Dallas, TX vs Lincoln, NE
Moving from Dallas to Lincoln? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($366,823 → $304,242 median home) and taxes.
Dallas vs Lincoln at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Dallas, TX, you'd need about $89,660 in Lincoln, NE (−$10,340).
Livability — Dallas, TX: 67 · Lincoln, NE: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,862 sqft in Dallas vs 2,793 sqft in Lincoln ($175 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Dallas, TX | Lincoln, NE | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,136 | $16,128 | −$4,008 |
| Groceries | $5,182 | $4,827 | −$355 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,300 | −$375 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,440 | −$396 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $3,600 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $8,136 | $11,420 | +$3,284 |
| Total | $42,565 | $40,715 | −$1,850 |
Side by side
| Metric | Dallas, TX | Lincoln, NE |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 91.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.62% | 3.11% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 5.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.23 |
| Median home price | $366,823 | $304,242 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.3% | 4.1% |
| Price per square foot | $175 | $179 |
| Median rent | $1,678 | $1,344 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.97% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.20% |
| Property tax rate | 1.76% | 1.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.27% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 19 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $79 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $75 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 14 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 38.3 | 28.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.7 | 25.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 61% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |