An Overview of Cost of Living in Fort Worth, TX
The cost of living in Fort Worth affects the quality of life one can afford in this new location. It allows people to assess whether they can maintain their preferred lifestyle, including housing, leisure activities and dining options. Your total monthly expenditures can varry depending on the area, as well as many other factors. The cost of living in Fort Worth is 105, which is 5% higher than the national average. Knowledge of the cost of living can help individuals make informed decisions about retirement savings, investments, and financial goals.
In Fort Worth, daily expenses such as food, housing, goods and services, transportation and health care are in line with comparable areas and about average when compared to all cities across the nation. This ensures that the cost of living in Fort Worth will resemble that of an average city, contributing to a manageable cost of living.
What Do Locals Say About the Cost of Living in Fort Worth?
The most insightful perspective on a city comes from its residents. We recently surveyed 21 locals to gauge their perception of the cost of living in Fort Worth. The feedback revealed that 48% of respondents found the cost of living to be reasonable, with prices on the decline, while 52% regarded it as notably expensive with prices that continue to rise.
Is Fort Worth Affordable?
Is Fort Worth an affordable place to live? That's a valid question to ask when you're thinking about moving to a new city. After all, how much it costs to live somewhere can be a huge factor in your decision. Affordability can be broken down into 3 common categories. The cost of living index (we talked about it earlier), housing expenses and income levels all play a big role in figuring out if a place is affordable. For instance, in Fort Worth, the median home price is 3.1% higher than what most folks pay across the country, and monthly rent prices are 17.5% higher than the usual rates. Income levels in Fort Worth come in at $64,567, which is 16.7% higher than the national average.
What Factors can Influence the Cost of Living in Fort Worth?
Urbanization: Larger, urban areas boasting abundant amenities and robust employment prospects often exhibit a heightened cost of living, driven by the increased demand for services and residential relocation. Consequently, this leads to elevated home prices and higher rental rates. In contrast, sparsely populated rural locales or regions marked by diminished demand typically offer a more limited range of amenities and experience slower job market expansion. This translates into a more affordable cost of living.
Taxes: Areas with higher taxes, including sales taxes and income taxes, can contribute to a higher cost of living. Paying more tax for everyday goods and services like clothing and food will result in higher costs, as will paying a higher rate of income tax. The general sales tax rate in Fort Worth starts at 6.25% and the income tax rates start at 0%.
Housing: When there's a high demand for housing in trendy places, it can cause property prices and rental rates to soar, leading to a significantly higher cost of living. Conversely, in less desirable locations, where demand is low, prices tend to decrease, resulting in a more budget-friendly cost of living. In Fort Worth, the housing index is 7.4% higher than the national average.
Where is the Data From?
The Fort Worth cost of living data displayed above is derived from the C2ER cost of living index to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure of living cost differences in urban areas. The index takes into account data from 300 independent researches, covering more than 60 goods and services across 6 different categories, to create an overall index for each area, with 100 being the average. The C2ER index does not include sales or income tax rates in their data, however AreaVibes does include both income and sales tax rates in the overall cost of living score for each area.