Cost of Living & Housing in Marble Falls
Marble Falls runs genuinely affordable relative to both the US national median and neighboring Hill Country lake markets. It functions as the Highland Lakes region's real economic hub, which shows up in a broader, more mixed income profile than resort-adjacent communities nearby.
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Learn moreHousing Prices: Genuinely Affordable for the Hill Country
Redfin cites a $298,000 median sale price over the trailing 3 months, down 16.0% year over year -- well below the $408,776 US national median sale price for June 2026, and meaningfully below the figures found for Horseshoe Bay and Wimberley elsewhere in this Hill Country batch. This is consistent with Marble Falls' identity as the more affordable, working-city alternative to resort-adjacent Hill Country markets.
Property Taxes: Modestly Above National, Below Texas Median
Ownwell's median effective property tax rate for Marble Falls is 1.14% (1.14% in ZIP 78654, 1.29% in the shared 78657 ZIP with Horseshoe Bay), above the national median (1.02%) but below the Texas state median (1.48%). Burnet County's own median effective rate is 1.04%, with a county-level levy of $0.3323 per $100 of assessed value.
A Genuinely Lower Cost of Living Than Neighboring Resort Markets
Marble Falls' cost-of-living index runs about 10% below the national average per ERI. Median household income is $57,925 with a 15.5% poverty rate -- a broader, more economically mixed population than the affluent, retiree-skewed communities elsewhere in this Hill Country batch, reflecting Marble Falls' role as a real working city rather than a resort or retirement-only enclave.
A Real Regional Economic Hub, Not a Bedroom Community
Marble Falls serves as a trade hub for a regional population estimated at over 121,000 people, generating roughly $3.6 million per day in area sales. Its "employment trinity" -- Marble Falls ISD, Baylor Scott & White Healthcare locally, and Horseshoe Bay Resort itself -- means real local jobs exist here, including for workers employed at the neighboring resort community. No state income tax applies to income earned locally.
Key takeaways
- Marble Falls' median sale price ($298,000) runs well below the $408,776 US national median (June 2026) and below neighboring Hill Country lake markets in this dataset.
- Effective property tax rate (1.14%) sits above the national median (1.02%) but below the Texas state median (1.48%).
- Cost of living runs about 10% below the national average, with a broader income mix (median household income $57,925, 15.5% poverty rate) than resort-adjacent Hill Country communities.
- Marble Falls is a genuine regional trade and employment hub (a $3.6M/day, 121,000-person trade area) -- not just a residential lake town, and its job base includes workers at neighboring Horseshoe Bay Resort.
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