Living in Wichita Falls, TX
Wichita County
Wichita Falls is North Texas's regional hub near the Oklahoma border, and its identity is shaped overwhelmingly by one real, load-bearing institution: Sheppard Air Force Base. Established in 1941, Sheppard is home to the 82nd Training Wing -- the U.S. Air Force's largest technical training wing -- and hosts Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT), the world's only internationally manned and managed flying training program, graduating more than 60,000 students annually across its training missions. Per the Texas Comptroller's most recent military economic-impact analysis found this session (2021), Sheppard supported an estimated 19,928 direct and indirect jobs and a $3.7 billion Texas economic impact -- a genuine anchor for the local economy, not a marketing claim. Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) adds a second real anchor, with fall 2025 enrollment of 5,287 students. Housing here runs genuinely affordable: a $204,827 citywide median sale price as of May 2026 (up 7.9% year over year), well below the national median, and BestPlaces scores the overall cost of living 23.7% below the national average. Texas's no-state-income-tax structure applies statewide. The real, disclosed tradeoff is safety and hazard exposure: CrimeGrade.org gives Wichita Falls a D grade (21st percentile for safety) and NeighborhoodScout separately describes its crime rate as one of the highest in the country -- two sources that, unlike some markets in this dataset, actually agree on direction. And Wichita Falls carries genuine, documented severe-weather history: the April 10, 1979 "Terrible Tuesday" tornado was an F4 more than a mile wide at times, killed more than 40 people, injured over 1,700, left roughly 20,000 residents homeless, and caused over $400 million in 1979 damage (an estimated $2.17 billion today) -- one of the most destructive tornadoes in Texas history, and real context for the tornado/hail risk that defines this part of North Texas. Property tax and insurance costs run above the national median, consistent with Texas's no-income-tax, property-tax-and-insurance-carry-the-load structure statewide.
Explore Wichita Falls in depth
Exploring the idea of moving?
We can connect you with a local real estate professional who knows the area -- no pressure, just a starting point.
Learn moreHousing
Cited at $204,827 in May 2026, up 7.9% year over year -- real, meaningful appreciation, though the citywide median remains well below the national median cited elsewhere in this project (roughly $408K per Redfin national data). This is among the most affordable of the Texas markets built in this project.
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Wichita County level this session. Texas carries no income tax statewide. See the Texas hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Wichita Falls-specific.
Want to know what your budget actually buys here?
Tell us a bit about what you're looking for and we'll connect you with someone local who can walk you through real numbers.
Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A deep, stable job base anchored by Sheppard AFB (~19,928 direct and indirect jobs, $3.7 billion in Texas economic impact per the Texas Comptroller's 2021 study), reinforced by ENJJPT's genuinely unique international pilot-training mission; genuinely affordable housing ($204,827 citywide median, still appreciating at a real 7.9% year-over-year pace) and a cost of living 23.7% below the national average; no state income tax; Midwestern State University adds a real, distinct higher-education anchor.
Cons
CrimeGrade.org (D grade, 21st percentile for safety) and NeighborhoodScout (crime rate described as one of the highest in the country) agree Wichita Falls runs meaningfully above national and Texas safety benchmarks -- a real, disclosed concern rather than a single-source outlier; homeowners insurance cost estimates vary substantially by source ($1,389-$3,026/year) but several sources place Wichita Falls above the national average, consistent with Texas's broader insurance-cost pattern; genuine, historically severe tornado risk (the 1979 "Terrible Tuesday" F4, one of the most destructive tornadoes in Texas history) alongside the general Tornado Alley/Red River Valley severe-thunderstorm and hail exposure common to North Texas; effective property tax rate (1.77% county-wide) runs above the cited 1.4% Texas state average.
Who this fits
Best for: Military families connected to Sheppard AFB and ENJJPT, and affordability-focused first-time homebuyers who want genuinely low housing costs and no state income tax in a North Texas regional hub.
Maybe not for you if: Buyers highly averse to tornado/severe-weather risk should weigh Wichita Falls's real, documented history (the 1979 F4 'Terrible Tuesday' tornado) carefully. Anyone prioritizing a top-decile safety profile should note that both major crime-data sources found this session (CrimeGrade and NeighborhoodScout) rate Wichita Falls meaningfully below national safety benchmarks -- verify current, address-specific data directly before relying on this pass as final. This site's military/PCS-specific relocation guidance lives in a separate content layer, not in this Tier C stack.
Planning a move?
Tell us what you're looking for and we'll connect you with a local expert who can help you make it happen.
Talk to a local expert