What is the cost of living in Abilene?

Abilene has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 90.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 73.8, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,276/month.

What is the median salary in Abilene?

The median salary in Abilene is $57,653 annually (mean: $61,410). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Customer Service Representatives, General and Operations Managers.

The violent crime rate in the Abilene area is 395 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2058 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Abilene?

The state of TX has 9,061 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.7:1. Charter schools make up 11.4% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Abilene?

Infant center-based childcare in the Abilene area averages $7,566 per year. Preschool averages $6,926/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Abilene a good place to relocate?

Abilene has a Life Score of 50.5/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Abilene sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Abilene ranks #237 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Abilene, TX

BEA RPP 90.4 ranks #106 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

90.4
Cost index (US=100): $1,276
2BR rent / mo: $57,653
Median salary: 48.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Abilene ranks #237 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (48.6/100), with its strongest marks in climate and cost of living.

#237
of 387 US metros · Near median: 31,290,831
metro-area population: 395
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 9,061
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (7/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Abilene ranks #237 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 90.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,276/mo, median salary $57,653; LiveAbility Score 48.6/100, strongest in climate and cost of living.

Signature: BEA RPP 90.4 ranks #106 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 90.4 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,276/mo.

LiveAbility 48.6/100 keeps Abilene in the middle third (#237 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Abilene area is 68,490.

Abilene vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

49 Top 61% higher than 39% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Abilene housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Abilene MSA; housing RPP 73.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,276/mo.

Studio

$1,010

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,020

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,276

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,653

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,987

/month

Abilene wages and employment

Abilene posts 68,490 total employment with median salary $57,653 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$57,653

Mean Salary

$61,410

Total Employment

68,490

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$26,310
Customer Service Representatives	$36,830
General and Operations Managers	$86,200
Retail Salespersons	$29,530
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$23,690

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Abilene area from NCES.

Schools

9,061

Enrollment

5,491,723

Student:Teacher

14.7:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Abilene area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Abilene's composite Life Score is 50.5/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

73/100

Strong

Wages

15/100

Bottom decile

Rent

53/100

Average

Crime

36/100

Below average

Schools

35/100

Below average

Childcare

79/100

Strong

Environment

83/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Abilene ranks #237 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 48.6/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (97/100)

Climate

97
Cost of living

73
Schools

65
Housing

53
Safety

36
Job market

15
Low hazard

7

What this shows Abilene's strongest dimensions are climate and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 7/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Abilene to

Providence-Warwick Provo-Orem-Lehi Pueblo Punta Gorda Racine-Mount Pleasant Raleigh-Cary

Metros near Abilene on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Abilene on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Abilene cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Abilene wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Abilene?

Abilene runs a $57,653 median salary at a 90.4 cost index, ranking #237 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Abilene's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Abilene head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Abilene
Akron is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Akron profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.