What salary do you need to live in Odessa, TX?

Rent, home values and prices in Odessa

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Odessa, TX metro at $1,052 for a one-bedroom, $1,302 for a two-bedroom and $1,455 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $250 a month, and the third bedroom another $153.

The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $200,200. That is only 2.8× the area's median household income of $71,536, a low ratio by national standards.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 93.9 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in Odessa has the buying power of roughly $106,501 at national average prices.

How much you need to earn in Odessa

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $31,000, Okay at $63,000 and Comfortable at $127,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 12% of income and the median home is 1.6× income.

The Royal grade is within reach at $436,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Odessa.

Odessa at four common salaries

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 53 and a three-bedroom 48, both Okay; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

Of the four salaries, $150,000 is the first where a two-bedroom reads Comfortable or better; $100,000 still lands at Okay.

Where Odessa falls nationally

Out of 387 metros, Odessa has the 185th highest price parity and the 119th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the middle half on overall prices and near the middle on rent.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are Carson City, NV ($1,303) and Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT ($1,300).

Odessa next to Texas and similar metros

How Odessa stacks up against its state: $1,302 for a two-bedroom against Texas's $1,395, $200,200 for the median home against $283,800, and a price level of 93.9 against 97.1.

The Texas figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $166,000 against $127,000 for Odessa.

The nearest matches in Texas, judged on rent and price parity together, are Corpus Christi, TX, Sherman-Denison, TX, and San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX.

Where the typical Odessa household lands

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $71,536, which grades Okay (49) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Put differently, Odessa's typical household is $55,464 below the $127,000 it takes to read Comfortable on two bedrooms. For Texas as a whole, the median household income of $78,476 scores 44 against statewide rents. Since a household can have two or more earners, compare it with a combined income rather than one paycheck.

Treat every number here as a pre-tax, public-data estimate rather than financial advice.