Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Measured against area pay, Prairie View costs less to live in than 78% of U.S. towns
It ranks #64 of 642 in Texas for affordability. About the same as a year ago, 28% below the Texas typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area ($82K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 2 sales in May 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade compares costs with what households across the Houston metro earn ($82K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.0 years of metro income, and 87% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $212Ktypical home, 28% below the Texas typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,240a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 99prices across the Houston metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 105)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$82K, Houston-area income
- 15%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 87%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Texas: 52%Census 2020–24
- 19%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Prairie View’s housing numbers say
About three in four renters are stretched
87% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 52% across Texas. A standard two-bedroom would take 71% of the median household income. Renting ↓
Most Prairie View households rent
75% of households rent their home, 1,077 in all, against 37% across Texas. Renting ↓
Prices are 10% below their 2022 peak
The typical Prairie View home peaked at $237K in July 2022 and is worth about $212K now. Texas as a whole is 6% off its own peak. Over five years, Prairie View is still up 1.3%. Price trend ↓
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Prairie View gained 2,608 residents while 39 new homes were permitted: about 66.9 new residents per new home, against 2.6 across Texas. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Prairie View’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Prairie View is more affordable than 78% of U.S. towns, #64 of 642 in Texas. Property tax pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
66% of residents are college students, whose low reported incomes push up the share paying 30%+ for housing, so the grade leaves that input out.
Values have lagged Texas: the typical Prairie View home is up 1.3% in five years, against 10.1% statewide (Zillow).
Up 1.3% in five years
Slower than Texas (10.1%).
Show as a table
| January | Prairie View | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $179,000 | $212,000 |
| 2020 | $183,000 | $221,000 |
| 2021 | $192,000 | $240,000 |
| 2022 | $220,000 | $284,000 |
| 2023 | $228,000 | $310,000 |
| 2024 | $219,000 | $308,000 |
| 2025 | $216,000 | $308,000 |
| 2026 | $213,000 | $300,000 |
| September 2026 | $212,000 | $296,000 |
A typical Prairie View home worth $157K in February 2018 is worth about $212K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A typical home costs 2.0 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Prairie View’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Prairie View home, with $68K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,240 a month here, $210 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Prairie View’s typical property tax (1.88% 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 $1,240
Renters already here pay a median of $1,002, 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 (Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
10 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 10 new homes in Prairie View in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $1.8 million to build. That's 1.2 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Texas (8.1). Over the past 10 years, Prairie View has permitted 131 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Prairie View gained 2,608 residents while 39 new homes were permitted: about 67 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. 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) | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2025 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.8 million |
| 2024 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.8 million |
| 2023 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2022 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $514,000 |
| 2020 | 71 | 3 | 68 | $5.6 million |
| 2019 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2018 | 4 | 1 | 3 | $540,000 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3 | 3 | $1.2 million |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $594,000 |
| 2015 | 5 | 2 | 3 | $776,000 |
| 2014 | 5 | 1 | 4 | $725,000 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $167,000 |
| 2012 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $390,000 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $130,000 |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $330,000 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $400,000 |
| 2007 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $335,000 |
| 2006 | 9 | 4 | 5 | $649,000 |
| 2005 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $405,000 |
| 2004 | 9 | 4 | 5 | $506,000 |
| 2003 | 14 | 4 | 10 | $665,000 |
| 2002 | 27 | 5 | 22 | $1.1 million |
| 2001 | 19 | 3 | 16 | $952,000 |
| 2000 | 69 | 3 | 66 | $1.6 million |
Prairie View's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $3,158, under the Texas median of $4,232, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 1.88% 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+”.
The rest of a budget near Prairie View
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area, or Texas. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 99 | TX 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 101 | TX 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 95 | TX 88 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 96 | TX 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Prairie View vs. its neighbors
Of the 2 towns here with a Zillow value, Prairie View has the lowest.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie View | A− | $212K | $168K | 1.88% | $1,240 |
| Waller | B+ | $285K | $157K | 1.29% | $1,300 |
Questions about the cost of living in Prairie View
Is Prairie View expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Prairie View costs less than 78% of U.S. towns: an A− for cost of living, #64 of 642 in Texas. The typical home costs 2.0 years of the median household income of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area ($82K).
How much does a house cost in Prairie View?
About $212K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 0.1% in a year. The Texas typical home is $296K.
What salary do you need to live in Prairie View?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $62,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,450 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $50,000.
How much is rent in Prairie View?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,240 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,002 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Prairie View?
The median bill is $3,158 a year, 1.88% of the median home value (Texas: $4,232, 1.49%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Prairie View going up?
No: down 0.1% in the past year and 1.3% in five years, against 10.1% across Texas (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Prairie View 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, May 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.