18 Safe and Affordable Texas Cities To Live In
Written by
Nicole Spector
Edited by
Heather Taylor
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So much goes into finding the location that’s right for you and your family, including the area’s safety. And you shouldn’t have to choose between an affordable city and one with a low crime rate. Plenty of cities in the U.S. provide both reasonable costs of living and rank highly in safety. And, as it were, well over a handful of those cities are in Texas.
GOBankingRates conducted a study of the largest U.S. cities, comparing the costs of living and crime rate averages of each. They were then ranked from lowest to highest based on these numbers, and the ratings were factored by crimes per 1,000 people, then compared to the national average.Â
Below are 18 cities in The Lone Star State that are both budget-friendly and, in terms of relatively strong safety scores, family-friendly.
1. League City
- Median household income: $117,316
- Household average mortgage cost: $2,216
- Total monthly cost of living: $4,157
- Property crimes: 1,497
- Violent crimes: 126
2. Sugar Land
- Median household income: $132,247
- Household average mortgage cost: $2,715
- Total monthly cost of living: $4,852
- Property crimes: 1,745
- Violent crimes: 97
3. Pearland
- Median household income: $111,123
- Household average mortgage cost: $2,257
- Total monthly cost of living: $4,352
- Property crimes: 2,152
- Violent crimes: 117
4. El Paso
- Median household income: $55,710
- Household average mortgage cost: $1,331
- Total monthly cost of living: $3,160
- Property crimes: 9,353
- Violent crimes: 2,123
5. McKinney
- Median household income: $113,286
- Household average mortgage cost: $3,153
- Total monthly cost of living: $5,129
- Property crimes: 2,163
- Violent crimes: 238
6. Frisco
- Median household income: $144,567
- Household average mortgage cost: $4,137
- Total monthly cost of living: $6,128
- Property crimes: 2,928
- Violent crimes: 225
7. Laredo
- Median household income: $60,928
- Household average mortgage cost: $1,253
- Total monthly cost of living: $3,040
- Property crimes: 3,303
- Violent crimes: 814
8. Grand Prairie
- Median household income: $76,626
- Household average mortgage cost: $1,961Â
- Total monthly cost of living: $3,996
- Property crimes: 3,770
- Violent crimes: 405
9. Plano
- Median household income: $105,679
- Household average mortgage cost: $3,217
- Total monthly cost of living: $5,266
- Property crimes: 5,496
- Violent crimes: 458
10. McAllen
- Median household income: $56,326
- Household average mortgage cost: $1,351Â
- Total monthly cost of living: $3,165
- Property crimes: 2,840
- Violent crimes: 285
11. Richardson
- Median household income: $94,362
- Household average mortgage cost: $2,813
- Total monthly cost of living: $4,900
- Property crimes: 2,630
- Violent crimes: 183
12. College Station
- Median household income: $52,397
- Household average mortgage cost: $2,110
- Total monthly cost of living: $3,915
- Property crimes: 2,342
- Violent crimes: 248
13. Midland
- Median household income: $90,448
- Household average mortgage cost: $1,822
- Total monthly cost of living: $3,715
- Property crimes: 2,482
- Violent crimes: 639
14. Brownsville
- Median household income: $46,735
- Household average mortgage cost: $1,123
- Total monthly cost of living: $2,940
- Property crimes: 3,467
- Violent crimes: 817
15. Denton
- Median household income: $71,921
- Household average mortgage cost: $2,202
- Total monthly cost of living: $4,143
- Property crimes: 3,672
- Violent crimes: 445
16. Round Rock
- Median household income: $91,888
- Household average mortgage cost: $2,685
- Total monthly cost of living: $4,732
- Property crimes: 2,934
- Violent crimes: 215
17. Abilene
- Median household income: $59,254
- Household average mortgage cost: $1,186
- Total monthly cost of living: $3,071
- Property crimes: 2,498
- Violent crimes: 587
18. Odessa
- Median household income: $71,293
- Household average mortgage cost: $1,367
- Total monthly cost of living: $3,287
- Property crimes: 2,278
- Violent crimes: 573
Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed the largest cities in the United States by population, as sourced from the US Census American Community Survey, to find the safest and cheapest cities. For each city, a number of factors were found including: total population, total households and household median income all sourced from the US Census American Community Survey; the cost-of-living indexes as sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces; the livability as sourced from Livability Index; the violent and property crime count as sourced from the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer for the most recent data year of 2022; and average single-family home value from April 2024 as sourced from Zillow Home Value Index. The average expenditure costs were calculated by using the cost-of-living indexes and the national average expenditure costs for all residents as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. The average mortgage cost can be calculated by assuming a 10% down payment and using the national 30-year fixed mortgage rate as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data. Using the total population and crime counts, the crime rates per 1000 residents can be calculated. Using the average expenditure cost and the average mortgage cost, the total average cost of living for each city can be calculated. The cities with any data missing were removed to accurately compare cities, and all the cities were sorted to show the lowest violent crime rate to the highest, representing the safest cities. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 3rd, 2024.
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