The Cheapest and Most Expensive Housing Markets in Texas

Special Report

Published: April 3, 2024 12:50 pm

Home prices have surged in the U.S. in recent years. Driven by rising demand and supply constraints during the pandemic, the median home sale price spiked by nearly 50% from the second quarter of 2020 to Q3 in 2022. While the sale price of a typical American home has fallen in recent months since, housing prices remain at historic highs.

Not only have home values soared, but borrowing costs for home buyers have also climbed. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has been above 6% since September 2022, a high not seen in nearly a decade and a half. In a market defined by high prices and high mortgage rates, homeownership has become prohibitively expensive for a large number of Americans.

Still, housing prices are also subject to a number of factors that can be isolated from broader, nationwide market trends — and location is one of them. Two homes that are virtually identical can vary in price by hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on where they are. And for prospective homeowners on a budget, some Texas cities are far more affordable than others.

According to five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey, the typical home in Texas is worth $238,000. But across the 53 cities, towns, and unincorporated communities in the state with populations of at least 75,000, median home values range from less than $100,000 to over $500,000.

In any local market, home prices are often a reflection of what residents can afford. In Texas, many of the least expensive cities for homebuyers are not high-income areas. Of the 53 Texas cities with available data from the ACS, 27 have a median home value that is less than the statewide median. In each of these places, the typical household earns less than the statewide median household income of $73,035. Similarly, most of Texas’s more expensive housing markets have higher earning populations.

These are the cheapest and most expensive housing markets in Texas.

53. Pharr

Median home value: $98,300
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.1%
Homeownership rate: 58.7%
Median household income: $45,016
Total population: 79,434

52. Brownsville

Median home value: $112,600
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.1%
Homeownership rate: 60.3%
Median household income: $46,735
Total population: 186,999

51. Wichita Falls

Median home value: $128,800
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.5%
Homeownership rate: 56.3%
Median household income: $55,584
Total population: 102,482

50. Mission

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Median home value: $147,600
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.3%
Homeownership rate: 72.0%
Median household income: $56,421
Total population: 85,755

49. Beaumont

Median home value: $150,400
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.6%
Homeownership rate: 54.4%
Median household income: $53,745
Total population: 114,573

48. McAllen

Median home value: $158,700
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.6%
Homeownership rate: 59.4%
Median household income: $56,326
Total population: 142,722

47. El Paso

Median home value: $159,300
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.5%
Homeownership rate: 59.5%
Median household income: $55,710
Total population: 677,181

46. Edinburg

Median home value: $159,600
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.5%
Homeownership rate: 53.6%
Median household income: $54,139
Total population: 100,964

45. Abilene

Median home value: $161,800
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.5%
Homeownership rate: 54.0%
Median household income: $59,254
Total population: 126,356

44. Baytown

Median home value: $162,200
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.7%
Homeownership rate: 53.6%
Median household income: $61,158
Total population: 84,449

43. Laredo

Median home value: $164,400
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.4%
Homeownership rate: 62.7%
Median household income: $60,928
Total population: 255,293

42. Longview

Median home value: $170,000
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.5%
Homeownership rate: 53.4%
Median household income: $61,003
Total population: 82,176

41. Pasadena

Median home value: $171,600
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.4%
Homeownership rate: 53.8%
Median household income: $64,698
Total population: 150,620

40. San Angelo

Median home value: $171,700
Homes worth over $1 million: 1.1%
Homeownership rate: 64.0%
Median household income: $65,040
Total population: 99,422

39. Amarillo

Median home value: $172,700
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.9%
Homeownership rate: 59.6%
Median household income: $60,628
Total population: 200,360

38. Waco

Median home value: $174,100
Homes worth over $1 million: 0.7%
Homeownership rate: 47.3%
Median household income: $47,421
Total population: 140,545

37. Killeen

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