Cost of Living in Falcon Mesa, Texas

Falcon Mesa is a Census-designated place in Zapata County, Texas, with a population of 248. The total cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities for a single adult in Falcon Mesa is $30,729 a year — less than the annual cost of living for Texas of $34,448 and less than the national figure of $38,433.

Using cost of living data from the nonprofift think tank Economic Policy Institute, 24/7 Wall St. estimated the cost of living in Falcon Mesa and over 29,000 other cities and towns in the US.

Transportation Costs in Falcon Mesa, Texas

Transportation can also be a significant component of cost of living. In Falcon Mesa, 100.00% of commuters drive to work, compared to 85.5% of commuters nationwide. An estimated 100.00% of workers commute to jobs outside of Falcon Mesa, a larger share than the 43.7% share of commuters nationwide who live and work in different cities. The average commute in Falcon Mesa is N minutes long, compared to the 26.6-minute average commute nationwide. Taking into account the cost of gas, as well as public transit and car maintenance, the EPI estimates that a single person in Falcon Mesa spends $9,678 a year on transportation, about the same as the national average of $9,760.

Health Care Costs in Falcon Mesa, Texas

Out-of-pocket health care costs and insurance premiums — assuming at least a basic level of health insurance coverage — are slightly higher than they are on average nationwide in Falcon Mesa and also well above what they are across Texas as a whole.

For a single adult living in the area, average health care costs come out to $4,583 per year, compared to an average of $3,948 across Texas and $4,266 nationwide.

Child care Costs in Falcon Mesa, Texas

For families with children, child care adds thousands of dollars to overall annual spending. In Falcon Mesa, the average annual cost of child care for two children — one 4 year old and one 8 year old — is $8,033, about $3,600 less than the comparable average of $11,652 across all of Texas. Meanwhile, across the U.S. as a whole, childcare expenses for two children averages $15,853 per year.

Food Costs in Falcon Mesa, Texas

Food is another every day expense that has a significant impact on overall cost of living. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the cost of food varies from city to city and town to town.

In Falcon Mesa, a single adult spends an average of $2,386 on food annually, and a family of four spends $6,891 on average. For context, average annual food expenditure across Texas and the U.S., respectively, are $2,897 and $3,240 for a single adult, and $8,366 and $9,354 for a family of four. These estimates are calculated for a nutritionally adequate diet of food purchased at a grocery store for at-home preparation.

Taxes in Falcon Mesa, Texas

Few expenses vary as much from city to city and town to town as taxes. Accounting for state and federal income taxes, as well as Social Security contributions and Medicare payroll taxes, the average adult working in Falcon Mesa, Texas pays $4,244 annually — relatively little compared to the statewide average of $4,945.

It is important to note that these calculations do not include other common taxes such as property, sales, and excise taxes. Accounting for these taxes, while excluding taxes levied at the federal level, Falcon Mesa residents live in a state with a low average tax burden. Per capita state tax collections in Texas total $2,102 per year, compared to the $3,151 average across all states.

Methodology

To estimate the cost of housing, food, transportation, health care, child care, taxes, and other necessities, 24/7 Wall St. assigned county-level Economic Policy Institute data to cities, towns, villages and Census-designated places based on boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. For places that span multiple counties, data was aggregated based on the percentage of boundary overlap.

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