Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York City vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 64.9% more expensive than Houston.

Restaurants: pay 36.6% more in New York City
Groceries: pay 57.8% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 31.1% more in New York City
Housing: pay 73.8% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 94.0% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 21.0% more in New York City

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in New York City are more expensive than in Houston. Notably, childcare and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in New York City.

New York City vs. Houston Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Houston, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 36.6% more for restaurants

	Houston	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.00	$30.00	+66.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.00	$12.00	+33.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.53	$3.22	+27.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00	$2.39	+19.2%
Average			+36.6%

Houston vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.8% more for groceries

	Houston	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.97	$4.82	+62.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.39	$8.52	+33.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.43	$5.80	+69.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.53	$5.06	+43.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.15	$6.82	+32.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.99	$3.25	+63.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58	$1.04	+77.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.72	$2.67	+54.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.28	$2.70	+111.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.30	$1.73	+33.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.07	$1.66	+55.3%
Average			+57.8%

Houston vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.1% more for transportation

	Houston	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.88	$3.80	+31.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$75.00	$132.50	+76.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,278.39	$35,000.00	-3.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.79	$22.40	+19.2%
Average			+31.1%

Houston vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 73.8% more for housing

	Houston	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.71	$68.20	+2.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,582.84	$4,097.13	+158.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,189.12	$2,883.17	+142.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.41	$136.26	-8.2%
Average			+73.8%

Houston vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Houston	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,457.58	$3,253.56	+123.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,000.00	$59,000.00	+156.5%
Average			+139.8%

Houston vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 94.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Houston	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.00	$9.00	+80.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.27	$5.95	+12.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.97	$17.00	+70.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.65	$148.06	+273.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.00	$20.00	+33.3%
Average			+94.0%

Houston vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.0% more for clothing

	Houston	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.14	$68.92	+46.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.00	$45.62	+6.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$103.28	$107.85	+4.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$132.12	$168.36	+27.4%
Average			+21.0%

Houston vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025

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