A new report by Axios shows how U.S. cities located along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts pay more for goods and services when compared to inland areas. But, as with any rule, there are exceptions: Plano and Dallas are the only two Texas cities to surpass the national average cost of living.
Axios report is based on the quarterly cost-of-living index assembled by the Council for Community and Economic Research which measures the regional differences in the cost of goods and services for consumers. The council includes housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care and other services among the expenditures measured.
This data is consistent with another report recently published by doxoINSIGHTS centered around the cost of household bills of the 50 largest cities in the U.S. In this study, Dallas landed place number 18 in the ranking. However, taking a closer look at smaller cities near metropolitan areas, data showed that Frisco and Plano are actually well above Dallas.
According to doxoINSIGHTS, Americans spend $3.22 trillion annually on 10 household bills categories with a national average of $2,046 per month and $24,557 annually dedicated to these expenses. These bill categories include mortgage, rent, auto loans, utilities, cable, internet and phone, insurance and alarm and security.
In Dallas, residents spend an average of $2,248 per month on household bills — $202 more than the national average. While it’s above the national average by only 9.8%, it represents 43% of the household income.
But among the cities with 40,000 households in Texas, Dallas sits at number 14. It’s the smaller cities that take the prize — Frisco’s monthly household bill of $2,864 was surpassed only by Humble with $2,889 — a difference of just $25. Following close behind are Carrollton and Plano at places 5 and 6, with residents spending $2,633 and $2,631 respectively.
In Frisco, 53% of all households pay an average of $2,524 on the mortgage alone, while in Plano that number drops to $2,083. In both cities the second most expensive bill is rent which is $1,649 in Frisco and $1,557 in Plano, making housing the biggest culprit of the cities' high ranking on the list.
Axios report seems to reach similar conclusions. The study found that Plano’s housing index, which measures the movement of single-family house prices, is the highest in Texas: 27.3 points over the national average.
