 2,314,157. The strongest category is Housing at 90; the most expensive is Healthcare at 98. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $4,236 per year vs. the national median. This is the type of edge you don't see advertised.
1,495,295 residents · Texas
Dive into San Antonio's numbers: cost index 79 — we had to double-check this one — (32 points below national average), rent $1,361/month, income $62,917, and a home price of $247,132. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 79, while Healthcare runs 96. As a major city with 1,495,295 residents, amenities and job markets are robust. Surprising? Maybe. But the data's clear.
1,302,868 residents · Texas
At $1,591/month — a detail that tends to get overlooked — for rent and a cost index of 93, Dallas is pretty much what you'd expect from a larger city in this part of the country. Income is $67,760. It's fine. Not great, not bad.
979,882 residents · Texas
The #4 spot goes to Austin, and the breakdown explains why. And for the typical household, 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
Fort Worth earns its position at #5 through a combination that's hard to replicate. And from what we can tell, the 91 cost index sits 20 points below the national baseline, and the $76,602 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $295,822 — $171,548 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 91, while Healthcare trails at 98 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Houston ranks #1 in Texas for this analysis with a cost index of 90 and median income of $62,894.
Houston scores highest for retirees due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,542/mo, and competitive median income of $62,894.
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.
Houston (ranked #1) has a cost index of 90 and rent of $1,542/mo, while Sugar Land (ranked #40) has a cost index of 116 and rent of $1,990/mo — a 26-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 Houston is $1,542/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $353 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Houston is $261,976, which is 4.2× 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.