10 Cheapest Cities To Live in Texas
Despite a brief pandemic-induced recession, the economy rebounded and is still thriving, and the unemployment rate is still low. However, people have been feeling the effects of inflation and higher interest rates for some time now.
Many people may be rethinking where they live and looking for cheaper cities to call home in order to bring costs down, especially people living on fixed incomes or Social Security.
GoBankingRates sought to find the 10 cheapest cities to live in Texas by analyzing cities with a population above 10,000. We drew data such as July 2023 average home value, and other key monthly consumer expenditures including groceries, healthcare, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous. We also gathered average home values, monthly mortgage and average home value.
Here are the cheapest 10 cities for those looking for more affordable living in the Lonestar state.
Mercedes
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,628.01
- July 2023 average mortgage: $724.13
- July 2023 average home value: $119,485.43
In Mercedes, where the population is 16,274, people pay the most for their healthcare, an average of $443.88 per month, and for transportation, $419.05 per month.
Plainview
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,618.34
- July 2023 average mortgage: $691.26
- July 2023 average home value: $114,061.12
Plainview has the largest population on this list, 20,180, but not the highest monthly expenditures. Healthcare is one of the biggest expenses here, at $523.39 per month, but transportation is remarkably low, at $294.52 per month.
Snyder
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,600.33
- July 2023 average mortgage: $706.22
- July 2023 average home value: $116,530.11
The total population of Snyder is 11,366. Residents are paying an average of $398.81 per month in groceries and $361.42 for utilities.
Rio Grande City
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,569.66
- July 2023 average mortgage: $716.73
- July 2023 average home value: $118,263.33
In Rio Grande City the median home cost is a reasonable $93,700. Other expenses include monthly groceries, at $389.17 per month, $319.89 in utilities, and $369.80 per month in transportation.
Sweetwater
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,631.61
- July 2023 average mortgage: $653.20
- July 2023 average home value: $107,780.99
In the town of Sweetwater, population 10,605, the median cost of a home is $87,400. Expenses are moderate here, too, with healthcare being the biggest expense, at $519.30 per month, and groceries running around $390.04 per month.
Robstown
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,693.28
- July 2023 average mortgage: $553.44
- July 2023 average home value: $91,320.63
In Robstown, the biggest monthly expense after mortgage is healthcare, at $478.4, followed by groceries, at $394.86, and transportation, at $375.01 per month.
Vernon
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,626.42
- July 2023 average mortgage: $581.25
- July 2023 average home value: $95,909.08
In Vernon, population 10,206, the median cost of a home is a very low $78,200. Average mortgage is only $581.25 per month.
Pampa
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,639.37
- July 2023 average mortgage: $528.39
- July 2023 average home value: $87,187.46
In Pampa, while overall expenses are low, you’ll pay almost as much for healthcare, at $522.48 per month, as you do for mortgage, which is $528.39 per month. Groceries are $391.36 per month and utilities are $344.88 per month.
Borger
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,627.67
- July 2023 average mortgage: $525.68
- July 2023 average home value: $86,738.96
While Borger has the lowest average home value, it also has the lowest average mortgage payment, which helps make up for the higher expenditure costs.
Raymondville
- Total monthly expenditures: $1,586.20
- July 2023 average mortgage: $540.13
- July 2023 average home value: $89,123.47
Though not all monthly expenses in Raymondville are the lowest on this list, collectively, you pay the least amount of monthly expenditures in this city.
Methodology: To find the cheapest cities to live in Texas, GOBankingRates analyzed cities in Texas with a population above 10,000 as sourced from the US Census American Consumer Survey. For every city on the list a number of factors were found including; [1] population sourced from the American Consumer Survey, [2] July 2023 average home value sourced from Zillow Home Value Index, [3] 30 year Fixed Rate Mortgage sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Research Data, [4] Average expenditure costs sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, [5] Grocery cost of living index, [6] Healthcare cost of living index, [7] Utilities cost of living index, [8] Transportation cost of living index, [9] Miscellaneous cost of living index all sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces. The cost of living indexes were multiplied by their national averages in each expenditure category to find the average monthly expenditure costs. The average home values were found with the Zillow Home Value Index and a monthly mortgage amount is calculated assuming a 10% downpayment and using the national average 30 year fixed rate mortgage sourced from the FRED. The monthly mortgage and expenditures were combined to find the total monthly costs. The costs were ranked to show the cheapest cities to live in Texas. All data was collected and is up-to-date as-of September 8th, 2023.
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