What is the cost of living in Texarkana?

Texarkana has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 84.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 49.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $880/month.

What is the median salary in Texarkana?

The median salary in Texarkana is $56,886 annually (mean: $59,798). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Texarkana?

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

What are the schools like in Texarkana?

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 Texarkana?

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

Is Texarkana a good place to relocate?

Texarkana has a Life Score of 60.7/100 (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, Texarkana outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Texarkana sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Texarkana ranks #152 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

Texarkana, TX-AR

BEA RPP 84.0 ranks #4 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

84.0
Cost index (US=100): $880
2BR rent / mo: $56,886
Median salary: 53.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Texarkana ranks #152 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (53.8/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and housing.

#152
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 (1/100). 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), Texarkana ranks #152 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 84.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $880/mo, median salary $56,886; LiveAbility Score 53.8/100, strongest in cost of living and housing.

Signature: BEA RPP 84.0 ranks #4 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 84.0 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $880/mo.

LiveAbility 53.8/100 keeps Texarkana in the middle third (#152 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Texarkana area is 50,920.

Texarkana 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)

54 Top 40% higher than 60% 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

Texarkana housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Texarkana MSA; housing RPP 49.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $880/mo.

Studio

$666

/month

1 Bedroom

$671

/month

2 Bedroom

$880

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,166

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,170

/month

Texarkana wages and employment

Texarkana posts 50,920 total employment with median salary $56,886 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$56,886

Mean Salary

$59,798

Total Employment

50,920

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$22,880
Registered Nurses	$80,610
Retail Salespersons	$28,700
General and Operations Managers	$77,060
Cashiers	$26,850

Schools & Education

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

Infant (Center)

$7,566

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,109

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,926

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Texarkana's composite Life Score is 60.7/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

99/100

Elite

Wages

5/100

Bottom decile

Rent

99/100

Elite

Crime

30/100

Weak

Schools

42/100

Below average

Childcare

73/100

Strong

Environment

89/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Texarkana ranks #152 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 53.8/100 - 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 (99/100)

Cost of living

99
Housing

99
Climate

92
Schools

58
Safety

30
Air quality

23
Job market

5
Low hazard

1

What this shows Texarkana's strongest dimensions are cost of living and housing; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 1/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Texarkana to

Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor Sebring Sheboygan Sherman-Denison Shreveport-Bossier City Sierra Vista-Douglas

Metros near Texarkana on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Texarkana 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

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

Texarkana runs a $56,886 median salary at a 84.0 cost index, ranking #152 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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