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CityLedger

Dallas vs Los Angeles

Metro-area medians — Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area vs Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Dallas comes out ahead, winning 9 of the 10 clearly-decided measures.

Dallas is about 10% cheaper to live in, while Los Angeles households earn about 4% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Dallas.

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.

Dallas, TX
$61,314
take-home / yr · 18% to tax
$59,476
real value after local prices
Los Angeles, CA
$58,296
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$51,333
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Dallas leaves you about $8,143/yr better off after tax and local prices.

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.

Measure
Dallas
Los Angeles
Livability (CityLedger)
61/100
51/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
103.1
113.6
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$89,953
$84,889
Median household income
$92,733
$96,405
Median rent
$1,718/mo
$2,114/mo
Median home value
$389,500
$908,500
Unemployment
4.5%
5.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher
41%
39%
Average commute
28.8 min
30.7 min
Air quality (median AQI)
59
80
Avg temperature
67°F
66°F

Choose Dallas for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Dallas profile →

Choose Los Angeles for

  • + Median household income
Full Los Angeles profile →

Dallas vs Los Angeles — frequently asked

Is Dallas cheaper than Los Angeles?
Dallas is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 10% below Los Angeles's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, Dallas or Los Angeles?
Los Angeles has the higher median household income — $96,405 versus $92,733 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 4% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Dallas or Los Angeles?
A paycheck stretches further in Dallas. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $89,953 there versus $84,889 in Los Angeles.
Which has cheaper rent, Dallas or Los Angeles?
Dallas has cheaper rent — a median of $1,718/mo versus $2,114/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).