What is the cost of living in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 103.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 117.9, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,931/month.

What is the median salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?

The median salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is $73,476 annually (mean: $77,058). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Stockers and Order Fillers.

How safe is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?

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

What are the schools like in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?

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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?

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

Is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington a good place to relocate?

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington has a Life Score of 44.9/100 (F), 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranks #351 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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

LiveAbility 35.6/100 places Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington #351 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

103.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,931
2BR rent / mo: $73,476
Median salary: 35.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranks #351 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (35.6/100), with its strongest marks in climate and job market.

#351
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), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranks #351 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 103.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,931/mo, median salary $73,476; LiveAbility Score 35.6/100, strongest in climate and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 35.6/100 places Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington #351 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 103.1 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,931/mo.

LiveAbility 35.6/100 puts Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington in the bottom third (#351 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area is 4,019,090.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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)

36 Top 91% higher than 9% 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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA; housing RPP 117.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,931/mo.

Studio

$1,582

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,648

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,931

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,431

/month

4 Bedroom

$3,091

/month

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington wages and employment

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington posts 4,019,090 total employment with median salary $73,476 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$73,476

Mean Salary

$77,058

Total Employment

4,019,090

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,070
General and Operations Managers	$111,010
Stockers and Order Fillers	$37,590
Retail Salespersons	$33,400
Customer Service Representatives	$44,990

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington's composite Life Score is 44.9/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

12/100

Bottom decile

Wages

80/100

Elite

Rent

10/100

Bottom decile

Crime

34/100

Weak

Schools

38/100

Below average

Childcare

77/100

Strong

Environment

85/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranks #351 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 35.6/100 - 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
Job market

80
Schools

62
Safety

34
Cost of living

12
Housing

10
Air quality

5
Low hazard

5

What this shows Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington's strongest dimensions are climate and job market; 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to

Bloomington Boise City Boston-Cambridge-Newton Boulder Bowling Green Bozeman

Metros near Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington runs a $73,476 median salary at a 103.1 cost index, ranking #351 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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