People are flooding into Texas, attracted by rumors of cheap-ish palatial homes and low taxes. So long as you can handle the heat, the white picket fence version of the American dream still seems to exist in the Lone Star State. The houses are plentiful and sprawling, but how many bucks do you need to get the biggest bang?
A recent study from Highland Cabinetry ran the numbers and determined the minimum household income to purchase a “luxury” home in each state. In this case, luxury is qualified by size, construction materials and desirable amenities. In Texas, according to the study, the threshold for a luxury home is $530,312, and it takes an annual income of $119,522 to afford one.
To buy the McMansion of your dreams, you’ll need double the state’s average annual income, $45,970, and then some. The study determined the monthly mortgage payment a half-million dollar house would require: $3,530, assuming the purchaser can make a downpayment of $106,062.
Statewide there are 49,000 luxury homes on the market. The state has the highest number of such homes in the country, followed by Florida with 43,000. The next closest state is New York, with 16,000.
Knox Realtors, a Dallas-based realty firm, considers a luxury home anything priced over $1 million. In Texas, 12,888 homes sold in 2024 for more than seven figures. Roughly 5,000 of those homes were sold in the Dallas area. There are 6,000 homes listed on the home-hunting app Zillow with a listing price higher than $530,000; 1,300 are selling for more than $1 million.
Texas ranks 27th in affordable luxury home prices. California has the highest luxury home price in the country, with a minimum price of $1.5 million. Money goes the farthest in West Virginia, where luxury has a ticket price of only $298,732.
Before you start taping up boxes and packing your kids into the car with your heart set on the South, the cost of home ownership in Texas isn’t so cut and dry. Home prices are uncommonly low compared to states with similar populations and economies, but property taxes are the seventh-highest in the country. Utility costs are also higher than the national average, and a lack of public transportation found in major cities in other states creates high transportation costs.
“Rising home prices and growing income disparities are creating significant challenges in the luxury housing market,” said a spokesperson for Highland Cabinetry. “Buyers need to consider not just the upfront cost of a home but also ongoing expenses like taxes and maintenance, which can add up quickly.”
