Houston, Texas Cost Of Living

A+

6%

Overall NAT. AVG.

1%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

18%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Houston	Texas	National
Cost of living	94	92	100
Goods & Services	101	97	100
Groceries	96	91	100
Health care	96	95	100
Housing	82	83	100
Transportation	96	94	100
Utilities	108	103	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Houston is 2% higher than the Texas average
The cost of living in Houston is 6% lower than the national average
Houston housing is 18% lower than the national average
Texas general sales tax is 22% higher than the national average
Texas state income tax is 100% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$71,418	$5,952	$1,666	$2,143
Renters	$35,250	$2,938	$822	$1,058

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Houston, TX, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Houston, the median monthly income is $71,418 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,666 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $35,250, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $822 on monthly rental expenses.

Texas Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Texas	6.25%	8.25%

Texas Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Texas	0%	0%

Goods & Services

Item	Houston	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$21.69	$20.27	7.0%
Beauty Salon	$61.97	$40.39	53.4%
Toothpaste	$2.85	$2.36	20.8%
Shampoo	$1.16	$1.08	8.1%
Movie	$9.63	$10.99	12.4%
Bowling	$20.55	$15.49	32.6%

Groceries

Item	Houston	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.14	$4.30	3.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.23	$1.40	11.9%
Milk	$2.04	$2.20	7.2%
Potatoes	$2.81	$3.22	12.8%
Pizza	$9.87	$10.74	8.1%
Beer	$9.86	$9.60	2.7%

Health Care

Item	Houston	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$100.03	$109.73	8.8%
Doctor	$91.80	$118.34	22.4%
Dentist	$107.85	$100.94	6.8%
Ibuprofen	$9.83	$9.93	1.1%
Lipitor	$471.77	$469.53	0.5%

Housing

Item	Houston	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$140,300.00	$184,700.00	24.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$960.70	$1,229.62	21.9%
Apartment Rent	$898.00	$949.00	5.4%

Transportation

Item	Houston	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.40	$2.71	11.3%
Tire Balancing	$55.89	$51.86	7.8%

Utilities

Item	Houston	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$193.77	$170.84	13.4%
Phone	$187.36	$187.18	0.1%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Fifth Street, TX	2,071	83	16.9%
Jacinto City, TX	10,753	85	14.9%
Galena Park, TX	11,119	86	14.2%
South Houston, TX	17,474	87	13.4%
Aldine, TX	14,867	87	13.0%
Houston, TX	2,240,582	94	5.6%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Montréal, QC	1,811,008	n/a
Chicago, IL	2,714,017	111	10.8%
Philadelphia, PA	1,559,938	102	1.9%
Phoenix, AZ	1,555,324	97	2.5%
Toronto, ON	3,013,752	n/a
Houston, TX	2,240,582	94	5.6%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.