What income do you need to buy a $250,000 house in Texas?
The short answer
A $250,000 house in Texas costs about $1,690 a month to own with 20% down, which takes a household income of roughly $72,415 a year to keep housing inside the 28% front-end ratio lenders use. That total is $1,284 of principal and interest, $292 of property tax and $114 of homeowners insurance.
Texas ranks 48th of 51 on what a $250,000 house costs to carry: $313 a month more than Hawaii at the bottom, $75 a month less than New Jersey at the top. The loan is identical in all three.
- Principal & interest
- $1,284
- Property tax
- $292
- Insurance
- $114
- Total monthly
- $1,690
- Income needed
- $72,415
What $250,000 buys in Texas
$250,000 sits below the Texas median of $341,800, at roughly 73% of it. That is an attainable price in most of the state, though not in its strongest markets.
| Metro | Price level | Typical home | $250,000 vs typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 100.8 | $354,824 | -30% — below typical |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 100.6 | $354,120 | -29% — below typical |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 98.8 | $347,784 | -28% — below typical |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 95.7 | $336,872 | -26% — below typical |
Price level is the regional price parity for the metro, indexed so that 100 is the national average. Typical home is this state's median scaled by that index — an approximation, not a market survey.
If you put down less than 20%
Property tax and insurance do not move with the down payment; the loan and the mortgage insurance do. At $250,000 in Texas the tax and insurance floor is $406 a month before any mortgage payment at all.
| Down | Cash at closing | Loan | P&I | PMI | Total/mo | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5% down | $8,750 | $241,250 | $1,549 | $191 | $2,145 | $91,949 |
| 5% down | $12,500 | $237,500 | $1,525 | $139 | $2,069 | $88,669 |
| 10% down | $25,000 | $225,000 | $1,444 | $86 | $1,936 | $82,989 |
| 20% down | $50,000 | $200,000 | $1,284 | — | $1,690 | $72,415 |
The same $250,000 house in other states
Identical price, identical loan, identical rate. Only the property tax rate and the insurance market change — and they change the income requirement by $13,242 a year across this set.
| State | Tax/mo | Insurance/mo | Total/mo | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $392 | $89 | $1,765 | $75,633 |
| Illinois | $392 | $78 | $1,754 | $75,156 |
| Texas | $292 | $114 | $1,690 | $72,415 |
| New York | $271 | $76 | $1,631 | $69,910 |
| Pennsylvania | $262 | $82 | $1,628 | $69,793 |
| Florida | $162 | $162 | $1,608 | $68,930 |
| Maryland | $192 | $68 | $1,544 | $66,162 |
| Georgia | $165 | $83 | $1,532 | $65,637 |
| California | $146 | $61 | $1,491 | $63,902 |
| Colorado | $104 | $68 | $1,456 | $62,390 |
Common questions
How much do I need to make to buy a $250,000 house in Texas?
About $72,415 a year at the 28% front-end ratio, with 20% down and a 6.65% thirty-year fixed. That covers a $1,690 monthly payment: $1,284 principal and interest, $292 property tax and $114 insurance. Lenders who stretch to a 31% ratio would accept roughly $65,407.
What is the monthly payment on a $250,000 house in Texas?
Roughly $1,690 a month with 20% down and no HOA. With 5% down the payment rises to about $2,069, because the loan is larger and PMI adds around $139 until the balance reaches 80% of value.
How much are property taxes on a $250,000 house in Texas?
About $292 a month, or $3,500 a year, at the 1.40% effective rate this state averages. County rates vary around that figure, and assessed value here cannot rise more than 10% a year, so a long-held home is taxed on far less than it would sell for.
How much cash do I need up front for a $250,000 house in Texas?
$50,000 for a 20% down payment, or $12,500 at 5% down. Closing costs typically add 2–5% of the price on top, and lenders will want a couple of months of the $1,690 payment in reserves.
This is a price point, not a house. Put in an actual Texas address, the date it closed and the price paid, and the calculator works out that home's payment, its mortgage-insurance dates and the equity behind it.