Killeen, TX
Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, Killeen ranks 206th for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 212th for income. A household earns $68,465 a year while median rent runs $1,283/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 hazard safety (49th of 300), while education is the soft spot (255th). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 160th and home prices 110th 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 Killeen, your take-home is worth about $67,280 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
- 212th of 300↑25.9%$68,465
- 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.
- 72nd of 30091 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $75,127
- Per-capita income
- $32,016
- Full-time pay
- $40,526
Housing
- Median rent
- 160th of 300↑41.6%$1,283/mo
- Home value
- 110th of 300↑68%$268,400
- Property tax
- $3,297/yr · 1.2%
- Sales tax
- 8.20%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 240th of 3005.5%
- Bachelor's+
- 255th of 30024.9%
- Avg commute
- 164th of 30024.5 min
People
- Population
- 509,487
- Population change
- +10.5%
- Median age
- 33.3 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 8.4%
- Broadband
- 95%
Environment & risk
- Air quality (AQI)
- 153rd of 30046
- Natural-hazard loss
- 49th of 300$9/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 240th of 30022.1%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 16%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. EPA, FEMA, CDC — 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
- + Hazard safety
Watch-outs
- – Affordability
- – Household income
- – Job market
- – Education
- – Health
What jobs pay in Killeen
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- IT managers
- $154,180
- Pharmacists
- $149,790
- Financial managers
- $140,310
- Lawyers
- $129,430
- Software developers
- $123,320
- Registered nurses
- $93,440
- Civil engineers
- $92,830
- General & operations managers
- $87,920
- Accountants & auditors
- $73,270
- Police officers
- $70,240
- Secondary school teachers
- $63,650
- Elementary school teachers
- $63,120
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $57,040
- Plumbers
- $56,620
- Electricians
- $49,660
- Carpenters
- $47,570
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $45,470
- Customer service reps
- $38,280
- Construction laborers
- $37,690
- Janitors
- $33,230
- Retail salespersons
- $29,970
- Cashiers
- $28,610
- Waiters & waitresses
- $22,910
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 Killeen 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.
- California2,776
- Colorado1,744
- Georgia1,494
- Florida1,443
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like Killeen
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
Killeen metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the Killeen metro?
- Median gross rent across the Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area is $1,283 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of Killeen.
- What is the median household income in the Killeen metro?
- A typical household in the Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area earns $68,465 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is Killeen expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the Killeen-Temple, 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 Killeen metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $75,127 (versus its face value of $68,465). CityLedger rates the Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area expensive for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the Killeen metro?
- The median home value across the Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area is $268,400 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the Killeen metro?
- The unemployment rate in the Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area is 5.5% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).