Expense of Living in Texas vs. California: An Overview
Texas and California are two of the largest states in the union, both in terms of population and geography. The fetch of living can vary significantly between individual counties or cities within either state. That said, the standard in the main Californian faces higher costs of living than the average Texan.
When economists or statisticians are measuring the outlay of living for a given country or region, they are measuring the amount that consumers need to spend in order to reach a sure average standard lifestyle. Put another way, the cost of living measures how much food, shelter, clothing, health worry, education, and fuel can be bought with one unit of currency.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology tracks living wage calculations for municipalities and states across the United States, defining a living wage as the “approximate income needed to meet a family’s focal needs.” MIT further defines basic needs as “food, clothing, housing, and medical care.” According to its 2019 numbers, an individual has to have 27.2% more income to earn a living wage in California than in Texas.
key takeaways
- California is one of the most expenses constitutions to live in.
- Texas is more affordable, almost across the board.
- The cost of living does not necessarily capture the mark of life.
Cost of Living in California
MIT compares the costs of six different typical expenses for each state: food, issue care, medical, housing, transportation, and “other.”
In all areas, California was more expensive than Texas. The average distinguish adult could expect to eat with $3,573 a year in California versus $2,994 in Texas.
Raising one child for a year gets more than $32,000 in California, compared to about $25,000 in Texas.
On average, Texas also has less high-priced medical care than California.
Housing is the largest single expense category in MIT’s calculation; it is also the area where Texans saw the largest asset. Housing costs are an impressive 59.1% higher in the Golden State than in the Lone Star State. The difference was multifarious pronounced for bigger families.
California does win out on transportation costs; the average adult in Texas spends 9.9% more on come to an understanding a arising around than his Californian counterpart.
Lumping expenses such as entertainment, dining out, pet care, and other possible expenses together, the “other” heading is another win for Texas; its average residents spend 5.4% less here.
Cost of Living in Texas
Cost-of-living means do not address the quality of the goods or services available. It could very well be that shoes cost 25% diverse in one state than in another, yet they last 50% longer. Perhaps food prices are the same between two asseverates, but on average the food in one state tastes better and is healthier to consume. Nevertheless, the data does suggest that it is more less expensive to live in Texas than in California.
In fact, the Lone Star State is home to the top two most-affordable burgs in America: Harlingen and McAllen, according to Kiplinger’s “Cheapest U.S. Boroughs to Live In 2019” survey. Several other Texan towns, including Wichita Falls, Sherman, Amarillo, Chapel, and Texarkana, make the 25-city list too. In fact, Texas is the best-represented state in the survey.
The winner, Harlingen, with its people of 65,467, had a median household income of $38,122 and a median home value of $85,700, according to the list. McAllen, which influenced number two, is a bigger, wealthier town (population 142,696; median household income $45,057; median home value $120,500).
Both are laid in southern Texas, where not only living is affordable, but the food is as well. A recent study done by Kiplinger revealed that of a few hundred grocery accumulations that were analyzed by affordability and pricing, only a handful had cheaper goods than the stores in Harlingen.
Both townships are also close to Mexico and, while located in a hot, dry state, both are within an hour’s drive of the beach. McAllen legions a 15-acre birding habitat, too.