McAllen, TX
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, McAllen ranks 285th for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 290th for income. A household earns $56,720 a year while median rent runs $971/mo, making it expensive relative to what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 14% below the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is home prices (12th of 300), while health is the soft spot (300th). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 29th and home prices 12th 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 McAllen, your take-home is worth about $71,382 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
- 290th of 300↑35.7%$56,720
- 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.
- 13th of 30086 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $66,034
- Per-capita income
- $24,013
- Full-time pay
- $31,230
Housing
- Median rent
- 29th of 300↑27.3%$971/mo
- Home value
- 12th of 300↑75.8%$164,200
- Property tax
- $2,402/yr · 1.5%
- Sales tax
- 8.20%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 263rd of 3006.1%
- Bachelor's+
- 283rd of 30021.3%
- Avg commute
- 100th of 30022.9 min
People
- Population
- 914,820
- Population change
- +5.3%
- Median age
- 31.3 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 26%
- Broadband
- 91.7%
Environment & risk
- Air quality (AQI)
- 266th of 30054
- Natural-hazard loss
- 204th of 300$16/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 300th of 30034.1%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 37.5%
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
- + Rent
- + Home prices
- + Commute
Watch-outs
- – Affordability
- – Household income
- – Job market
- – Education
- – Air quality
- – Hazard safety
- – Health
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — edinburg 17 nne.
What jobs pay in McAllen
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- Family medicine physicians
- $207,060
- Pharmacists
- $137,700
- IT managers
- $133,750
- Financial managers
- $129,290
- Software developers
- $116,120
- Lawyers
- $115,920
- Registered nurses
- $80,540
- Civil engineers
- $79,370
- General & operations managers
- $74,570
- Accountants & auditors
- $64,470
- Elementary school teachers
- $63,110
- Secondary school teachers
- $62,500
- Police officers
- $58,360
- Web developers
- $56,070
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $47,040
- Electricians
- $46,930
- Plumbers
- $46,110
- Carpenters
- $41,530
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $37,870
- Customer service reps
- $35,830
- Construction laborers
- $34,460
- Janitors
- $31,300
- Retail salespersons
- $27,420
- Cashiers
- $27,020
- Waiters & waitresses
- $20,650
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 McAllen 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.
- California1,008
- Wisconsin682
- Michigan543
- Minnesota399
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like McAllen
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
McAllen metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the McAllen metro?
- Median gross rent across the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area is $971 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of McAllen.
- What is the median household income in the McAllen metro?
- A typical household in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area earns $56,720 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is McAllen expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area runs about 14% 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 McAllen metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $66,034 (versus its face value of $56,720). CityLedger rates the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area expensive for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the McAllen metro?
- The median home value across the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area is $164,200 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the McAllen metro?
- The unemployment rate in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area is 6.1% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).