Cost of living in 21 Texas cities, ranked cheapest to most expensive
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- Plano had the highest Cost of Living Index score among 21 Texas cities.
- Most of those 21 urban areas were less expensive than the national average.
- Harlingen, Texas, was the least expensive among the 21 Texas locations with scores.
Plano and Dallas in Texas are more expensive places to live in in the state than Houston or Abilene, based on a Cost of Living Index for the second quarter.
The Council for Community and Economic Research, or C2ER, creates a quarterly Cost of Living Index. The index is based on a few different categories, such as utilities and housing. There were 274 urban areas that participated in the second quarter, a press release said.
"The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile," the press release said.
Insider also looked at the cost of living for places in Florida and California. While all 10 urban areas in California in the second quarter's analysis had an index above the national average of 100, meaning they're more expensive than the average US urban area in the study, that wasn't true for Texas.
The urban areas of Plano and Dallas were the only two places among the 21 Texas locations that had scores above the national average of 100. Austin didn't fall too behind the national average though, with a composite index of 98.8.
The following shows how the 21 Texas urban areas with data for the second quarter ranked among each other, based on the Cost of Living Index from C2ER. We also included several average prices for each location from C2ER that was shared with Insider. These prices were based on certain criteria. For instance, home prices is based on newer-construction homes with certain features of the home, among other criteria.
DavieJones13/Getty Images
Composite index: 79.6
Home price: $331,625
Apartment rent: $854
Energy: $201.74
Doctor visit: $95
Beauty salon visit: $42.5
DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images
Composite index: 81.8
Home price: $275,333
Apartment rent: $852
Energy: $199.84
Doctor visit: $87.5
Beauty salon visit: $31.67
halbergman/Getty Images
Composite index: 85.9
Home price: $290,338
Apartment rent: $1,205
Energy: $175.98
Doctor visit: $114
Beauty salon visit: $51
Marti157900/Getty Images
Composite index: 87.0
Home price: $385,511
Apartment rent: $864
Energy: $227.18
Doctor visit: $121.5
Beauty salon visit: $31
Sean Pavone/Getty Images
Composite index: 87.4
Home price: $318,129
Apartment rent: $1,265
Energy: $144.43
Doctor visit: $127
Beauty salon visit: $35.33
mbell/Getty Images
Composite index: 91.2
Home price: $338,013
Apartment rent: $1,467
Energy: $137.32
Doctor visit: $146.67
Beauty salon visit: $72.8
SevenMaps/Shutterstock
Composite index: 91.6
Home price: $412,607
Apartment rent: $1,382
Energy: $227.09
Doctor visit: $162.14
Beauty salon visit: $43.67
BOB WESTON/Getty Images
Composite index: 91.9
Home price: $423,130
Apartment rent: $1,102
Energy: $187.05
Doctor visit: $117.33
Beauty salon visit: $32.5
DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images
Composite index: 92.1
Home price: $350,963
Apartment rent: $1,442.5
Energy: $233.38
Doctor visit: $103.33
Beauty salon visit: $43.5
DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images
Composite index: 92.2
Home price: $449,213
Apartment rent: $1,012
Energy: $161.68
Doctor visit: $103.5
Beauty salon visit: $46.25
Roberto Galan/Shutterstock
Composite index: 92.3
Home price: $403,257
Apartment rent: $1,435
Energy: $202.26
Doctor visit: $108.33
Beauty salon visit: $49.75
DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images
Composite index: 92.6
Home price: $423,500
Apartment rent: $1,155
Energy: $177.24
Doctor visit: $125.25
Beauty salon visit: $42.5
P A Thompson/Getty Images
Composite index: 93.0
Home price: $456,745
Apartment rent: $1,339
Energy: $214.33
Doctor visit: $87.5
Beauty salon visit: $47.33
Walter Bibikow/Getty Images
Composite index: 93.7
Home price: $392,800
Apartment rent: $1,254
Energy: $220.39
Doctor visit: $100.5
Beauty salon visit: $41.2
Rosemarie Mosteller/Shutterstock
Composite index: 94.2
Home price: $420,613
Apartment rent: $1,227
Energy: $230.22
Doctor visit: $88.2
Beauty salon visit: $45.4
Shobeir Ansari/Getty Images
Composite index: 94.2
Home price: $407,506
Apartment rent: $1,349
Energy: $191.74
Doctor visit: $92.27
Beauty salon visit: $69.4
dszc/Getty Images
Composite index: 96.3
Home price: $399,495
Apartment rent: $1,098
Energy: $193.65
Doctor visit: $112.5
Beauty salon visit: $57.17
LMPark Photos/Shutterstock
Composite index: 96.6
Home price: $422,565
Apartment rent: $1,540
Energy: $211.66
Doctor visit: $112.4
Beauty salon visit: $53.33
Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images
Composite index: 98.8
Home price: $512,470
Apartment rent: $1,861
Energy: $165.22
Doctor visit: $103.56
Beauty salon visit: $53
Danny Lehman/Getty Images
Composite index: 102.5
Home price: $474,503
Apartment rent: $1,552
Energy: $215.46
Doctor visit: $131.97
Beauty salon visit: $62.5
Gary Fink/Getty Images
Composite index: 117.9
Home price: $681,497
Apartment rent: $1,787
Energy: $238.36
Doctor visit: $164.33
Beauty salon visit: $75.67