Cost of living comparison

compared to
Houston vs. Michigan Cost of Living Summary

Houston is 14.2% more expensive than Michigan.

Restaurants
pay 4.4% more in Houston
Groceries
pay 2.8% less in Houston
Transportation
pay 17.1% more in Houston
Housing
pay 14.0% more in Houston
Childcare
pay 28.8% more in Houston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.0% more in Houston
Clothing
pay 25.7% more in Houston

The cost of childcare, clothing, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Houston are more expensive than in Michigan.

Houston vs. Michigan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Houston instead of Michigan, you would:

pay 4.4% more for restaurants

 
Michigan
Houston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $15.68
 
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.87
 
$9.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.44
 
$2.53
 

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pay 2.8% less for groceries

 
Michigan
Houston
Bread
1 loaf
$3.01
 
$2.97
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.12
 
$6.39
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.27
 
$3.43
 

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pay 17.1% more for transportation

 
Michigan
Houston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.37
 
$2.88
 
Monthly public transit pass $48.27
 
$75.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,758.20
 
$36,278.39
 

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pay 14.0% more for housing

 
Michigan
Houston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$60.88
 
$66.71
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,322.38
 
$1,582.84
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,104.85
 
$1,189.12
 

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pay 28.8% more for childcare

 
Michigan
Houston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,159.08
 
$1,457.58
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,453.87
 
$23,000.00
 

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pay 12.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Michigan
Houston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.24
 
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.78
 
$5.27
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.42
 
$9.97
 

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pay 25.7% more for clothing

 
Michigan
Houston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$46.13
 
$47.14
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$33.59
 
$43.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$77.38
 
$103.28
 

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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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