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How much do you need to make to live in Texas?
Every number sourced. Checked this month.
For one adult with no kids, somewhere between about $38,000 and $50,000 a year before taxes, depending on the metro. That is the range MIT’s Living Wage Calculator gives across the eleven Texas metros we cover, from $38,284 in McAllen to $50,205 in Dallas-Fort Worth (updated Feb 15, 2026). Add a child and the number jumps by more than half. Below: the living wage for three household types in every metro, a rent-based check using the 30% rule, and a sample monthly budget for a single renter in Austin and El Paso.
Numbers last checked October 31, 2026Living wage by metro
MIT’s living wage is the hourly pay a full-time worker needs to cover a basic budget (housing, food, child care, health care, transportation, taxes) with no public assistance. It is a floor, not a comfortable middle-class income. For two working adults, the hourly figure is what each adult needs to earn. All figures are from pages updated Feb 15, 2026.
| Metro (MIT name) | 1 adult, 0 kids | 1 adult, 1 kid | 2 working adults, 2 kids (each) | Pre-tax income: 1 adult | Pre-tax income: 1 adult, 1 kid | Pre-tax income: 2 adults, 2 kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big metros | ||||||
| Dallas–Fort Worth-Arlington | $24.14 | $38.86 | $26.40 | $50,205 | $80,832 | $109,829 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | $23.71 | $39.61 | $27.13 | $49,322 | $82,396 | $112,866 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | $22.19 | $36.60 | $25.00 | $46,160 | $76,128 | $103,983 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | $20.33 | $34.10 | $23.41 | $42,296 | $70,938 | $97,401 |
| Other metros | ||||||
| Corpus Christi | $20.17 | $33.51 | $22.87 | $41,955 | $69,700 | $95,155 |
| College Station-Bryan | $20.03 | $32.29 | $22.28 | $41,662 | $67,173 | $92,700 |
| Waco | $18.72 | $31.66 | $21.69 | $38,932 | $65,861 | $90,216 |
| Amarillo | $18.59 | $31.90 | $22.16 | $38,675 | $66,357 | $92,198 |
| Lubbock | $18.59 | $31.81 | $22.01 | $38,661 | $66,161 | $91,557 |
| El Paso | $18.54 | $30.98 | $21.14 | $38,558 | $64,433 | $87,961 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | $18.41 | $30.44 | $21.06 | $38,284 | $63,325 | $87,623 |
| Statewide | ||||||
| Texas | $21.77 | $35.77 | $24.45 | $45,290 | $74,391 | $101,697 |
| Source. MIT Living Wage Calculator, metro pages at livingwage.mit.edu/metros/<CBSA code> and the Texas state page, all marked last updated Feb 15, 2026, checked Oct 31, 2026. Dallas and Fort Worth share one metro figure. Pre-tax income is MIT’s “required annual income before taxes” for the whole household. | ||||||
What stands out
- The big-metro premium is about $10,000 a year. A single adult needs roughly $50,000 before taxes in DFW or Austin and under $39,000 in El Paso, McAllen, Lubbock, Amarillo or Waco.
- Single parents carry the heaviest load. One adult with one child needs $30 to $40 an hour everywhere on the list, mostly because of child care. Our child care page has the details.
- Two earners change the math. With both adults working, each needs $21 to $27 an hour to support two kids. In Austin that is $27.13 each, slightly more than DFW’s $26.40, even though DFW is pricier for a single adult.
- The minimum wage does not come close. Texas pays the federal $7.25, and MIT puts the statewide poverty wage for one adult at $7.67. Wages by job and city are on our Texas salaries page.
The 30% rent rule, city by city
A common rule of thumb says rent should take no more than 30% of your gross pay. Flip it around and the income you need is the yearly rent divided by 0.30, or monthly rent × 40. The rent figures are sourced; the income and hourly columns are our arithmetic (hourly assumes 2,080 work hours a year).
| City | Median rent | Unit | Income needed at 30% (our math) | Hourly equivalent (our math) | Source for rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bedroom medians | |||||
| Dallas | $1,207 | 1BR | $48,280 | $23.21 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| Austin | $1,172 | 1BR | $46,880 | $22.54 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| Fort Worth | $1,141 | 1BR | $45,640 | $21.94 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| Houston | $1,116 | 1BR | $44,640 | $21.46 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| Corpus Christi | $1,009 | 1BR | $40,360 | $19.40 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| Lubbock | $974 | 1BR | $38,960 | $18.73 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| San Antonio | $953 | 1BR | $38,120 | $18.33 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| El Paso | $942 | 1BR | $37,680 | $18.12 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| Different measures (not 1-bedroom medians; compare with care) | |||||
| Amarillo | $1,287 | All sizes | $51,480 | $24.75 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| College Station | $1,244 | All sizes | $49,760 | $23.92 | Apartment List, page labeled Oct 2026 |
| Waco | $1,127 | All sizes | $45,080 | $21.67 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| McAllen | $850 | 1BR, Zillow average asking rent | $34,000 | $16.35 | Zillow, as of Sep 20, 2026 |
Rents are the same figures used on our city comparison. For Amarillo, College Station and Waco, Apartment List publishes only an all-sizes median, which mixes in larger units and inflates the income figure compared with a 1-bedroom. McAllen’s figure is Zillow’s average asking rent, a different measure. The 30% rule says nothing about utilities, a car or child care, which is why MIT’s living wage usually comes out higher.
Sample monthly budget: a single renter in Austin vs. El Paso
One adult, no kids, renting a 1-bedroom at the city median. Rent, electricity and renters insurance are local or statewide figures from our own pages. Food, health care, phone and internet, car costs and “other” are MIT’s yearly estimates for one adult in each metro, divided by 12. The monthly conversions and totals are our arithmetic. Taxes are not included.
| Line item | Austin | El Paso | What it is and where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Rent, 1-bedroom median | $1,172 | $942 | Apartment List, Oct 2026 data |
| Electricity | $121.94 | ~$153 | Austin: Austin Energy’s typical inside-city bill at 860 kWh (page reviewed Oct 1, 2026; see Austin). El Paso: El Paso Electric’s pre-2026 hot-month bill of about $140 plus the approved average increase of about $13.23 (both El Paso Times; our sum; see El Paso). El Paso winter bills ran about $72 before the increase, so this is a summer month. |
| Renters insurance | $13.75 | $13.75 | NerdWallet’s Texas median quote of $165/yr for $30,000 of belongings (Sep 23, 2026), divided by 12; see Texas insurance. Statewide figure, not city-specific. |
| Everyday costs (MIT yearly estimate ÷ 12) | |||
| Food | $337.25 | $311.58 | MIT: $4,047/yr Austin, $3,739/yr El Paso |
| Medical | $256.25 | $246.08 | MIT: $3,075/yr Austin, $2,953/yr El Paso |
| Internet and mobile | $125.75 | $115.00 | MIT: $1,509/yr Austin, $1,380/yr El Paso |
| Transportation (car-based) | $751.33 | $732.25 | MIT: $9,016/yr Austin, $8,787/yr El Paso. Without a car, a CapMetro 31-day local pass is $41.25 until Jan 10, 2027 and $49.50 after. We have not yet confirmed Sun Metro fares in El Paso. |
| Other (clothing, household, personal care) | $338.92 | $338.92 | MIT: $4,067/yr in both metros |
| Totals (our arithmetic) | |||
| Monthly total, before taxes | $3,117 | $2,853 | Sum of the lines above, rounded |
| Yearly total, before taxes | $37,406 | $34,234 | Monthly total × 12 |
| MIT’s pre-tax income needed, for comparison | $49,322 | $38,558 | MIT, updated Feb 15, 2026. It adds federal taxes and “civic” spending, and it uses its own housing estimate rather than the Apartment List median. |
The gap between the cities in this budget is about $264 a month, and most of it is rent. Neither total includes federal income and payroll taxes, savings, debt payments or a pet. Texas has no state income tax (Texas taxes), but both cities charge the maximum 8.25% sales tax. Austin’s CapMetro fares rise on Jan 10, 2027.
Out-of-date numbers you’ll still find online
Older “how much to live in Austin” guides lean on peak-era rents. The city median is falling year over year as of October 2026 data, so the 30% math has eased too.
MIT refreshes its calculator each year, and many articles quote prior editions. The current Texas page is marked updated Feb 15, 2026.
State law bars cities and counties from setting their own minimum wage (Labor Code §62.0515), and the rate has been $7.25 since 2009.
The fixed monthly charge went up with the new rates in mid-2026 (El Paso Times), so older El Paso budgets understate the power bill.
How we check
Every figure links to its source and shows the date it applies to. When we do arithmetic on sourced numbers (the 30% rule, monthly conversions, totals), we say so in the table. Read the full methodology.