Is Texas a Good Deal or a Trade-off?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#42

42nd out of 50 states overall.

Among the weaker states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#15

15th cheapest state, about 12% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $66,400 here.

How we measure cost ›

Texas ranks 42nd of 50 states for overall quality of life and 15th for affordability. It does best on economy, cost, and dog friendly, and struggles most with safety, air quality, and healthcare. A typical household earns about $67,400 a year, and the cost of living runs about 12% below average.

Why Texas ranks #42 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Texas scores on each, best to worst.

Economy
#3 of 50
Cost of living
#15 of 50
Dog friendly
#17 of 50
Walkability
#28 of 50
Education
#32 of 50
Climate
#40 of 50
Green space
#40 of 50
Safety
#41 of 50
Air quality
#41 of 50
Healthcare
#48 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Texas at a glance

Typical household income

$67,400

29th highest

Typical home price

$305,000

32nd highest

Overall cost of living

12% below average

15th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 10%

42nd highest income tax

Typical commute

About 27 min

one way

Taxes in Texas

See your real Texas take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Texas taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.