Harlingen Boasts Low Cost of Living
Harlingen, Texas is located in South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. and is included in the Brownsville-Harlingen Metro Area in Cameron County.
One thing that makes Harlingen, TX an attractive place to live and work is the low cost of living. Harlingen’s cost of living is 20% lower than the U.S. average and consistently ranks among the 10 lowest cost of living communities. The American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA) produces the ACCRA Cost of Living Indexes to provide a useful and reasonable, accurate measure of living cost difference among urban areas. The average for all participating places, both metropolitan and non-metropolitan is 100 and each participant’s index is read as a percentage of the average for all places.
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|
Housing Affordability Index
(2nd Quarter, 2007)
|
|
|
MLS AREA
|
MEDIAN HOUSE
PRICE
|
HAI*
|
| Harlingen |
$95,000
|
1.89
|
| Brownsville |
$108,600
|
1.90
|
| McAllen |
$108,700
|
1.69
|
| Texas |
$153,800
|
1.55
|
| *The Housing Affordability Index is the ratio of median family income to the income required to qualify for an 80 percent, fixed rate mortgage to purchase the median-priced home. The higher the ratio, the more affordable housing is. The MLS Area represents the local Realtors association’s geographical coverage area. |
Source: Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University
-
|
As of 2009
|
74,950 |
|
Growth since 2000
|
23.20% |
-
| White |
78.51%
|
| Black |
0.77%
|
| Asian |
0.77%
|
| Native American |
0.55%
|
| Other |
19.08%
|
*74.94% of the people in Harlingen, Texas claim Hispanic ethnicity, meaning 25.06% are non-Hispanic
-
| Median home cost |
$147,200
|
| Home appreciation |
-1.21%
|
| Property Tax Rate |
$18.58
|
*Harlingen cost of living is 20.807% lower than the U.S. average [Read more...]
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|
1
Bedroom
|
2
Bedrooms
|
3
Bedrooms
|
Town
House
|
| Harlingen |
$420
|
$525
|
$650
|
$569
|
| Brownsville |
$513
|
$570
|
$663
|
$655
|
| McAllen |
$497
|
$595
|
$640
|
*
|
Source: Rio Grande Valley Apartment Association, 2009
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|
Cost of Living Comparison
1st Quarter 2012
|
| Harlingen, TX |
82.8 |
| Atlanta, GA |
98.1 |
| Boston, MA |
139.4 |
| Chicago, IL |
116.9 |
| Dallas, Tx |
99.8 |
| Houston, TX |
92.9 |
| New York, NY |
228.3 |
| San Diego, CA |
132.7 |
| San Francisco, CA |
166.5 |
-
|
Cost of Living in Harlingen, TX
(2009-2011)
|
| The American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA) produces the ACCRA Cost of Living Indexes to provide a useful and reasonable, accurate measure of living cost difference among urban areas. The average for all participating places, both metropolitan and non-metropolitan is 100 and each participant’s index is read as a percentage of the average for all places. Harlingen typically ranks among the 10 lowest cost of living communities in the nation. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Metro/Micro
Urban Area A
|
100%
Composite Index
|
12%
Grocery Items
|
30%
Housing
|
10%
Utilities
|
11%
Transportation
|
4%
Health Care
|
33%
Misc. Good & Services
|
|
1 Q 2012
|
82.8
|
83.4
|
77.5
|
102.1
|
83.8
|
91.3
|
79.5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 Q 2011 Average
|
81.0
|
79.4
|
72.0
|
104.3
|
89.1
|
93.9
|
77.8
|
|
3 Q 2011
|
81.7
|
80.3
|
75.0
|
103.1
|
88.6
|
94.4
|
77.8
|
|
2 Q 2011
|
80.6
|
77.7
|
71.2
|
104.8
|
90.6
|
92.1
|
78.2
|
|
1 Q 2011
|
80.5
|
81.1
|
70.0
|
104.0
|
87.7
|
95.5
|
78.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 Q 2010 Average
|
82.8
|
81.5
|
75.6
|
105.8
|
88.7
|
95.1
|
79.1
|
|
3 Q 2010
|
79.9
|
78.9
|
71.4
|
102.3
|
88.7
|
95.0
|
75.7
|
|
2 Q 2010
|
81.8
|
81.2
|
71.7
|
103.2
|
91.7
|
96.6
|
79.0
|
|
1 Q 2010
|
86.1
|
84.9
|
81.0
|
110.2
|
89.1
|
93.5
|
81.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 Q 2009 Average
|
86.7
|
85.5
|
75.8
|
122.0
|
90.6
|
92.0
|
83.8
|
|
3 Q 2009
|
84.5
|
81.8
|
74.1
|
114.9
|
93.7
|
91.0
|
81.6
|
|
2 Q 2009
|
85.8
|
82.7
|
76.8
|
121.7
|
86.1
|
92.0
|
83.1
|
|
1 Q 2009
|
88.4
|
87.2
|
75.5
|
129.1
|
90.2
|
92.8
|
86.8
|
|
Source: ACCRA Cost of Living Index 05.01.12
|
