College Station, TX
College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, College Station ranks 271st for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 263rd for income. A household earns $61,983 a year while median rent runs $1,195/mo, making it expensive relative to what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 9% below the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is commute (18th of 300), while affordability is the soft spot (271st). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 131st and home prices 148th among the 300 metros CityLedger tracks.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you in College Station, your take-home is worth about $67,414 once local prices are factored in — local prices stretch it further than the U.S. average.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
The numbers
Income & cost
- Median income
- 263rd of 300↑11.3%$61,983
- Cost of living?The local price level vs. the U.S. average of 100 (BEA). Lower means cheaper. This is raw prices, not adjusted for income.
- 70th of 30091 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $68,150
- Per-capita income
- $35,234
- Full-time pay
- $34,140
Housing
- Median rent
- 131st of 300↑25.5%$1,195/mo
- Home value
- 148th of 300↑41.6%$301,800
- Property tax
- $3,761/yr · 1.2%
- Sales tax
- 8.20%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 176th of 3004.7%
- Bachelor's+
- 55th of 30042.5%
- Avg commute
- 18th of 30019.7 min
People
- Population
- 288,771
- Population change
- +7.7%
- Median age
- 28.7 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 12.1%
- Broadband
- 89.9%
Environment & risk
- Air quality (AQI)
- 52nd of 30039
- Natural-hazard loss
- 19th of 300$8/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 237th of 30021.9%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 16.3%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. EPA, FEMA, CDC, NOAA — every figure's source is listed on our methodology page. Data built 2026-06-14. ↑↓ mark the change since 2019.
How CityLedger scores it
Transparent weights — see our methodology.
Strengths
- + Cost of living
- + Education
- + Commute
- + Air quality
- + Hazard safety
Watch-outs
- – Affordability
- – Household income
- – Health
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — college stn easterwood fld.
What jobs pay in College Station
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- Pharmacists
- $136,310
- IT managers
- $135,540
- Lawyers
- $134,800
- Financial managers
- $132,280
- Software developers
- $101,910
- General & operations managers
- $87,910
- Registered nurses
- $83,090
- Civil engineers
- $82,020
- Police officers
- $76,570
- Accountants & auditors
- $71,810
- Family medicine physicians
- $68,850
- Secondary school teachers
- $58,750
- Elementary school teachers
- $57,870
- Plumbers
- $49,780
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $49,540
- Electricians
- $48,410
- Carpenters
- $46,970
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $41,510
- Construction laborers
- $37,200
- Customer service reps
- $37,190
- Janitors
- $29,840
- Retail salespersons
- $28,800
- Cashiers
- $28,600
- Waiters & waitresses
- $22,800
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025 — annual median wage. Cross-industry, all experience levels.
Where new residents move from
The states sending the most people to the College Station metro, by estimated movers (U.S. Census 2022 migration flows, 5-year). Moves from elsewhere in Texas are excluded to show where out-of-state arrivals originate.
- California996
- Louisiana742
- Iowa583
- New York407
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like College Station
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
College Station metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the College Station metro?
- Median gross rent across the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area is $1,195 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of College Station.
- What is the median household income in the College Station metro?
- A typical household in the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area earns $61,983 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is College Station expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area runs about 9% below the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024) — prices are lower than average, before accounting for local pay.
- Does a paycheck go far in the College Station metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $68,150 (versus its face value of $61,983). CityLedger rates the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area expensive for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the College Station metro?
- The median home value across the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area is $301,800 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the College Station metro?
- The unemployment rate in the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area is 4.7% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).