1. Home
  2. /Compare Cities
  3. /Fort Worth vs Lincoln

Fort Worth vs. Lincoln

Fort Worth, TX  ·  Lincoln, NE

TL;DR

Fort Worth cost-of-living index is 99 vs 87 for Lincoln (US = 100). Median home: $330,000 vs $235,000. Median rent: $1,354/mo vs $795/mo.

Source: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI · Census ACS, 2026-06-06

Lincoln is 12% cheaper than Fort Worth overall.

Written by Jere Salmisto, Founder & Quantitative Systems Builder, CalcFi·Reviewed by CalcFi Editorial·Last reviewed 2026-06-06

Looking for the national Mortgage Payment Calculator? Mortgage Payment Calculator.

Home Price

TX: $330,000

NE: $235,000

Monthly Rent

TX: $1,354/mo

NE: $795/mo

COL Index

TX: 99

NE: 87

Median Income

TX: $66,200

NE: $60,800

Side-by-Side Comparison

Metric
Fort Worth
Lincoln
Lower / Higher

Median Home Price

$330,000
$235,000
↓Lincoln

Monthly Rent (Median)

$1,354/mo
$795/mo
↓Lincoln

Median Household Income

$66,200
$60,800
↓Fort Worth

Property Tax Rate

1.8%
1.6%
↓Lincoln

Cost of Living Index

100 = national average

99
87
↓Lincoln

Avg. Commute

27 min
19 min
↓Lincoln

Unemployment Rate

3.9%
2.6%
↓Lincoln

Median Age

33.9 yrs
31.8 yrs
↓Fort Worth

What This Means For You

Headline insight

Buying Power

A $100,000 salary in Fort Worth has the same purchasing power as $87,879 in Lincoln— based on each city's cost of living index.

Housing

Homes in Lincoln cost 29% more (-$95,000 extra). Expect a larger mortgage and down payment.

Renting

Renting in Lincoln saves $559/month — $6,708 per year. Median rent: $1,354/mo in Fort Worth vs $795/mo in Lincoln.

Property Taxes

On a median-priced home, Fort Worth owners pay roughly $5,940/year vs $3,760/year in Lincoln. That's a $2,180 annual difference.

Local Earnings

Median household income is $66,200 in Fort Worth and $60,800 in Lincoln. Lincoln residents earn 8% more — but factor in cost of living.

Daily Commute

Average commute is 27 minutes in Fort Worth vs 19 minutes in Lincoln. Over a year, that's 4000 extra minutes (67 hours) of commuting in Fort Worth.

Salary Equivalence

To maintain the same lifestyle when moving from Fort Worth to Lincoln, here's the salary you'd need:

Salary in Fort WorthEquivalent in LincolnDifference
$50,000$43,939-$6,061
$75,000$65,909-$9,091
$100,000$87,879-$12,121
$150,000$131,818-$18,182
$200,000$175,758-$24,242

* Calculated using cost of living indices (national average = 100). Does not account for state income tax differences.

Run the Numbers

Mortgage Calculator

See monthly payments for homes in either city

Rent vs Buy

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in these markets?

Cost of Living

Full cost of living comparison tool

Home Appreciation

Project future home value growth

Affordability Calculator

How much home can you afford?

Property Tax Calculator

Estimate taxes in Fort Worth or Lincoln

Fort Worth Calculators

→ Mortgage calculator for Fort Worth→ Rent vs buy in Fort Worth

Lincoln Calculators

→ Mortgage calculator for Lincoln→ Rent vs buy in Lincoln

Related Comparisons

Dallas vs Fort WorthOmaha vs Lincoln

Fort Worth vs Lincoln: Common Questions

Is Fort Worth or Lincoln cheaper to live in?

Based on cost of living indices, Lincoln is cheaper overall. Fort Worth has a COL index of 99 while Lincoln scores 87 (national average = 100).

How do home prices compare between Fort Worth and Lincoln?

The median home price in Fort Worth is $330,000 vs $235,000 in Lincoln — a difference of $95,000 (29%).

What salary do I need in Lincoln to match my Fort Worth income?

Use the salary equivalence table above. For example, a $100K salary in Fort Worth is equivalent to $87,879 in Lincoln in terms of purchasing power.

Which city has lower property taxes?

Lincoln has a lower property tax rate (1.6% vs 1.8%). On a median-priced home, that means paying $3,760/year vs $5,940/year.

How does rent compare in Fort Worth vs Lincoln?

Median monthly rent: $1,354 in Fort Worth vs $795 in Lincoln. Annualized: $16,248 vs $9,540.

What is the median household income in each city?

Fort Worth: $66,200/yr. Lincoln: $60,800/yr (Census ACS).

Which city is better for remote workers?

Lower-cost Lincoln typically lets remote-workers keeping a coastal salary stretch further. Higher-cost cities usually win on amenities and labor-market depth.

Where does the data on this comparison come from?

Numbers are pulled from Zillow ZHVI/ZORI (home values, rent), the U.S. Census Bureau ACS (income), and BEA RPP (cost-of-living index). Each value is timestamped on the page.

How often is this comparison updated?

Source feeds refresh on their native cadence — hourly for mortgage rates, monthly for ZHVI/ZORI, annually for ACS. Page caches revalidate every 24 hours via Next.js ISR.

Does this comparison replace tax or financial advice?

No. This page is educational reference using public data and standard formulas. It is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional for material decisions.

Related Cities

  • Fort Worth Home Affordability
  • Lincoln Home Affordability
  • Austin vs Lincoln
  • Dallas vs Lincoln
  • Houston vs Lincoln
  • San Antonio vs Lincoln
Browse all Mortgage Payment Calculator calculators →

Sources & Citations

  1. Zillow Research — Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) and Observed Rent Index (ZORI) — zillow.com/research/data
  2. U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for median household income, median age, commute time — census.gov/acs
  3. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (RPP) by state and metro — bea.gov/rpp
  4. Tax Foundation — effective property tax rates and state tax rates — taxfoundation.org
  5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — unemployment rates and regional CPI — bls.gov
  6. Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) — Cost of Living Index — coli.org
Methodology & Assumptions

City-level metrics (median home price, median rent, median household income, property tax rate, COL index, commute, unemployment, median age) are sourced from Zillow ZHVI/ZORI[1], Census ACS 5-year estimates[2], BEA Regional Price Parities[3], Tax Foundation[4], and BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics[5].

The Cost of Living Index uses 100 = national average (C2ER methodology[6]): values above 100 indicate a city is more expensive than the national average, below 100 less expensive.

Salary equivalence uses the ratio adjustedSalary = salary × (colDestination / colOrigin). This accounts for cost-of-living differences but does not model state income tax variation, which can be significant.

Annual property tax is computed as medianHomePrice × propertyTaxRate. Actual assessed value may differ from sale price. Effective rates vary within a metro; these are metro-wide medians.

Commute-hours calculations assume 250 working days/year and a round-trip commute. "Tied" in the comparison table means values within ±1% of each other.

Last reviewed reflects the maximum retrievedAt timestamp across every sourced dataset feeding this page. When any source refreshes, the next ISR revalidation (every 24 hours) picks the new date.

Cost of living data sourced from [6] C2ER, [2] U.S. Census Bureau, and [1] Zillow Research. Tax rates from [4] Tax Foundation. Last reviewed 2026-06-06.