Texas · 243rd largest metro area

Buying a home in Abilene, Texas

In Abilene, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $183,700, Taylor County's effective property tax rate is 1.37%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $7,140 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,157 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Abilene home costs, fact by fact

About Abilene

The effective property tax rate (median tax as a share of home value) in Taylor County is 1.37%, and HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in the county is $1,310. Abilene lies in the Abilene, TX metro area, and 56.1% of its homes are owner-occupied.

Reading the Abilene figures

Abilene's owners put their homes at $183,700, far below the Texas median of $318,100 and well under Dallas, where the figure is $320,700. Among other covered Texas cities, El Paso is nearly identical, at $184,500. Beaumont comes in lower, with $166,400, then Wichita Falls with $156,800, and Brownsville lower again with $139,900. Lubbock sits higher, with $212,400, and Corpus Christi is close behind, with $210,400, so Abilene lands near the lower end of the range. In population the city has 130,501 residents, smaller than Amarillo, which has 203,729, or Lubbock, which has 272,086, while the Abilene metro area ranks 243rd nationally.

Rent is $1,157 a month, a few dollars above San Angelo's $1,153. Rents run higher in Lubbock, where the median is $1,182. Pasadena is next, with $1,213, and Corpus Christi reaches $1,292. Dallas is higher, with a median of $1,472, while Brownsville is much lower, near $923. HUD's benchmark for a smaller home in the Abilene metro area is $1,310, and its larger-home benchmark is $1,702. Both are HUD benchmarks, not market medians, so check them against real listings. Ownership reaches 56.1% of households. Dallas shows 42.4%, so Abilene leans toward owners by comparison. Lubbock is lower at 51.2%, while Amarillo reaches 59.7% and McAllen 59.5%. Laredo, with 64.1%, goes higher. San Angelo and El Paso go further still, with 61.2% and 60.8%. That makes it a mid-range owner city rather than an extreme one.

The tax side deserves a careful read. Taylor County's effective rate is 1.37%, which comes to $2,728 a year, and the county median home is valued at $198,600. That is above the city's own $183,700, so a house at the city median would likely carry a bill smaller than the county figure implies. Loan costs complete the picture. Lenders in the county reported 1,902 loans in 2025, and the median loan cost sat at $7,140, while borrowers in the middle range paid between $4,818 and $9,882. That is a narrower spread than those seen in several larger Texas counties. Buyers weighing Abilene against a bigger Texas city should place the lower purchase price next to the higher tax rate, since the two pull in opposite directions, and ask a lender early where in that range a loan is likely to fall. Abilene's value is also close to El Paso's, yet owners there are 60.8% of households, so a similar price does not mean a similar ownership pattern. Beaumont, with 55.3%, is closest to Abilene's own share, as is Wichita Falls, with 56.4%, and each has a lower value, which is the contrast a shopper can use when the same budget is applied across Texas.

Calculate for Texas

If you buy

Texas state transfer tax

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$318,100
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Texas median value of owner-occupied homes, $318,100 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No transfer tax exists. Buyers pay county recording fees and a state-set title insurance premium. Who pays: No transfer tax to assign. Recording fees and the title insurance premium appear on the closing statement. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Texas transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Texas state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Abilene

How much is property tax in Abilene?

Homeowners in Taylor County pay a median $2,728 a year in property tax, 1.37% of the county median home value of $198,600 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Abilene?

Home-purchase mortgages in Taylor County carried median total loan costs of $7,140 in 2025; half of the 1,902 loans fell between $4,818 and $9,882 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Abilene?

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution, added November 3, 2015, says no law enacted after January 1, 2016 may impose a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Abilene?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Abilene ($183,700) equals 13.2 years of the median gross rent ($1,157 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Abilene?

Across Texas, the main hazards for home insurance are flood, tornado, wind and hail, and the insurer of last resort is Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA). Texas gets more tornadoes than any other state, according to the Texas Department of Insurance; on the coast, windstorm coverage comes from a separate policy, often from TWIA, in 14 coastal counties plus part of Harris County.

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Texas rules that apply in Abilene

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Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides