Considering Amarillo

202,028

Population

Sunny Days: 259

100100 Affordability

90100 Schools

85100 Diversity

70100 Safety

See all the facts!

LookyLOO Review of Amarillo

Amarillo is a 200k population city, growing fast, and has a good economy, but you can still buy a three-bedroom, two-bath home for under $150k. If you’ve never been to Texas or haven’t been in a long time, you’ll be shocked to see the growth, but unlike Cali, the state where lots of people are coming from, it’s still within reach of most Americans, and plenty of immigrants, to buy a home.

Also, it has the highest volume of helium in the world. That's kind of weird and cool.

On the other hand, Amarillo is hot, with no shock there – over 100 degrees through many days in the summer. What does surprise though, is the wind. Amarillo is windier than Chicago and has the highest average wind speed of any city in the U.S. That wind, combined with the dust and flat topography, means you’re going to feel the pain of the conditions here.

Lifestyle

Amarillo, like many Texas cities, has great food, including the obvious Mexican/Tex-Mex options but also new highly rated other fare. It also has tons of breweries to wash down those eats. It has a groovy shopping district on 6th Street and a great performing arts center. What most people rave about, though, is hiking through Palo Duro Canyon. Given the flat terrain, a cool hilly climb is the right way to get a break on the weekends.

Check out the city calendar of events to get a sense of local activities.

We highly recommend visiting Amarillo and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

Worklife

Two of the largest industries in Texas include Energy and Food Processing. While oil is still big business, it should be no shock that with that insane wind, Amarillo is also home to massive manufacturing and installation of wind turbines. Amarillo operates one of the largest meat-packing areas in the United States (lots of cattle in Texas). Growth is coming from those two industries, but also some interesting manufacturing with Osprey Helicopters built here and Pantex, the only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in the country, a major employer. All of these areas are seeing growth, so the mix of jobs and low costs make it a desirable location.

Why You Should Move Here Now?

It's the Money, Stupid

If you’re raising a family and looking to buy a home at a price you can afford, then Amarillo is a great choice. You’ll be hard-pressed to find another city with an economy doing as well as Amarillo with prices as low.

Reviews of Amarillo from Locals

Odd-Psychology-7899
7mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

Long time Amarillo resident here. Have also lived in larger cities. It’s overall a good place to live. Good food, everything is convenient, easy to get around. There are some really nice neighborhoods with lots of trees (not everywhere is ugly and brown, although those areas do exist) and it’s easier to afford a nice home here than in larger cities for sure. Palo Duro Canyon is awesome. Fairly short drive to the mountains but still in Texas with good public schools and no state income tax. Some annoying things about living here include - more windy days than most other places in the US, and it can get ugly/dusty on those days, the occasional feedyards smell when the wind is coming from that direction. Those annoyances aren’t enough to be too dramatic about though. We have lots of nice days too. Most people are heavily Christian/conservative. As someone who tends more liberal, that doesn’t bother me a bit though. I think it’s fine to be around people who think differently than you. I’d say the people are generally friendlier than most people in larger cities.

For more reviews of what living in Amarillo is like from locals, check out The Reviews.