Washington, DC vs McAllen, TX
Moving from Washington to McAllen? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($583,013 → $193,978 median home) and taxes.
Washington 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 Washington, DC, you'd need about $78,576 in McAllen, TX (−$21,424).
Livability — Washington, DC: 39 · McAllen, TX: 78 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,286 sqft in Washington vs 5,411 sqft in McAllen ($389 vs $92 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Washington, DC | McAllen, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $28,992 | $13,536 | −$15,456 |
| Groceries | $5,318 | $4,647 | −$671 |
| Transportation | $3,855 | $3,675 | −$180 |
| Utilities | $2,748 | $1,836 | −$912 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $3,600 | +$2,200 |
| Taxes | $17,710 | $4,917 | −$12,793 |
| Total | $60,023 | $32,211 | −$27,812 |
Side by side
| Metric | Washington, DC | McAllen, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.5 | 86.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.87% | 7.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.2% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 54 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.23 | $4.90 |
| Median home price | $583,013 | $193,978 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $92 |
| Median rent | $2,416 | $1,128 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.0% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.95% | 1.82% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $26,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 34 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 25.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 1,000 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 29 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |