Texas · 261st largest metro area

Buying a home in Odessa, Texas

In Odessa, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $223,100, Ector County's effective property tax rate is 1.27%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $10,441 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,315 a month.

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

Odessa home costs, fact by fact

About Odessa

In Ector County, the effective property tax rate (median tax as a share of home value) is 1.27%, and HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom is $1,522. Odessa, Texas, has a population of 119,748, and its median value of owner-occupied homes, estimated by owners rather than a sale price, is $223,100.

Reading the Odessa figures

Odessa reports a median home value of $223,100, well below the Texas median of $318,100. Dallas reports $320,700. Grand Prairie is valued at $295,500, with Garland given $270,800. Mesquite comes to $245,700, San Antonio to $235,700, and Tyler to $235,300, all still higher than Odessa. Waco sits slightly under Odessa, at $221,700. Killeen is lower again, at $215,400. That places the city toward the lower end of the 45 covered Texas cities. Every one of these figures was supplied by an owner, not taken from a sale.

The county tax read is the most useful single number for a buyer. Ector County taxes at 1.27% of value, and on county homes valued at a median of $200,200 that produces a median annual bill of $2,538. Odessa's own median sits above the county figure, so a home at the city median would carry a larger bill than the county typical, even though the dollar amount stays modest beside what a higher-value county would report.

Rent runs $1,315 a month at the median. Waco sits lower, at $1,165. Killeen rent runs $1,208, Tyler $1,252. San Antonio is a little higher, at $1,324. Dallas is higher still, at $1,472, and Garland reaches $1,641. The HUD Fair Market Rent for the Odessa, TX MSA is $1,522 for a 2-bedroom home, with the larger home type listed at $1,813. The HUD number is a rental-assistance benchmark rather than a market median, and the census rent covers every unit size, so the two are not a like-for-like pair, though the city median stays below the HUD figure for a 2-bedroom home.

Ownership reaches 59.8% of households. Dallas shows 42.4%. San Antonio shows 52.2%, and Waco 49.4%. Mesquite's owner share is 62.8% and Garland's 61.6%, so Odessa sits just under those two and above the larger cities.

Loan costs are the surprise. In Ector County, lenders reported 1,599 loans in the 2025 HMDA data, and their median loan cost was $10,441. The middle band ran from $8,450 to $13,063, so even the bottom of the band starts high. Set that beside the home values above: with a modest median price, a loan cost of this size is a noticeable part of the purchase. Odessa's metro area, Odessa, TX, ranks 261st nationally with 170,022 residents, and the city counts 119,748 people across 2 counties. A buyer should set the loan estimate beside the low home price and the 1.27% rate, and should treat the county tax bill as a floor to check against a specific home, not a ceiling. Renters face a different test: the HUD figure is above the city's median rent, which shows how far a benchmark can sit from what households actually pay.

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 Odessa

How much is property tax in Odessa?

Homeowners in Ector County pay a median $2,538 a year in property tax, 1.27% of the county median home value of $200,200 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Odessa?

Home-purchase mortgages in Ector County carried median total loan costs of $10,441 in 2025; half of the 1,599 loans fell between $8,450 and $13,063 (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 Odessa?

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 Odessa?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Odessa ($223,100) equals 14.1 years of the median gross rent ($1,315 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Odessa?

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.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Texas rules that apply in Odessa

Other large cities in Texas

Who licenses each trade in Texas · All covered cities

Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides