Measured against area pay, Scissors costs less to live in than 97% of U.S. towns
It ranks #5 of 642 in Texas for affordability. Home prices around Scissors have risen about 73% over the past 5 years.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX metro area ($54K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 0 sales in September 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 McAllen metro earn ($54K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 1.5 years of metro income, and 40% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $970a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 86prices across the McAllen metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 56)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 1.5 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$54K, McAllen-area income
- 15%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 18%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Scissors
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Scissors home runs about $610 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $970. Can I afford it? ↓
Prices rose faster than Texas’ over five years
There’s no Zillow index for Scissors, so the page uses the federal house price index for the ZIP code around it, which follows repeat sales of the same homes. It rose 73% over five years, against 43% across Texas. Price trend ↓
A low property tax rate
Owners pay about 0.86% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 1.49% across Texas. The median bill is $712 (Texas: $4,232). Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Scissors, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Scissors’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Scissors is more affordable than 97% of U.S. towns, #5 of 642 in Texas. Rent pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Home prices up 73% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Scissors rose 73% over the past 5 years, faster than across Texas (43%). Last year prices rose 14%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Scissors home at roughly $102,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $102K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Scissors, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A typical home costs 1.5 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Scissors’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Scissors home, with $109K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $970 a month here, $360 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Scissors’s typical property tax (0.86% 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 $970
Renters already here pay a median of $661, 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 (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Property tax runs below the Texas norm
The median bill is $712 (Texas: $4,232), 0.86% 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+”.
The rest of a budget near Scissors
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, 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 | 86 | TX 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | TX 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 81 | 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.
Scissors vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Scissors.
Cost next door · one source per column
Questions about the cost of living in Scissors
Is Scissors expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Scissors costs less than 97% of U.S. towns: an A+ for cost of living, #5 of 642 in Texas. The typical home costs 1.5 years of the median household income of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX metro area ($54K).
How much is rent in Scissors?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $970 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $661 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Scissors?
The median bill is $712 a year, 0.86% of the median home value (Texas: $4,232, 1.49%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Scissors buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. 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.