Texas has been America's biggest net importer of people for more than a decade, and the pitch hasn't changed: no state income tax, four genuinely large economies, and housing that still costs a fraction of coastal prices. All true. But Texas doesn't lower your cost of living so much as rearrange it, and the people who regret the move are usually the ones who only read the headline.
The tax math, both halves of it
Texas takes nothing from your paycheck. It makes a good chunk of it back through your house: the effective property-tax rate runs around 1.7% of assessed value, among the highest in the nation. On a $400k home that's roughly $7,000 a year, every year, whether you're earning or not. (California, for contrast, pairs its high income tax with property tax closer to 0.7%.)
Two practical consequences. First, renters pay this too, it's baked into rent. Second, appraisal districts reassess every year, and protesting your appraisal is not a fringe activity in Texas; it's practically a spring tradition. Budget the tax, and learn the protest calendar.
Sales tax stacks to 8.25% in most cities. A homestead exemption (now $100k of assessed value) takes real sting out of the bill on a primary residence: file it; it isn't automatic.
The honest summary: a high earner renting modestly comes out far ahead. A median earner buying an expensive house can come out behind a state with income tax. Which one are you? That's a thirty-second comparison, not a guess.
Four metros, four different states of mind
"Moving to Texas" is underspecified: the big four metros differ more than most U.S. states do:
- Austin: the transplant capital. Tech, music, the best food-truck-to-resident ratio in the state, and Texas's most expensive housing (median around $555k). Growing pains included at no extra charge.
- Dallas–Fort Worth: corporate Texas. The most Fortune 500 headquarters, endless suburbs with excellent schools (Frisco, Plano, McKinney), housing near $300k. Budget $50–80 a month for tolls; the region runs on them.
- Houston: the most diverse city in Texas, an energy-and-medicine economy, astonishing food, famously no zoning code, and big-city housing around $250k. Humidity is a lifestyle.
- San Antonio: the affordable one. Military money, the Riverwalk, a lower-key pace, and the cheapest cost of living of the four.
The fine print people learn the hard way
Summer is a season you schedule around. June through September means 95–105°F for weeks at a stretch. Electricity bills spike accordingly, outdoor life moves to early morning, and you will develop opinions about window film.
The grid is its own thing. ERCOT runs Texas's power grid in deliberate isolation from the rest of the country. The February 2021 freeze (days of outages, burst pipes, a spike in electricity plans' fine print) was the worst case, not a one-off pattern, but resilience varies by neighborhood and plan. If you buy, ask about the house's performance in 2021. People will tell you.
Insurance is climbing. Hail in DFW, hurricanes on the coast, and a hardening market mean homeowner premiums have risen sharply. Quote insurance before you make an offer, not after.
The first 90 days
Texas gives you 30 days to register your vehicle and 90 days to swap your driver's license (Texas DPS). Most counties still require an annual vehicle safety inspection, a small ritual many states have dropped. Voter registration closes 30 days before an election.
If Texas is on your shortlist, run your own city against your candidate metro (income, rent, household and all) and see the full verdict. Then check what everyone else is comparing; odds are your route is already trending.