Texas · 176th largest metro area

Buying a home in College Station, Texas

In College Station, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $346,700, Brazos County's effective property tax rate is 1.54%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $7,446 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,194 a month.

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

College Station home costs, fact by fact

About College Station

With 128,023 residents, College Station is a city in Texas and part of the College Station-Bryan, TX metro area. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Brazos County is $1,151, while the median gross rent in College Station is $1,194 per month.

Reading the College Station figures

College Station reads very differently from most Texas cities because renters outnumber owners. Only 35.4% of households own, below Irving (38.1%) or Dallas (42.4%), and far below Pearland (76.2%) or League City (74.7%). That split matters because the monthly rent is $1,194, lower than any other city named on this page, whether Conroe with $1,393 or Pearland with $1,860.

Home values go the other way. Owners estimate $346,700, above the Texas figure of $318,100 and just under Denton's $348,200. Close in value sit New Braunfels ($339,400), then Dallas, which reports $320,700, followed by Midland with $319,200. Round Rock ($418,600) is higher, as is Carrollton ($381,000). A buyer therefore meets a price comparable to the larger metro suburbs while the rent stays far lower, and that gap is why the rent-versus-buy question deserves a careful look here. Pearland reports $356,300, a bit above College Station, with a rent of $1,860; League City is at $360,000 with $1,684.

HUD's reference for the College Station-Bryan metro is $1,151 for a 2-bedroom and $1,594 for a bigger home, a benchmark and not a market median. Notice that the 2-bedroom figure sits below the city's median rent of $1,194, so the two measures are not interchangeable. Brazos County's tax is the main recurring cost. The effective rate is 1.54%, and the median yearly bill is $4,568 where homes are valued around $296,000. That county median is lower than the city's own owner estimate, so a home valued like the city median may look different on the tax roll; treat the $4,568 as a guide rather than a quote. Closing costs are comparatively gentle. In the 2025 HMDA data, 1,928 loans in Brazos County had a median cost of $7,446, with the typical spread between $5,014 and $10,369. Consider the contrast with Conroe, which has 54.5% owners and a $1,393 rent: a household moving between the two would find ownership far less common in College Station. Taken together, 35.4% ownership and a $1,194 rent describe a renter-heavy market, while the $346,700 owner estimate and the $4,568 county tax show what buying costs. Payotte has no sector breakdown for College Station, so the picture stays at the city level. Midland shows a different mix, with $319,200 in value, a $1,434 rent and 65.1% owners, while Irving reports $315,600 with a $1,619 rent and only 38.1% owners. Of the cities with similar prices, Irving looks the most like College Station on tenure, yet its rent is higher than College Station's $1,194 by a wide margin. That contrast is why ownership share and rent should be read together.

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 College Station

How much is property tax in College Station?

Homeowners in Brazos County pay a median $4,568 a year in property tax, 1.54% of the county median home value of $296,000 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in College Station?

Home-purchase mortgages in Brazos County carried median total loan costs of $7,446 in 2025; half of the 1,928 loans fell between $5,014 and $10,369 (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 College Station?

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 College Station?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in College Station ($346,700) equals 24.2 years of the median gross rent ($1,194 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in College Station?

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 College Station

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Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides