Texas · 184th largest metro area

Buying a home in Amarillo, Texas

In Amarillo, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $196,900, Randall County's effective property tax rate is 1.51%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $6,772 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,092 a month.

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

Amarillo home costs, fact by fact

About Amarillo

Amarillo lies in the Amarillo, TX metro area, ranked 184th among U.S. metro areas, and is an incorporated city in Texas. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Randall County is $1,107, while median gross rent is $1,092 per month. Owners estimate the median home value at $196,900, which is not a sale price, and 59.7% of homes are owner-occupied.

Reading the Amarillo figures

Amarillo's $196,900 sits well below the Texas median of $318,100 and Dallas at $320,700. Other covered cities cluster around it. Lubbock is higher, at $212,400. Corpus Christi shows $210,400, Pasadena $209,600. Laredo comes in lower, at $193,500, then McAllen at $190,400, with Abilene at $183,700. Waco sits at $221,700, with Odessa a little higher, at $223,100, so both are above the group. The city has 203,729 residents, fewer than Lubbock's 272,086 but more than Abilene's 130,501, and its metro area ranks 184th nationally.

Ownership reaches 59.7% of households, well above Dallas (42.4%), Waco (49.4%) or Lubbock (51.2%), and very close to Odessa at 59.8%. McAllen shows 59.5%, El Paso 60.8%, and Laredo, at 64.1%, is higher. Rent is $1,092 a month. Abilene is higher, with $1,157, Killeen has $1,208, and Odessa has $1,315, though Laredo is lower, with $1,030, and Edinburg lower again, with $996. Dallas, at $1,472, is well above the group. HUD's benchmark for a smaller home in the Amarillo area is $1,107, close to the census rent, while its larger-home benchmark is $1,512. Those are benchmarks, not medians, so a renter should compare them with actual listings before deciding that buying costs more or less.

Taxes need a careful read. Randall County's effective rate is 1.51%, which comes to $3,610 a year, and the county median home is valued at $238,800. That value is above the city's own $196,900, so the county bill probably overstates what a median-priced Amarillo home would pay. Still, the rate itself is a real cost, and a buyer should ask for the specific property's assessment. Loan costs come from 1,711 loans in the county in 2025. The median was $6,772, and most borrowers paid between $4,631 and $10,112, a lighter range than the ones shown for the larger Texas metro counties. Put together, Amarillo pairs a low home value with a high owner share and a steep tax rate, so line up rent, annual tax and lender costs, not only the purchase price. Amarillo's value is close to Laredo's, McAllen's or Edinburg's ($189,600), but its tax read is different, since each of those cities sits in a different county with its own rate. Using the city medians together with the county figures, as above, keeps the comparison honest. Corpus Christi (57.9%) and Pasadena (54.5%) show owner shares below Amarillo's, yet rents are higher in both cities, which is a pattern worth noting for anyone choosing between buying and renting. Killeen and Waco, with owner shares near 49.5% and 49.4%, show how much lower the share can be elsewhere in Texas. The owners' estimates are not sale prices, so a recent sale can differ.

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 Amarillo

How much is property tax in Amarillo?

Homeowners in Randall County pay a median $3,610 a year in property tax, 1.51% of the county median home value of $238,800 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Amarillo?

Home-purchase mortgages in Randall County carried median total loan costs of $6,772 in 2025; half of the 1,711 loans fell between $4,631 and $10,112 (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 Amarillo?

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 Amarillo?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Amarillo ($196,900) equals 15 years of the median gross rent ($1,092 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Amarillo?

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 Amarillo

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Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides