California vs Texas

Annual income in state A

State A

State B

A $100,000 income in California is worth

$90,334

at national prices · RPP 110.7BEA RPP SARPP. Source: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 19, 2026 · Official API

In Texas, the same income is worth

$102,987

at national prices · RPP 97.1BEA RPP SARPP. Source: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 19, 2026 · Official API

$100,000 has $12,653 more purchasing power in Texas.

Decision shortcut

To match $100,000 in California, you would need about $87,715in Texas.

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Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

California: $100,000 ÷ (110.7 ÷ 100) = $90,334

Texas: $100,000 ÷ (97.1 ÷ 100) = $102,987

difference: $102,987 − $90,334 = +$12,653

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	California	Texas	Difference
All items	110.7	97.1	−12.3%
Housing rents	154.3	96.5	−37.5%
Goods	106.1	98.1	−7.5%
Utilities	158.9	87.5	−44.9%
Other services	102.6	97.1	−5.4%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 19, 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

ACS median gross rent, home value, and real estate taxes paid — statewide context beyond the index.

CaliforniaMedian rent$2,036/moMedian home$734,700Median property tax paid$5,124/yr

TexasMedian rent$1,403/moMedian home$283,800Median property tax paid$4,232/yr

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Top marginal and average combined rates do not estimate a household's total tax liability.

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	California	Texas
Income tax (top rate)	13.30%	None
Sales tax (combined avg)	8.99%	8.20%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

California vs Texas: the read

The bottom line

Compare a $100,000 income in California and Texas: its purchasing power is $90,334 and $102,987, respectively, in national-average terms — a gain of $12,653. Texas is the cheaper of the two, running at 97.1 on the price index versus 110.7.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is utilities: California sits at 158.9 and Texas at 87.5 (100 = national). Texas has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $2,036 in California against $1,403 in Texas, and the typical home $734,700 versus $283,800. Texas is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, California has 13.30% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 8.99%; Texas has no wage income tax and 8.20%. Those headline rates are useful screening facts, but they do not calculate either household's total liability.

Full profiles: California ·Texas. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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