What does the El Paso County, TX vs Oklahoma County, OK comparison show?

It compares estimated living costs by category, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes, and income context.

Can I change the salary and family type?

Yes. The comparison calculator supports salary and family type inputs so you can model costs for different households.

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El Paso County, TX vs Oklahoma County, OK: Cost of Living Difference

Name: WatchPennies cost of living dataset
Creator: WatchPennies

Is it cheaper?

El Paso County, TX is cheaper than Oklahoma County, OK.

Moving to Oklahoma County, OK is estimated to cost $3,884 more per year.

Cheaper County

El Paso County, TXSpend $3,884 more per year.

Salary needed

$50,000 in El Paso County, TX is about $54,715 in Oklahoma County, OK.

Biggest drivers

Taxes increases by $2,415 per year. Transport saves $238 per year.

Housing: $598 higher in Oklahoma County, OK

Taxes: $2,415 higher in Oklahoma County, OK

Childcare: about the same in both counties

Healthcare: $242 higher in Oklahoma County, OK

Food: $520 higher in Oklahoma County, OK

Transport: $238 lower in Oklahoma County, OK

El Paso County, TX→Oklahoma County, OK

Equivalent salary in Oklahoma County, OK

$54,715

+9.43% higher

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in El Paso County, TX: $65,744

Median Income in Oklahoma County, OK: $82,710

Living Index in El Paso County, TX 62.65%

Living Index in Oklahoma County, OK 54.50%

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from El Paso County, TX to Oklahoma County, OK.

* Living index is estimated as (estimated total cost / area median income) * 100. A living index above 100% means modeled costs exceed median income.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary

Moving from El Paso County, TX to Oklahoma County, OK is estimated to cost $3,884 more per year. To maintain similar purchasing power, a $50,000 salary in El Paso County, TX would need to be about $54,715 in Oklahoma County, OK. The biggest increase is taxes, followed by housing.

This is a 9.43% increase in modeled annual costs. Taxes is $2,415 per year higher (38.9%); Housing is $598 per year higher (6.07%).

Below we break down the annual categories behind the difference using Economic Policy Institute 2026 Family Budget data.

What changed the most?

The following cards show the annual category differences that most affect the move to Oklahoma County, OK.

Biggest Cost

Largest annual cost increase when moving to Oklahoma County, OK

Annual Increase:

$2,415 per year

TAXES has the largest annual increase when moving to Oklahoma County, OK.

Biggest Savings

Largest annual savings when moving to Oklahoma County, OK

Annual Savings:

$238 per year

TRANSPORT has the largest annual savings when moving to Oklahoma County, OK.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	6.07% higher
El Paso County, TX Oklahoma County, OK Average Cost $9852.00 $10450.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on Department of Housing and Urban Development data. The estimate uses 40th percentile rent for privately owned rental units in each area. Studio apartments are paired with one-adult households, one-bedroom apartments with two-adult households, and two-bedroom apartments with households that have children.
Food	14.08% higher
El Paso County, TX Oklahoma County, OK Average Cost $3692.00 $4212.00 INFO: Food costs are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plans. Numbers are normalized to each area using Feeding America and Meal Gap data. This estimate assumes most food is bought at local grocery stores and prepared at home.
Transport	-1.95% lower
El Paso County, TX Oklahoma County, OK Average Cost $12228.00 $11990.00 INFO: Transportation costs are a combination of auto ownership, auto use, and public transit. Data is collected from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).
Healthcare	4.84% higher
El Paso County, TX Oklahoma County, OK Average Cost $5004.00 $5246.00 INFO: Healthcare expenses come from average insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The estimate assumes families purchase the lowest-cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	8.25% higher
El Paso County, TX Oklahoma County, OK Average Cost $4205.00 $4552.00 INFO: This cost is calculated through the average spending of categories deemed necessary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. These include apparel, personal care, household supplies, reading materials, and school supplies.
Childcare	0.00% higher
El Paso County, TX Oklahoma County, OK Average Cost $0.00 $0.00 INFO: Childcare expenses are based on combined costs for center-based care and family-based care for 4-year-olds and school-aged children. For households with one child, the estimate assumes the child is 4 years old. For households with two children, the estimate assumes the second child is 8 years old.
Taxes	38.90% higher
El Paso County, TX Oklahoma County, OK Average Cost $6208.00 $8623.00 INFO: Taxes are calculated from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The number weighs in personal income tax, state income tax, federal Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

In Oklahoma County, OK, modeled annual costs are $45,074 compared with $41,190 in El Paso County, TX.

Overall, annual costs are higher in Oklahoma County, OK. The category breakdown above shows whether housing, taxes, transportation, healthcare, food, childcare, or other necessities are driving the increase.

In this case Oklahoma County, OK and El Paso County, TX are both metropolitan locations.

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