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People call our office every week with the same question: where can I live in Texas without rent eating the paycheck? The honest answer depends on two things, where you work and whether you own an RV. Below we compare our monthly RV sites in Eastland with public rent figures for Abilene and Fort Worth, and we show the full total, electric included as a line you pay yourself.
Quick answer: For housing alone, small Texas towns off the interstate are among the cheapest places to live. HUD's FY2026 fair market rent for a one bedroom is $870 in Eastland, $1,010 in Abilene and $1,560 in a central Fort Worth ZIP. If you own an RV, a monthly site at Inez Spring is $500 back-in or $650 pull-through, plus electric metered at 17 cents per kWh.
The cheapest place to live is the one with the lowest total monthly cost for your situation: rent, utilities, deposit, lease terms and the drive to work added together, not the advertised rent alone. A cheap room an hour from the job can cost more by month's end than a slightly higher one ten minutes away.
A one bedroom in Fort Worth runs about three times our back-in site rent on HUD's benchmark. The table uses HUD's FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents by ZIP code, which HUD sets to include basic utilities. They are a mid-range benchmark used for housing vouchers, not a quote for a given apartment. Figures are shown as listed on fairmarketrentmap.com, which republishes the HUD FMR data.
| Option | Monthly figure | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inez Spring back-in site, Eastland | $500 plus metered electric | Full hookups, water, sewer, Wi-Fi, laundry and shower house access; electric at 17 cents per kWh | Our rate card |
| Inez Spring 100-foot pull-through, Eastland | $650 plus metered electric | Same, with room for a truck and trailer | Our rate card |
| Studio, Eastland ZIP 76448 | $760 | HUD benchmark, basic utilities included | HUD FY2026 SAFMR |
| One bedroom, Eastland ZIP 76448 | $870 | HUD benchmark, basic utilities included | HUD FY2026 SAFMR |
| One bedroom, Abilene ZIP 79602 | $1,010 | HUD benchmark, basic utilities included | HUD FY2026 SAFMR |
| One bedroom, Fort Worth ZIP 76107 | $1,560 | HUD benchmark, basic utilities included | HUD FY2026 SAFMR |
| Annual RV site, Carrollton (DFW) | $713 to $866 | 12 month annual site, electric extra; as listed October 2026 | Sun Outdoors |
Two notes keep this fair. HUD's numbers include utilities and ours do not include electric, so add your own metered bill to the RV rows. And the RV rows assume you already own a rig.
Site rent plus your own metered electric. That is the whole bill at Inez Spring. A back-in is $500 and a pull-through is $650. Each site has its own meter at the pedestal, you pay 17 cents for each kWh it records, and the invoice arrives by email on the first. The deposit is $200 and refundable.
We do not publish an average electric bill. A small trailer in October and a large fifth wheel running two air conditioners in July are very different numbers. If you want to see every line of a long stay budget, read the cost of RV living in Texas. For what is inside lot rent and what is billed apart, see what RV lot rent includes.
More than the number on the listing. Ask any apartment about the application fee, the security deposit, pet deposits and pet rent, and the lease length. Many ask for a 12 month lease. If your job ends in month five, find out in writing what breaking the lease costs.
An RV site trades some of that for other work. You handle your own tanks, hoses and freeze prep. You live in less space. For many single workers, couples and retirees, that trade is worth several hundred dollars a month.
One reason is tax. Texas does not have a personal income tax, according to the Texas Comptroller. Sales and property taxes still apply. The bigger reason, for housing, is land: towns like Eastland, Cisco and Ranger sit between metros, and rent drops fast once you leave them.
When you do not own an RV, or when the drive eats the savings. Buying a rig for a short stay rarely pays off. And fuel counts: Eastland is about 50 minutes from Abilene, about 1 hour 35 minutes from Fort Worth and about 2 hours from Dallas. If your job is in Dallas, a site out here is a weekend base, not a daily commute.
It fits best if you work in Eastland County or toward Abilene, if you work remotely, or if you are retired and want a quiet base on I-20. It also fits people from a few hours away who stay here during the week and go home on weekends.
New to the whole idea? Start with our guide to full time RV living in Texas. For a statewide look at park prices, see how much RV parks cost per month in Texas.
For housing alone, small towns away from the big metros cost the least. HUD's FY2026 fair market rent for a one bedroom is $870 in Eastland ZIP 76448, $1,010 in Abilene ZIP 79602 and $1,560 in Fort Worth ZIP 76107. If you own an RV, a monthly site can cost less still: $500 at Inez Spring plus your own metered electric.
Usually, if you already own the RV. A back-in site at Inez Spring is $500 a month plus electric metered at 17 cents per kWh. HUD's one bedroom benchmark in Abilene is $1,010 for FY2026. If you have to buy an RV first, the math changes, so price the rig before you decide.
At Inez Spring, water, sewer, park Wi-Fi, the shower house and laundry access come with the site. Electric is metered at your own pedestal at 17 cents per kWh and billed on the first of the month. We do not estimate electric bills because your rig and the weather decide the number.
No. Texas does not have a personal income tax, according to the Texas Comptroller. Sales and property taxes still apply, and local sales tax rates vary by city.
Some parks use 3 month or 12 month terms. Inez Spring is month to month with a $200 refundable deposit. You give notice and leave at the end of a paid month.
Eastland is about 50 minutes east of Abilene and about 1 hour 35 minutes west of Fort Worth on I-20. Dallas is about 2 hours away.
If you own an RV and work within reach of I-20 west of Fort Worth, a monthly site is one of the lowest housing costs in Texas. Add your metered electric honestly, compare it with real apartment quotes, and pick the one that leaves more in your pocket.
More than 70 full-hookup sites one minute off I-20 in Eastland, with the Leon River running through the park, a rebuilt shower house and laundry on site. $500 back-in or $650 pull-through a month plus metered electric, $200 refundable deposit, month to month. Call (254) 629-1197 or see our monthly RV sites.
