Lubbock, Texas
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Lubbock.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Lubbock compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 261,078City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $60,487Incorporated place (ACS)23% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 75ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)25% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $197,900City limits (ACS)35% below U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,137City limits (ACS)16% below U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.6%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 17 min32% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 3522% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 1008.1annualized per 100k · citywide67% above U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 4606.3annualized per 100k · citywide49% above U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 92°F5.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 29°F5.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 18.3 in44% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 30214% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Lubbock with another city
Lubbock, Texas counts about 261,078 residents inside the city limits. Median household income is roughly $60,487, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 75 — among the more affordable large markets in this catalog on housing costs (100 ≈ U.S. average). Entry home prices around $197,900 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
Lubbock is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Lubbock with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Hot summers, sprawling freeways, and no state income tax dominate comparisons. Roughly 302 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Plan on roughly 17 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 35. Unemployment recently ran near 3.6%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. FBI CDE violent-offense rates run comparatively high (~1008.1 per 100k annualized), so block-by-block due diligence is especially important.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Lubbock city, 1600000US4845000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN483030000000003 (Lubbock County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00023042 LUBBOCK)
Last updated 2026-07-28