What would a year cost you in this county?
Your income and household, the county's own home prices, rents, property-tax rate and childcare, and the state's income and sales tax. Two counties side by side.
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A worked example: Harris County, Texas, on $85,000
Two adults and one child under 5, buying the county's median home ($282,112), with one car. At $85,000 a year the model puts the household's costs at $4,786 a month, $57,437 a year, which leaves $27,563 before federal income and payroll tax. Here is every line.
| Cost line | Figure from | A month | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage (20% down, 6.75%, 30 yr) · county median home | Harris County | $1,464 | $17,568 |
| Property tax · 1.77% effective | Harris County | $416 | $4,992 |
| Home insurance | Texas | $267 | $3,204 |
| Car insurance | Texas | $178 | $2,136 |
| Childcare (1 under 5) · CHR: 28% of local median income for two children | Harris County | $825 | $9,900 |
| Groceries (3) · national $450/person scaled by state COL | Texas | $1,310 | $15,720 |
| Utilities | Texas | $243 | $2,916 |
| State income tax · no state income tax | Texas | $0 | $0 |
| Sales tax | Texas | $84 | $1,008 |
| Total modeled cost | $4,786 | $57,437 | |
| Left from $85,000, before federal income and payroll tax | $2,297 | $27,563 | |
How the method works. The mortgage assumes 20 percent down at 6.75 percent over 30 years on the county's median home value (Zillow). Property tax is the county's effective rate from the Tax Foundation, 1.77 percent here, applied to that home. Childcare uses County Health Rankings' childcare cost burden, the cost of care for two children as a share of the county's median household income, halved for one child and applied to that median income. State income tax is Texas's effective rate at this income, which is zero because Texas has none. Sales tax is Texas's average combined rate on an assumed taxable share of spending. Home insurance, car insurance, groceries ($450 a person scaled by the state cost-of-living index) and utilities are state-level figures and are labeled that way. Federal taxes are outside the model.
See the full Harris County profile, or find counties with a lower bill on the county map.