What is the cost of living in Brownsville-Harlingen?

Brownsville-Harlingen has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 86.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 57.7, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,047/month.

What is the median salary in Brownsville-Harlingen?

The median salary in Brownsville-Harlingen is $55,295 annually (mean: $58,512). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Customer Service Representatives.

How safe is Brownsville-Harlingen?

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

What are the schools like in Brownsville-Harlingen?

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 Brownsville-Harlingen?

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

Is Brownsville-Harlingen a good place to relocate?

Brownsville-Harlingen has a Life Score of 57.9/100 (C-), 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 an above-average score, Brownsville-Harlingen outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Brownsville-Harlingen sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Brownsville-Harlingen ranks #214 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

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX

BEA RPP 86.0 ranks #23 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

86.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,047
2BR rent / mo: $55,295
Median salary: 50.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Brownsville-Harlingen ranks #214 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (50.3/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and housing.

#214
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: air quality (4/100). 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), Brownsville-Harlingen ranks #214 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 86.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,047/mo, median salary $55,295; LiveAbility Score 50.3/100, strongest in cost of living and housing.

Signature: BEA RPP 86.0 ranks #23 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 86.0 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,047/mo.

LiveAbility 50.3/100 keeps Brownsville-Harlingen in the middle third (#214 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Brownsville-Harlingen area is 149,790.

Brownsville-Harlingen 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)

50 Top 55% higher than 45% 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

Brownsville-Harlingen housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Brownsville-Harlingen MSA; housing RPP 57.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,047/mo.

Studio

$773

/month

1 Bedroom

$866

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,047

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,414

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,479

/month

Brownsville-Harlingen wages and employment

Brownsville-Harlingen posts 149,790 total employment with median salary $55,295 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$55,295

Mean Salary

$58,512

Total Employment

149,790

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$23,500
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$22,500
Customer Service Representatives	$38,350
Retail Salespersons	$27,780
General and Operations Managers	$75,350

Schools & Education

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

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Brownsville-Harlingen's composite Life Score is 57.9/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

94/100

Elite

Wages

4/100

Bottom decile

Rent

88/100

Elite

Crime

35/100

Below average

Schools

36/100

Below average

Childcare

78/100

Strong

Environment

84/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Brownsville-Harlingen ranks #214 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 50.3/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (94/100)

Cost of living

94
Housing

88
Climate

86
Schools

64
Safety

35
Low hazard

5
Job market

4
Air quality

4

What this shows Brownsville-Harlingen's strongest dimensions are cost of living and housing; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 4/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Brownsville-Harlingen to

Kingston Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh Knoxville Kokomo La Crosse-Onalaska Lafayette

Metros near Brownsville-Harlingen on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Brownsville-Harlingen 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

Brownsville-Harlingen cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen?

Brownsville-Harlingen runs a $55,295 median salary at a 86.0 cost index, ranking #214 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Brownsville-Harlingen's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Brownsville-Harlingen head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Brownsville-Harlingen
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.