With Fort Worth constantly growing and undertaking multiple high-profile developments this year, we figured it was time to talk about the cost of planting some roots in Cowtown.
The median household income in Tarrant County is $70,306, according to the US Census Bureau. State-wise, Texas is No. 21 in the country for median income at ~$63,826 per household.
The overall cost of living in FTW is lower than the national average but higher than the rest of the state.
In Fort Worth, the cost of healthcare is higher compared to other parts of the state + but lower than the US average. The cost of groceries and housing in the city have lower average prices than the country overall, but the cost of transportation and other miscellaneous expenses are higher than in other areas in Texas and the US.
Breaking down the numbers
Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $50,000 annually – according to experts — you shouldn’t spend more than 30% of your monthly gross income on rent and utilities. Don’t worry, we did the math for you — your max monthly budget would be $1,250. The average monthly rent for an apartment in FTW is $1,423 — putting you over budget.
According to a recent study by Attom Data Solutions, it’s actually more affordable to buy a home in Tarrant County than to rent.
Interested in seeing Fort Worth’s prices compared to cities in other states? We played around on NerdWallet’s cost of living calculator, where you can put in any city along with your current pre-tax household income to find out what other cities you could afford to live in.
We took a look at the cost of living in Fort Worth compared to Austin. Here’s what we found:
- It is 8% higher in the state capital.
- To maintain our standard of living, we would need to bring in $53,834 to our Austin household.
- The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,520 per month, which is $207 more than FTW.
Cowtown also has entities such as the Fort Worth Housing Solutions + other government-funded programs to help develop more affordable units.
There are also a number of local development firms working on apartments seemingly all the time — from Deco 969 on Commerce Street to the affordable and supportive housing developments from the Fort Worth Housing Finance Corporation.
