What is the cost of living in Corpus Christi?

Corpus Christi has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 84.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,407/month.

What is the median salary in Corpus Christi?

The median salary in Corpus Christi is $61,494 annually (mean: $65,038). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, General and Operations Managers.

How safe is Corpus Christi?

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

What are the schools like in Corpus Christi?

The state of TX has 9,061 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1. About 69.5% are Title I schools. Charter schools make up 11.1% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Corpus Christi?

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

Is Corpus Christi a good place to relocate?

Corpus Christi has a Life Score of 48.9/100 (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 Corpus Christi sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Corpus Christi ranks #301 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

Corpus Christi, TX

LiveAbility 43/100 places Corpus Christi #301 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,407
2BR rent / mo: $61,494
Median salary: 43
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Corpus Christi ranks #301 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (43/100), with its strongest marks in climate and schools.

#301
of 387 US metros · Below 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), Corpus Christi ranks #301 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,407/mo, median salary $61,494; LiveAbility Score 43/100, strongest in climate and schools.

Signature: LiveAbility 43/100 places Corpus Christi #301 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,407/mo.

LiveAbility 43/100 puts Corpus Christi in the bottom third (#301 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Corpus Christi area is 183,520.

Corpus Christi 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)

43 Top 78% higher than 22% 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

Corpus Christi housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Corpus Christi MSA; housing RPP 84.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,407/mo.

Studio

$1,059

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,072

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,407

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,910

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,116

/month

Corpus Christi wages and employment

Corpus Christi posts 183,520 total employment with median salary $61,494.

Median Salary

$61,494

Mean Salary

$65,038

Total Employment

183,520

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$25,630
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$23,440
General and Operations Managers	$90,600
Registered Nurses	$82,690
Retail Salespersons	$29,200

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Corpus Christi area from NCES.

Schools

9,061

Enrollment

5,491,723

Student:Teacher

14.4:1

Title I %

69.5%

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Corpus Christi's composite Life Score is 48.9/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

58/100

Above average

Wages

34/100

Weak

Rent

37/100

Below average

Crime

34/100

Weak

Schools

37/100

Below average

Childcare

77/100

Strong

Environment

85/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Corpus Christi ranks #301 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 43/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (98/100)

Climate

98
Schools

63
Cost of living

58
Housing

37
Job market

34
Safety

34
Air quality

20
Low hazard

5

What this shows Corpus Christi's strongest dimensions are climate and schools; 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 Corpus Christi to

Texarkana Toledo Topeka Traverse City Trenton-Princeton Tucson

Metros near Corpus Christi on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Corpus Christi 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

† No air quality reading on file for this metro, so its score is built from fewer than all 8 dimensions: the missing dimension is omitted and the remaining weights renormalized. It is not directly comparable with a full 8-dimension score.

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

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

On the federal data, Corpus Christi shows a $61,494 median salary, a 92.7 cost index and a LiveAbility rank of #301 of 387.

Run Corpus Christi's pay and cost figures against your own budget. Salary calculator
Set Corpus Christi beside another metro and read the same dimensions across. Compare Corpus Christi
Closest related metro in this corpus: Abilene. See how it stacks up. Abilene profile
When cost and LiveAbility disagree, the guide shows how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

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