Cost of living comparison

compared to
Houston vs. Texas Cost of Living Summary

Houston is 5.2% more expensive than Texas.

Restaurants
pay 1.9% more in Houston
Groceries
pay 5.0% less in Houston
Transportation
pay 6.7% more in Houston
Housing
pay 1.5% less in Houston
Childcare
pay 19.0% more in Houston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.1% more in Houston
Clothing
pay 7.9% more in Houston

The cost of childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and restaurants in Houston are more expensive than in Texas. Expenses including groceries and housing are lower in Houston.

Houston vs. Texas Cost Breakdown

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

pay 1.9% more for restaurants

 
Texas
Houston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.27
 
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.75
 
$9.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.43
 
$2.53
 

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pay 5.0% less for groceries

 
Texas
Houston
Bread
1 loaf
$3.09
 
$2.97
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.03
 
$6.39
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.67
 
$3.43
 

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pay 6.7% more for transportation

 
Texas
Houston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.93
 
$2.88
 
Monthly public transit pass $63.02
 
$75.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,552.44
 
$36,278.39
 

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pay 1.5% less for housing

 
Texas
Houston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.55
 
$66.71
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,374.92
 
$1,582.84
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,217.13
 
$1,189.12
 

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pay 19.0% more for childcare

 
Texas
Houston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,230.53
 
$1,457.58
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,254.84
 
$23,000.00
 

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pay 7.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Texas
Houston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.20
 
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
 
$5.27
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.80
 
$9.97
 

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pay 7.9% more for clothing

 
Texas
Houston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.31
 
$47.14
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.62
 
$43.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.49
 
$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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