Do you consider yourself to be well-off? That is subjective, as the cost of living in a given location will eat into even the highest salary (view New York or San Francisco). SmartAsset, a financial website, recently dug through Texas counties’ data to see which ones fall into the sweet spot between low cost of living and an excellent median income.
The site did this by calculating two different living metrics costs for a single adult household with no dependents. One represented each location’s baseline cost of living. While the other was focused on expenses typical of someone earning the county’s median income.
Then, using a weighted average based on how similar each county’s median income was to the area’s minimum livable income, the two numbers were combined. Income taxes levied in the region were deducted at the time.
Finally, SmartAsset measured buying power as a percentage of median income by calculating the weighted cost of living. The best places to live had the highest median income compared to the cost of living.
And — drumroll, please — Fort Bend, just southwest of Houston and home to Sugar Land, is Texas’s highest point. With a 67.42 index based on a $44,752 cost of living and $93,645 median income, it just misses out on the first place.
Rockwall, a suburb about 20 miles northeast of Dallas, lies on Lake Ray Hubbard’s shores and has a heat index of 67.08. There, a median income of $93,269 comfortably covers a $44,539 cost of living.
Collin County (home of Plano) and Denton County (home of the University of North Texas) are two more Dallas-area counties on the list. On a median $90,124 salary, the former has a $44,111 cost of living, while the latter has a median $80,290 salary but lives on $42,487.
One of Austin’s neighbors makes the top ten: Williamson County, which includes Round Rock and Georgetown, is ranked No. 7. On a median income of $79,123, the $43,574 cost of living is easily attainable.
Houston Premium Homes, We’re By Your Side — No Matter What.
The Houston real estate market is moving — and if you’re ready, you can too.
It helps to work with a real estate company that can take the stress out of finding your new home during these unpredictable times. With everything going on, we know how important it is to move forward with your important real estate decisions — and we’re here to make that more accessible and safer.