The Settlement Historic District · Photo: Jim Evans · CC BY-SA 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Texas City costs more to live in than 63% of U.S. towns
It ranks #286 of 642 in Texas State for affordability. Down 1.5% in a year, 24% below the Texas State 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
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Texas City’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($82K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 28% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 52% of renters.
In dollars
- $227Ktypical home, 24% below the Texas State typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,470a 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
- 2.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$82K, Houston-area income
- 19%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 52%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Texas State: 52%Census 2020–24
- 28%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Texas City
Prices are 7% below their 2022 peak
The typical Texas City home peaked at $244K in October 2022 and is worth about $227K now. Texas State as a whole is 6% off its own peak. Over five years, Texas City is still up 5.5%. Price trend ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Texas City home runs about $1,430 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,470. Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Texas City’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Texas City is more affordable than 37% of U.S. towns, #286 of 642 in Texas State. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Texas State: up 5.5% in five years, against 10.1% statewide (Zillow).
Up 5.5% in five years
Slower than Texas State (10.1%).
Show as a table
| January | Texas City | Texas State |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $144,000 | $188,000 |
| 2018 | $159,000 | $200,000 |
| 2019 | $168,000 | $212,000 |
| 2020 | $179,000 | $221,000 |
| 2021 | $196,000 | $240,000 |
| 2022 | $224,000 | $284,000 |
| 2023 | $238,000 | $310,000 |
| 2024 | $237,000 | $308,000 |
| 2025 | $237,000 | $308,000 |
| 2026 | $228,000 | $300,000 |
| September 2026 | $227,000 | $296,000 |
A typical Texas City home worth $141K in October 2016 is worth about $227K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A balanced market
About 4.7 months of supply: neither buyers nor sellers have a clear edge.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A typical home costs 2.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Texas City’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Texas City home, with $77K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,470 a month here, $40 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Texas City’s typical property tax (1.26% 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 $1,470
Renters already here pay a median of $1,307, 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.
640 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 640 new homes in Texas City in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $188.2 million to build. That's 12 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Texas State (8.1). Over the past 10 years, Texas City has permitted 6,613 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Texas City gained 6,799 residents while 2,865 new homes were permitted: about 2.4 new residents per new home, about the same as across Texas State (2.6).
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 521 | 521 | 0 | $159.3 million |
| 2025 | 640 | 640 | 0 | $188.2 million |
| 2024 | 974 | 974 | 0 | $279.7 million |
| 2023 | 618 | 596 | 22 | $170.2 million |
| 2022 | 481 | 481 | 0 | $120.7 million |
| 2021 | 867 | 829 | 38 | $196.5 million |
| 2020 | 1,126 | 778 | 348 | $168.7 million |
| 2019 | 814 | 496 | 318 | $106.5 million |
| 2018 | 510 | 510 | 0 | $78.5 million |
| 2017 | 395 | 379 | 16 | $63.5 million |
| 2016 | 188 | 188 | 0 | $31.7 million |
| 2015 | 177 | 177 | 0 | $25.2 million |
| 2014 | 364 | 364 | 0 | $44.9 million |
| 2013 | 104 | 104 | 0 | $16.6 million |
| 2012 | 103 | 103 | 0 | $14.1 million |
| 2011 | 144 | 144 | 0 | $13.2 million |
| 2010 | 66 | 35 | 31 | $5.4 million |
| 2009 | 278 | 26 | 252 | $15.9 million |
| 2008 | 121 | 83 | 38 | $13.8 million |
| 2007 | 158 | 158 | 0 | $20.8 million |
| 2006 | 146 | 146 | 0 | $17.9 million |
| 2005 | 446 | 346 | 100 | $34.5 million |
| 2004 | 394 | 394 | 0 | $34.6 million |
| 2003 | 408 | 216 | 192 | $30.1 million |
| 2002 | 69 | 65 | 4 | $5.8 million |
| 2001 | 78 | 78 | 0 | $8 million |
| 2000 | 575 | 367 | 208 | $32.1 million |
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 State norm
The median bill is $2,734 (Texas State: $4,232), 1.26% 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 Texas City
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 State. 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.
Texas City vs. its neighbors
Of the 7 towns here with a Zillow value, Texas City has the 2nd-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas City | C+ | $227K | $217K | 1.26% | $1,470 |
| San Leon | A− | $242K | $183K | 1.02% | $1,600 |
| Dickinson | C+ | $267K | $278K | 1.50% | $1,590 |
| Bacliff | C+ | $214K | $202K | 0.95% | $1,400 |
| La Marque | C+ | $230K | $207K | 1.16% | $1,420 |
| League City | D | $373K | $360K | 1.63% | $1,740 |
| Galveston | C− | $315K | $326K | 1.08% | $1,590 |
Questions about the cost of living in Texas City
Is Texas City expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Texas City costs more than 63% of U.S. towns: a C+ for cost of living, #286 of 642 in Texas State. The typical home costs 2.6 years of the median household income of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area ($82K).
How much does a house cost in Texas City?
About $227K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 1.5% in a year. The Texas State typical home is $296K.
What salary do you need to live in Texas City?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $61,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,430 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $59,000.
How much is rent in Texas City?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,470 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,307 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Texas City?
The median bill is $2,734 a year, 1.26% of the median home value (Texas State: $4,232, 1.49%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Texas City going up?
No: down 1.5% in the past year and 5.5% in five years, against 10.1% across Texas State (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Texas City 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.