Cost of living comparison

compared to

Harlingen vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

Harlingen is 6.9% cheaper than United States overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.3% less in Harlingen
Groceries
pay 19.3% less in Harlingen
Transportation
pay 13.4% less in Harlingen
Housing
pay 17.3% less in Harlingen
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.1% less in Harlingen
Clothing
pay 20.0% more in Harlingen

Expenses including groceries, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Harlingen.

Harlingen vs. United States Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Harlingen instead of United States, you would:

pay 2.3% less for restaurants

 
United States
Harlingen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.45
 
$20.75
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.12
 
$9.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.56
 
$2.65
 

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pay 19.3% less for groceries

 
United States
Harlingen
Bread
1 loaf
$3.56
 
$3.09
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.50
 
$4.68
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.97
 
$3.75
 

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pay 13.4% less for transportation

 
United States
Harlingen
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.41
 
$2.75
 
Monthly public transit pass $65.85
 
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,336.38
 
$29,953.74
 

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pay 17.3% less for housing

 
United States
Harlingen
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.97
 
$50.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,664.59
 
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,416.15
 
$1,044.00
 

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
United States
Harlingen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,387.27
 
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,196.46
 
??

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pay 9.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
United States
Harlingen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.84
 
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.15
 
$4.50
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.90
 
$9.79
 

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pay 20.0% more for clothing

 
United States
Harlingen
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.08
 
$63.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.81
 
$45.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.56
 
$112.50
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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