10 of the Cheapest Places to Live in Texas

Are you considering moving to Texas? If so, you’re in good company. The Lone Star State is a magnet for people moving there from elsewhere within the United States.

Since early 2020, more than 380,000 newcomers have arrived, the state’s center for demographics says. Growth from foreign immigrants and new births has slowed, but “net domestic migration” has been booming, accounting for 55% of the state’s growth since 2020.

What accounts for it? Three things, mainly, the state comptroller’s office has observed:

• Jobs
• A low cost of living
• A high quality of life

Here are several major Texas cities and surrounding areas where the cost of living is 15% or more below the U.S average, according to Salary.com.

Abilene

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 15% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 125,070

Abilene, Texas, was established in 1881. The town was named for Abilene, Kansas, a cattle shipping center at the end of the 800-mile Chisholm Trail. In the mid-1800s, cowboys drove cattle from San Antonio along this three-month journey, according to Clio.

Amarillo

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 15.4% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 201,234

Get your kicks in this lively town located along the famous Route 66.

Fun aside, living is simply a lot cheaper in Amarillo. Housing prices, for example, are 34.8% below the national average and food prices run 18.6% less.

Brownsville

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 22.6% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 187,831

Brownsville is on the Texas Gulf Coast, at the extreme southern tip of Texas. The city was built on the northern bank of the Rio Grande River.

Brownsville is just a few miles from South Padre Island, a popular vacation spot on the Texas Gulf Coast.

El Paso

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 15.8% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 678,415

The city of El Paso holds the No. 7 spot on U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the best places to live in Texas.

Among the reasons: U.S. News gives El Paso a 6.6 (of 10) score for quality of life. There are local sports like whitewater rafting, canoeing and fishing on the Rio Grande and hiking and rock climbing in nearby state parks and in the high-desert Franklin Mountains.

Harlingen

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 26.6% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 71,925

Harlingen is Brownsville’s close cousin, with Harlingen about 26 miles to the north by Interstate.

The Brownsville-Harlingen metro area sits in the “subtropical Lower Rio Grande Valley, a vast area spreading 60 miles west and 30 miles north,” with cross-border trade and manufacturing contributing to a bustling economy.

Killeen

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 18.2% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 156,261

One defining feature of Killeen is the massive, neighboring U.S. Army base of Fort Hood. The 214,968-acre military installation is one of the largest in the U.S. Its website calls Killeen and other surrounding towns “a model of support” for Army families.

Laredo

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 19.4% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 256,153

The streets of Laredo are more crowded and the economy far more diverse than in 1969 when Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash crooned a version of this sad song about the town’s cowboy days.

Laredo, like Brownsville, is situated on the Rio Grande River at the U.S.-Mexico border with its twin city, Nuevo Laredo, across the river on the Mexico side.

McAllen

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 23.6% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 143,920

Even though McAllen’s median home price rose nearly 21% from June 2021 to July 2022, reaching $208,218, homeowning there still is very affordable compared with the current national median home price of $355,852.

Temple

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 18% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 85,416

The city of Temple is in the midst of planning for growth in its dozen or so neighborhoods. Working with residents, city planners are developing long-range goals for planned projects and investments.

Waco

How the cost of living compares with the national average: 19.1% lower

Population as of the 2021 Census: 139,594

Waco, located alongside the Brazos River, is about halfway between Austin and Dallas.

The city is home to Baylor University, a private Christian school with 20,626 students as of fall 2021, including more than 5,000 enrolled in graduate programs. Baylor has recently received recognition for its achievements as a research university.

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