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Most Affordable Counties in Texas

Ranked by the share of Texas occupations whose take-home pay covers a one-bedroom rental, food, home energy and gasoline.

Most affordable counties in Texas
#CountyJobs covering basicsJobs listed1-bedroom rentMedian household incomeRent / income
1Austin County, TX100%105$817/mo$75,78912.9%
2Wise County, TX100%126$892/mo$93,42111.5%
3Medina County, TX100%39$941/mo$78,07414.5%
4Atascosa County, TX100%39$982/mo$70,77016.7%
5Bexar County, TX100%39$1,196/mo$72,34119.8%
6Comal County, TX100%39$1,196/mo$101,88914.1%
7Guadalupe County, TX100%39$1,196/mo$92,37515.5%
8Wilson County, TX100%39$1,196/mo$94,56515.2%
9Bandera County, TX100%39$1,196/mo$75,81318.9%
10Kendall County, TX100%39$1,285/mo$114,96213.4%
11San Jacinto County, TX98%105$1,068/mo$65,36419.6%
12Brazoria County, TX95%105$1,212/mo$97,99314.8%
13Harris County, TX95%105$1,261/mo$74,98320.2%
14Fort Bend County, TX95%105$1,261/mo$114,04113.3%
15Montgomery County, TX95%105$1,261/mo$97,70115.5%
16Galveston County, TX95%105$1,261/mo$86,10517.6%
17Liberty County, TX95%105$1,261/mo$68,70322.0%
18Waller County, TX95%105$1,261/mo$80,39718.8%
19Chambers County, TX95%105$1,261/mo$109,80413.8%
20Tarrant County, TX95%126$1,481/mo$84,20721.1%
21Johnson County, TX95%126$1,481/mo$84,85920.9%
22Parker County, TX95%126$1,481/mo$104,44317.0%
23Dallas County, TX94%126$1,536/mo$76,54724.1%
24Collin County, TX94%126$1,536/mo$121,60015.2%
25Denton County, TX94%126$1,536/mo$111,49816.5%

Most affordable counties in Texas

We ranked 34 Texas counties that have at least 20 occupations published on this site. The ranking measures how many of those occupations pay enough, at the local median wage, to cover a one-bedroom rental, food, home energy and gasoline after federal, Social Security, Medicare and state taxes. Austin County, TX leads: 100% of its 105 occupations clear that bar, with a HUD one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $817 a month.

Ties are broken by the lower one-bedroom rent, then by population. Where the Census Bureau publishes it, the table also shows median household income (American Community Survey 2020-2024) and what a year of one-bedroom rent equals as a share of it. Open a county to see every occupation and its take-home pay.