As the cost of living rises nationally, Texas has remained a stalwart in affordability.
Relative to the rest of the country, the Lone Star State’s cost of living remained low in 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a report last week.
The cost of living in Texas in 2021 was 1.5% lower than the national average, a difference driven by utility prices, which were 14.1% below the national average, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Housing was lower by 4.4%, and goods, which account for food, apparel, medical, transportation, and recreation, were 1.4% below the national average.
Paradise did not come cheap, as Hawaii was the most expensive state in the country, with costs of living 13.2% higher than the national average.
In contrast, Mississippi was the most affordable state, with costs of living sitting at 13.4% lower than the national average.
Texas’ cost of living has been below the national average every year since 2008, the Bureau of Economic Analysis report said.
This likely explains why Texas has been a magnet for migrants these past years, as The Dallas Express previously reported. This has been especially true of those from California, which was the second most expensive state (11.8% above the national average) and is home to 11 of the 20 most expensive metro areas.
Between 2018 and 2019, upwards of 50,000 people migrated to the Lone Star State from California alone. Between March 2020 and January 2022, nearly 20% of new residents to Texas were from the Sunshine State.
California lost nearly 250,000 people from 2020 to 2021, followed up by a net migration loss of 173,173 last year.
That being said, while Texas might have been more affordable, it still wasn’t cheap. Thirty-two states were less expensive than Texas in 2021.
Dallas was no exception, with prices that were 3.9% higher than the national average, above Austin.
