Want to live and work in Texas?

Texas generally has a lower cost of living than states like California and New York. The absence of a state income tax increases take-home pay. Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio maintain reasonable rent and housing prices for large cities.

Austin, once one of the most affordable places in Texas, has become significantly more expensive in recent years due to the tech boom. Apartments and home prices have surged. Even so, it remains cheaper than San Francisco or New York. Mid-sized cities like Fort Worth, El Paso, and Corpus Christi have very affordable prices.

The downside is property tax, which is high. Homeowners need to account for that annual expense. Sales tax also adds up. Even so, the overall combination tends to work out well for those moving from more expensive states.

Houston is the American capital of energy. ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell have major operations in the city. The Texas Medical Center in Houston is the largest medical complex in the world, employing more than 100,000 people. NASA operates the Johnson Space Center there, the home base of astronauts.

Dallas-Fort Worth is a hub for finance and telecommunications, with headquarters for AT&T, ExxonMobil, McKesson, and American Airlines. Austin has become one of the leading technology hubs in the U.S., with Tesla, Apple, Google, Meta, Dell, and Oracle expanding their operations. Tech salaries tend to be high.

San Antonio's economy is tied to the military (several bases), tourism (the Alamo, River Walk), and healthcare. Texas also has strong agriculture (cotton, cattle), construction, and logistics sectors. The state creates more jobs per year than most countries and attracts workers from across the U.S.

The U.S. does not have a universal public health system. In Texas, workers with formal employment receive health insurance through their employer. For those outside that model, HealthCare.gov offers subsidies for low- and middle-income households. Texas has one of the highest rates of uninsured residents in the U.S.

Low-income families may qualify for Medicaid, but eligibility criteria in Texas are more restrictive than in many other states. Children and pregnant women have access through CHIP. Undocumented immigrants typically rely on community health clinics and public hospitals such as Ben Taub (Houston) and Parkland (Dallas), where emergency care cannot be denied.

The Texas Medical Center in Houston is the largest medical complex in the world. Hospitals like MD Anderson (cancer) and Texas Children's Hospital attract patients from around the globe. Dallas and Austin also have high-quality hospital networks. In rural areas, access is more difficult and some regions have very few doctors.

Texas is a state built around the car. Cities have enormous metropolitan areas and public transit covers only a small portion of them. Dallas has DART (light rail and buses); Houston and Austin have more limited systems; San Antonio relies almost entirely on buses.

Even living within city limits, going car-free is rare. Distances between work, school, and grocery stores usually require driving. Apps like Uber and Lyft work well in major cities, and Austin has electric scooters downtown. Traffic in Houston, Dallas, and Austin can be heavy during peak hours.

DFW International (Dallas-Fort Worth) is one of the largest airports in the world and is an American Airlines hub. George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) in Houston is a United Airlines hub. Austin (AUS) and San Antonio (SAT) also have international flights. For long trips within the state, flying is often preferable to driving.

Texas has its own sense of pride. The state flag on houses, pickup trucks, and T-shirts is part of the scenery. Mexican influence is everywhere: in the food (Tex-Mex), the music, street names, and festivals. The cowboy is a cultural symbol, with rodeos and livestock shows held throughout the state.

In Houston, the cultural scene includes rap music (the city has its own distinct scene), contemporary art at the Museum District, and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the largest rodeos in the world. Dallas has a rich finance and arts scene, with the Dallas Museum of Art and the AT&T Performing Arts Center. San Antonio has the River Walk, the Alamo, and a strong Hispanic heritage.

Austin calls itself the live music capital of the world. The South by Southwest (SXSW) festival and Austin City Limits draw fans from around the globe. American football is a religion in the state, from high school to the pros (Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans). Texas barbecue (smoked brisket) is a world-class reference.

Texas is home to roughly 5 million people born outside the country, the second-largest immigrant population in the United States, close to 17% of the state's population. Mexicans dominate throughout the state, forming an absolute majority in the Rio Grande Valley, in El Paso, and in large neighborhoods of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. Houston has the largest Vietnamese community in the country, in Bellaire and Alief. Sugar Land, Plano, and Irving form the Indian belt, with a strong Gujarati and Telugu presence. Plano and Sugar Land also concentrate the state's largest Chinese community. Salvadorans and Hondurans have large communities in Houston, in Gulfton and Spring Branch, and Alief hosts the largest African community in the U.S. South.

Houston ranks behind only New York and Los Angeles in consular density, with more than 90 foreign missions, including Mexico, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, El Salvador, Brazil, China, and South Korea. Dallas and San Antonio have major Mexican consulates, and Austin, El Paso, and Laredo round out the network. RAICES in San Antonio is the state's largest immigrant legal defense organization. American Gateways works out of Austin, the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative connects local clinics, and FIEL Houston organizes mixed-status families.