Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Homes in Cotulla cost about 1.6 years of local pay, but renters are stretched more than prices suggest
More affordable than 71% of U.S. towns, #96 of 642 in Texas. Down 9.4% in a year, 61% below the Texas typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of La Salle County, TX ($58K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
In dollars, Cotulla is one of the least expensive places in Texas. But the grade compares costs with what households in the area earn, and La Salle County incomes are lower too ($58K, against $74K for the typical U.S. town). Property tax takes 1.34% of a home’s value a year (Texas: 1.49%), and 34% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $116Ktypical home, 61% below the Texas typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,010a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 1.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$58K, La Salle County income
- 17%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 34%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Texas: 52%Census 2020–24
- 31%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Cotulla’s housing numbers say
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Cotulla home runs about $740 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,010. Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Cotulla’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Cotulla is more affordable than 71% of U.S. towns, #96 of 642 in Texas. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Down 9.4% in a year
Slower than Texas (-1.5%).
Show as a table
| January | Cotulla | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $151,000 | $310,000 |
| 2024 | $135,000 | $308,000 |
| 2025 | $141,000 | $308,000 |
| 2026 | $121,000 | $300,000 |
| September 2026 | $116,000 | $296,000 |
A typical Cotulla home worth $163K in February 2022 is worth about $116K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A typical home costs 1.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Cotulla’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Cotulla home, with $97K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,010 a month here, $270 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Cotulla’s typical property tax (1.34% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,010
Renters already here pay a median of $821, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Dimmit County, TX): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
1 new home permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1 new home in Cotulla in 2025. That's 0.3 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Texas (8.1). Over the past 10 years, Cotulla has permitted 22 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Cotulla gained 115 residents while 195 new homes were permitted: about 0.6 new residents per new home. Building outpaced population growth, which usually means smaller households or homes used part of the year. Across Texas: 2.6 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $640,000 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $870,000 |
| 2020 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $2.3 million |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $390,000 |
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $408,000 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $408,000 |
| 2015 | 21 | 10 | 11 | $1.4 million |
| 2014 | 23 | 10 | 13 | $1.5 million |
| 2013 | 26 | 10 | 16 | $1.7 million |
| 2012 | 107 | 5 | 102 | $5.4 million |
| 2011 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $283,000 |
| 2010 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $283,000 |
| 2009 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $283,000 |
| 2008 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $471,000 |
| 2007 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $707,000 |
| 2006 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $848,000 |
| 2005 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $148,000 |
| 2004 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $148,000 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $62,000 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $62,000 |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Texas norm
The median bill is $1,250 (Texas: $4,232), 1.34% of a home’s value a year, against 1.49% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Cotulla and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotulla | B+ | $116K | $93K | 1.34% | $1,010 |
Questions about the cost of living in Cotulla
Is Cotulla expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Cotulla costs less than 71% of U.S. towns: a B+ for cost of living, #96 of 642 in Texas. The typical home costs 1.6 years of the median household income of La Salle County, TX ($58K).
How much does a house cost in Cotulla?
About $116K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 9.4% in a year. The Texas typical home is $296K.
What salary do you need to live in Cotulla?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $32,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $740 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $40,000.
How much is rent in Cotulla?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,010 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $821 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Cotulla?
The median bill is $1,250 a year, 1.34% of the median home value (Texas: $4,232, 1.49%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Cotulla buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.