Cost of Living inLaredo, TX, United States
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). United States: $75,489/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 30% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
6.7 / 10
#22 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for United States; Laredo, TX-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Mixed public-school option
Expat access
Available to residents
conditionalInstruction
English
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
The United States has many excellent public schools, but quality varies sharply by district and neighborhood.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can use local public schools, but school quality depends heavily on district assignment and housing location.
🗺️ Homeschooling
Varies by stateHomeschooling is legal in all 50 US states but regulations vary dramatically. Some states (TX, AK, ID) have minimal oversight; others (NY, PA, MA) require notification, testing, and curriculum approval. Most worldschooling families establish residency in low-regulation states.
Homeschool legality in United States — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in United States.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$2,200-$5,700
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$2,750-$6,600
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Laredo: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Airport
Laredo regional airport access
The current US walkability queue lists Laredo immediately after the top three gaps; Laredo International is the practical local air anchor for family travel.
Urban transit
El Metro buses and border-city walking
El Metro buses and compact downtown or border-area errands provide a conservative non-car layer, but heat and spread-out neighborhoods keep most family movement road-led.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft available
Ride-hailing is a routine fallback for airport runs, weather-sensitive errands, and first/last-mile gaps beyond fixed-route transit.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in United States.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, strong doctor availability, and deep nursing capacity support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage, relatively low patient cost-sharing, and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong support this rating.
Private care
LimitedVisible specialty depth help, but the tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
88/100
2023
Physicians
3.68/1k
2022
Hospital beds
2.68/1k
2022
Out of pocket
11%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
78.9 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
17/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
3.7/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedThere is visible specialty depth and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in United States yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-07-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Information & Technology | $120,591/yr |
| Finance & Insurance | $96,289/yr |
| Professional & Scientific Services | $92,979/yr |
| Utilities | $89,735/yr |
| Manufacturing | $78,541/yr |
| Transport & Logistics | $73,989/yr |
| Mining & Quarrying | $72,622/yr |
| Healthcare & Social Work | $61,275/yr |
| Real Estate | $60,544/yr |
| Other Services | $59,740/yr |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | $58,009/yr |
| Education | $57,979/yr |
| Construction | $55,853/yr |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | $55,393/yr |
| Administrative & Support Services | $51,228/yr |
| Agriculture & Farming | $38,463/yr |
| Hospitality & Food Service | $30,360/yr |
2025 annual wages in Laredo, TX, United States · Source: BLS OEWS (MSA-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Long-Term Visa Programs
investment
US EB-5 Immigrant Investor (Standard)Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Laredo compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.2x further in Laredo than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for United States here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Laredo cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Laredo is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 30% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Laredo. We are using the country-level cost index for United States here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Laredo compare with New York City?
Rent in Laredo is about 63% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for United States here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Laredo?
Groceries in Laredo are about 24% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 28% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for United States here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Laredo, TX
Laredo is a border city in southern Texas, United States, with about 256,000 residents, sitting on the Rio Grande directly across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is the largest inland port in the United States by trade value, handling roughly a third of all US-Mexico overland freight through the World Trade Bridge and three other international crossings. The economy is overwhelmingly logistics, cross-border manufacturing services, customs brokerage, and trucking. Interstate 35 carries the bulk of freight north toward San Antonio and beyond, and there is no commuter rail or significant transit. The climate is hot semi-arid, with very hot summers and mild winters. Spanish is the dominant everyday language alongside English, and housing is among the cheaper in Texas though incomes also run lower.
See the full breakdown — free
No password needed. Takes ~30 seconds.
More cities in United States
Cities with a similar cost of living
Comparable to Laredo — worth a look if you're weighing alternatives.