What is the cost of living in College Station-Bryan?

College Station-Bryan has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 91.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 75.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,186/month.

What is the median salary in College Station-Bryan?

The median salary in College Station-Bryan is $62,191 annually (mean: $66,656). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary, General and Operations Managers.

How safe is College Station-Bryan?

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

What are the schools like in College Station-Bryan?

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 College Station-Bryan?

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

Is College Station-Bryan a good place to relocate?

College Station-Bryan has a Life Score of 58.5/100 (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, College Station-Bryan outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does College Station-Bryan sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, College Station-Bryan ranks #95 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

College Station-Bryan, TX

LiveAbility 57.1/100 places College Station-Bryan #95 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

91.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,186
2BR rent / mo: $62,191
Median salary: 57.1
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, College Station-Bryan ranks #95 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (57.1/100), with its strongest marks in climate and air quality.

#95
of 387 US metros · Above 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 (5/100). 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), College Station-Bryan ranks #95 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 91.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,186/mo, median salary $62,191; LiveAbility Score 57.1/100, strongest in climate and air quality.

Signature: LiveAbility 57.1/100 places College Station-Bryan #95 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 91.0 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,186/mo.

LiveAbility 57.1/100 puts College Station-Bryan in the top third (#95 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the College Station-Bryan area is 118,500.

College Station-Bryan 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)

57 Top 25% higher than 75% 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

College Station-Bryan housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the College Station-Bryan MSA; housing RPP 75.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,186/mo.

Studio

$1,025

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,082

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,186

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,649

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,928

/month

College Station-Bryan wages and employment

College Station-Bryan posts 118,500 total employment with median salary $62,191 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$62,191

Mean Salary

$66,656

Total Employment

118,500

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,420
Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary	$57,790
General and Operations Managers	$87,910
Retail Salespersons	$28,800
Registered Nurses	$83,090

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the College Station-Bryan 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 College Station-Bryan area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

College Station-Bryan's composite Life Score is 58.5/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

70/100

Strong

Wages

48/100

Average

Rent

66/100

Strong

Crime

34/100

Weak

Schools

37/100

Below average

Childcare

77/100

Strong

Environment

85/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

College Station-Bryan ranks #95 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 57.1/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (93/100)

Climate

93
Air quality

78
Cost of living

70
Housing

66
Schools

63
Job market

48
Safety

35
Low hazard

5

What this shows College Station-Bryan's strongest dimensions are climate and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 5/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare College Station-Bryan to

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Bloomington Bloomington Boise City Boston-Cambridge-Newton Boulder

Metros near College Station-Bryan on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to College Station-Bryan 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

College Station-Bryan cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; College Station-Bryan 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 College Station-Bryan?

College Station-Bryan runs a $62,191 median salary at a 91.0 cost index, ranking #95 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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