According to the Texas Workforce Commission, Collin County families need to earn $7,553 per month or $90,635 annually to be self-sufficient.
The Texas Workforce Commission recently put out its annual study of self-sufficiency per county, determining how much money is required for a family to meet basic needs “while maintaining self-sufficiency.”
Based on Texas’ average family size of 1.6 children, Collin County has a self-sufficient wage (a.k.a living wage) of $21.46 per hour for individuals or $7,553 per month or $90,635 annually for a family.
Collin County’s population was 1,297,179, making it the sixth-largest county in Texas, after Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar and Travis. However, Collin County had the highest wage required for self-sufficiency out of any Texas county — nearly $10,000 more annually than Dallas County and about $15,000 more than Harris County.
Average monthly household costs for 2026 in Collin County:
Housing – $2.194
Child care – $1,215
Food – $945
Transportation – $786
Healthcare – $952
Healthcare premium – $661
Healthcare out of pocket – $291
Miscellaneous – $762
Broadband/cell phone – $153
Other necessities – $609
Taxes – $1,091
Emergency savings – $135
Last year, the individual self-sufficient wage for our county was $20.39 per hour for an individual or $7,179 or $86,147 annually for a family.
Average monthly household costs for 2025 in Collin County:
Housing costs – $2,150
Child care costs – $1,059
Food costs – $985
Transportation costs – $785
Healthcare costs – $813
Healthcare premium – $574
Healthcare out of pocket – $239
Miscellaneous costs – $723
Broadband & cell phone – $144
Other necessities – $579
Taxes – $1,044
Emergency savings – $129
In our county, the largest cost increases year-over-year are in healthcare and childcare, with out-of-pocket healthcare expenses increasing over 20% and childcare increasing nearly 15%.