| Index | Rice Military | Houston | Texas |
| Cost of living | 127 | 101 | 92 |
| Goods & Services | 101 | 101 | 96 |
| Groceries | 100 | 100 | 96 |
| Health care | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| Housing | 191 | 105 | 83 |
| Transportation | 90 | 90 | 92 |
| Utilities | 103 | 103 | 104 |
Why stop at city-to-city? With Local Insights, you can compare neighborhoods, zip codes, or even exact addresses. Access 300+ hyperlocal data points—from schools and crime to housing and amenities—to see which area is the better fit.
| Cost of living index | |
| Goods & Services index | |
| Groceries index | |
| Health care index | |
| Housing index | |
| Transportation index | |
| Utilities index |
| Median Income | Per Year | Per Month | Max Budget (28% DTI) | Max Budget (36% DTI) |
| Household | $118,360 | $9,863 | $2,762 | $3,551 |
| State | General Sales Tax | With Max Surtax |
| Texas | 6.25% | 8.25% |
| State | Income Tax (Low) | Income Tax (High) |
| Texas | 0% | 0% |
| Item | Houston | National avg. | Difference |
| Haircut | $20.33 | $24.26 | 16.2% |
| Beauty Salon | $47.38 | $45.56 | 4.0% |
| Toothpaste | $3.48 | $3.70 | 6.1% |
| Shampoo | $1.22 | $1.28 | 5.0% |
| Movie | $12.19 | $12.13 | 0.4% |
| Bowling | $15.83 | $18.00 | 12.0% |
| Item | Houston | National avg. | Difference |
| Ground Beef | $5.25 | $5.84 | 10.1% |
| Fried Chicken | $1.61 | $1.57 | 2.4% |
| Milk | $4.55 | $4.67 | 2.5% |
| Potatoes | $5.00 | $4.93 | 1.4% |
| Pizza | $11.82 | $12.09 | 2.2% |
| Beer | $10.38 | $10.41 | 0.3% |
| Item | Houston | National avg. | Difference |
| Optometrist | $125.98 | $125.68 | 0.2% |
| Doctor | $90.89 | $135.78 | 33.1% |
| Dentist | $108.10 | $113.29 | 4.6% |
| Ibuprofen | $10.46 | $10.65 | 1.8% |
| Lipitor | $503.40 | $468.60 | 7.4% |
| Item | Houston | National avg. | Difference |
| Home Price | $186,800.00 | $184,700.00 | 1.1% |
| Avg. Mortgage Payment | $2,055.86 | $2,346.69 | 12.4% |
| Apartment Rent | $1,086.00 | $949.00 | 14.4% |
| Item | Houston | National avg. | Difference |
| Gasoline | $3.14 | $3.46 | 9.1% |
| Tire Balancing | $56.62 | $59.92 | 5.5% |
| Item | Houston | National avg. | Difference |
| All Electricity | $233.43 | $193.99 | 20.3% |
| Phone | $208.71 | $192.25 | 8.6% |
| City | Population | Cost of Living Index | National Avg. |
| Fifth Street, TX | 2,179 | 82 | 18.3% |
| Jacinto City, TX | 10,544 | 87 | 13.0% |
| Galena Park, TX | 10,848 | 88 | 11.7% |
| Aldine, TX | 16,308 | 88 | 11.5% |
| South Houston, TX | 17,522 | 91 | 9.1% |
| Houston, TX | 2,313,238 | 101 | 0.8% |
| City | Population | Cost of Living Index | National Avg. |
| Chicago, IL | 2,699,347 | 114 | 14.1% |
| Montréal, QC | 1,811,008 | n/a | |
| Phoenix, AZ | 1,658,422 | 106 | 6.4% |
| Toronto, ON | 3,013,752 | n/a | |
| Philadelphia, PA | 1,581,531 | 102 | 2.4% |
| Houston, TX | 2,313,238 | 101 | 0.8% |
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