What is the cost of living in Amarillo?

Amarillo has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 91.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 78.4, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,106/month.

What is the median salary in Amarillo?

The median salary in Amarillo is $60,424 annually (mean: $63,366). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Amarillo?

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

What are the schools like in Amarillo?

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 Amarillo?

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

Is Amarillo a good place to relocate?

Amarillo has a Life Score of 53.9/100 (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 Amarillo sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Amarillo ranks #246 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

Amarillo, TX

BEA RPP 91.8 sits mid-pack (#140 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

91.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,106
2BR rent / mo: $60,424
Median salary: 47.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Amarillo ranks #246 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (47.8/100), with its strongest marks in housing and schools.

#246
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 (6/100). 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), Amarillo ranks #246 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 91.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,106/mo, median salary $60,424; LiveAbility Score 47.8/100, strongest in housing and schools.

Signature: BEA RPP 91.8 sits mid-pack (#140 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 91.8 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,106/mo.

LiveAbility 47.8/100 keeps Amarillo in the middle third (#246 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Amarillo area is 113,150.

Amarillo 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)

48 Top 64% higher than 36% 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

Amarillo housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Amarillo MSA; housing RPP 78.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,106/mo.

Studio

$778

/month

1 Bedroom

$903

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,106

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,503

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,742

/month

Amarillo wages and employment

Amarillo posts 113,150 total employment with median salary $60,424.

Median Salary

$60,424

Mean Salary

$63,366

Total Employment

113,150

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$26,880
General and Operations Managers	$85,770
Retail Salespersons	$29,310
Cashiers	$27,750
Registered Nurses	$86,850

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Amarillo 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 Amarillo area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Amarillo's composite Life Score is 53.9/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

64/100

Above average

Wages

20/100

Weak

Rent

80/100

Elite

Crime

35/100

Below average

Schools

35/100

Below average

Childcare

79/100

Strong

Environment

84/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Amarillo ranks #246 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 47.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (80/100)

Housing

80
Schools

65
Cost of living

64
Air quality

52
Climate

42
Safety

36
Job market

21
Low hazard

6

What this shows Amarillo's strongest dimensions are housing and schools; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 6/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Amarillo to

Eugene-Springfield Evansville Fairbanks-College Fargo Farmington Fayetteville

Metros near Amarillo on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Amarillo 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

Amarillo cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Amarillo 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 Amarillo?

Amarillo runs a $60,424 median salary at a 91.8 cost index, ranking #246 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Amarillo's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Amarillo head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Amarillo
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene 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.