Dallas, TX vs Fresno, CA
Simple answer
You'd likely save $122 a month in Fresno.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 22.1 points (Dallas 117.9, Fresno 95.7).
Texas has no tax on wages. California taxes wages at rates up to 13.30%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.8 percentage points, higher in California. The effective property tax gap is 0.60 percentage points, higher in Texas.
After a move from Texas to California, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in Dallas lines up with about $74,322 in Fresno on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Dallas
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,807
- HUD area
- Dallas, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,718
- All-items price parity
- 103.1
- Goods price parity
- 102.8
- Utilities price parity
- 90.7
- Mean commute
- 28.8 min
- Median household income
- $92,733
Fresno
Fresno, CA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,685
- HUD area
- Fresno, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,513
- All-items price parity
- 102.2
- Goods price parity
- 105.2
- Utilities price parity
- 161.0
- Mean commute
- 24.7 min
- Median household income
- $74,983
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$74,322
Salary in Fresno that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$78,585
Gross salary in Fresno whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$69,936
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Texas | California |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | No wage tax | up to 13.30% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 8.2% | 9.0% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 1.31% | 0.71% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $5,246 a year in Texas and $2,828 in California. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in California
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Texas and once in California. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
DallasLikely eligible
FresnoLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
DallasLikely eligible
FresnoLikely eligible
WIC
DallasLikely eligible
FresnoLikely eligible
School meals
DallasLikely eligible
FresnoLikely eligible
LIHEAP
DallasMaybe
FresnoMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
DallasLikely eligible
FresnoLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
DallasLikely eligible
FresnoLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
DallasLikely eligible
FresnoUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
DallasLikely eligible
FresnoLikely eligible
SSI
DallasUnlikely
FresnoUnlikely
| Program | Dallas | Fresno |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Likely eligible | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Dallas the result is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” In Fresno it is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” California expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From Dallas
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Dallas.
- Dallas and San Francisco · rent gap $1,890
- Dallas and San Jose · rent gap $1,465
- Dallas and Boston · rent gap $1,201
- Dallas and New York · rent gap $1,164
- Dallas and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,157
- Dallas and San Diego · rent gap $1,016
- Dallas and McAllen · rent gap $790
- Dallas and Wichita · rent gap $764
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.