New York, NY vs McAllen, TX
Moving from New York to McAllen? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $193,978 median home) and taxes.
New York vs McAllen 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $76,413 in McAllen, TX (−$23,587).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · McAllen, TX: 78 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 5,411 sqft in McAllen ($455 vs $92 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | McAllen, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $13,536 | −$28,500 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,647 | −$768 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,675 | −$220 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,836 | −$1,344 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $3,600 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $4,917 | −$18,579 |
| Total | $79,622 | $32,211 | −$47,411 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | McAllen, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 86.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 7.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 54 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $4.90 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $193,978 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $92 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,128 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 1.82% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |