Ask a dog owner in Plano and one in El Paso what a checkup costs, and you’ll probably get two very different answers. Rent, wages, and local competition all shape what a clinic charges, so the same exam can cost far more in one city than in another.
Two sources help here. A WalletHub comparison of the 100 largest U.S. cities looked at veterinary care costs per visit. A 2026 city cost tracker, VetCostCalc, estimates yearly vet spending in major metros against a national figure of about $810. None of these numbers is a price quote, but together they show where pet care tends to run cheaper.
Fort Worth, Texas
WalletHub found Fort Worth to be the cheapest city in Texas and the third cheapest in the country, at about $50 on average. That’s a striking gap when you look next door, since Plano came in as the priciest city studied, at roughly $108.
The annual picture lines up. VetCostCalc lists Fort Worth at $748 a year. That sits below the $810 national average the site uses, so a Fort Worth owner comes out ahead on both measures.
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi ranked as the fourth cheapest city in the WalletHub comparison, at $51 per visit. It trails Fort Worth by only a dollar, so the two are effectively neck and neck.
The Gulf Coast city also beats Texas’ bigger metros by a clear margin. Houston averaged $64 and San Antonio $60 in the same report. I couldn’t find a matching annual spending estimate for Corpus Christi, so the per visit figure is the best evidence available.
El Paso, Texas
El Paso shows up as a bargain in both data sets. WalletHub put its average at $58, below Houston, San Antonio, and Austin’s neighbors in the top Texas markets. That makes it one of the cheaper large cities in a state with some very expensive ones.
VetCostCalc estimates annual vet spending in El Paso at $683, which is the lowest figure in its list of large metros. Against the $810 national benchmark, that’s a meaningful cushion for anyone budgeting for a pet.
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio sits in the middle of the cheap Texas cluster. WalletHub reported an average of $60 per visit there. That’s well under the Dallas area figures of around $79 to $80 in the same report.
Yearly costs are favorable as well. VetCostCalc lists San Antonio at $715 a year, noticeably under the national $810. Keep in mind that vaccines, dental work, and diagnostics can push any single bill well beyond a base exam fee.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City has one of the lowest annual estimates among large metros. VetCostCalc puts it at $688 a year, which is about a hundred dollars more than the lowest city but still well under the national average of $810.
The state context supports that. One 2026 state comparison lists Oklahoma among the states with veterinary costs about ten percent below the national average. That doesn’t guarantee every clinic is cheap, but it suggests the pricing environment is friendlier than on the coasts.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque rounds out the southwestern cluster of lower priced cities. VetCostCalc estimates annual vet spending there at $699. That’s below the national figure, and far below places like San Francisco.
For comparison, San Francisco runs $1,150 a year by the site’s national comparison, about forty percent above the national average. Location alone can change the bill dramatically, so it’s worth checking local clinics and any low cost options before booking.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is listed at $721 a year, just ahead of Omaha and Louisville. That puts it comfortably under the $810 national average used by the same tracker.
The wider region helps explain it. A state level comparison found Mississippi, just south of Memphis, had the lowest veterinary costs in the country. These city estimates are modeled figures, so actual prices vary by clinic and by what your pet needs.
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