What is the cost of living in Midland?

Midland has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 101.5, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,772/month.

What is the median salary in Midland?

The median salary in Midland is $70,012 annually (mean: $74,048). Top occupations include General and Operations Managers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Roustabouts, Oil and Gas.

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

What are the schools like in Midland?

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 Midland?

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

Is Midland a good place to relocate?

Midland has a Life Score of 51.3/100 (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 Midland sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Midland ranks #290 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

Midland, TX

LiveAbility 44.2/100 places Midland #290 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,772
2BR rent / mo: $70,012
Median salary: 44.2
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Midland ranks #290 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (44.2/100), with its strongest marks in climate and job market.

#290
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 (2/100). 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), Midland ranks #290 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,772/mo, median salary $70,012; LiveAbility Score 44.2/100, strongest in climate and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 44.2/100 places Midland #290 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.8 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,772/mo.

LiveAbility 44.2/100 puts Midland in the bottom third (#290 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Midland area is 113,700.

Midland 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)

44 Top 75% higher than 25% 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

Midland housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Midland MSA; housing RPP 101.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,772/mo.

Studio

$1,422

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,441

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,772

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,215

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,722

/month

Midland wages and employment

Midland posts 113,700 total employment with median salary $70,012.

Median Salary

$70,012

Mean Salary

$74,048

Total Employment

113,700

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
General and Operations Managers	$132,420
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	$58,200
Roustabouts, Oil and Gas	$47,180
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas	$49,470
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,650

Schools & Education

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

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Midland's composite Life Score is 51.3/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

39/100

Below average

Wages

81/100

Elite

Rent

16/100

Bottom decile

Crime

32/100

Weak

Schools

40/100

Below average

Childcare

74/100

Strong

Environment

88/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Midland ranks #290 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 44.2/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (89/100)

Climate

89
Job market

81
Schools

60
Cost of living

39
Safety

32
Housing

16
Low hazard

2

What this shows Midland's strongest dimensions are climate and job market; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 2/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Midland to

Billings Binghamton Birmingham Bismarck Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Bloomington

Metros near Midland on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Midland 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

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

Midland runs a $70,012 median salary at a 95.8 cost index, ranking #290 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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