Houston Cost of Living

What living in Houston costs

Houston runs at 0.96x the US national average — 61 of the 99 other metros tracked here cost more, 33 cost less. A one-bedroom goes for about $1,250 a month, or $15,000 a year, and the median home sits near $330,000.

The price-to-rent ratio here is roughly 22, which is high. Above about 20, renting and investing the down payment usually beats buying over a normal holding period — the purchase price is steep relative to what the same property earns as a rental.

Working and living here

Houston is a metro of roughly 7.5M and growing fast, running on energy/oil & gas, healthcare (Texas Medical Center), aerospace. Larger employers include ExxonMobil, Memorial Hermann Health System, NASA Johnson Space Center.

Texas levies no state income tax and Houston adds no local one, so the only income tax withheld here is federal. That is worth several thousand dollars a year against a comparable salary in a taxing state — though property and sales taxes in no-income-tax states tend to run above average, so the advantage narrows once you buy.

Getting around: Houston is effectively car-dependent. Budget for a car — around $9,000 a year all-in once insurance, fuel, maintenance and parking are counted, a cost the index assumes but does not itemise.

Climate: January highs near 63°F/lows near 43°F; July highs near 94°F/lows near 75°F, extremely humid and prone to flooding.

No state income tax and relatively affordable housing for a top-5 metro by population, but hurricane and flood risk drives elevated home insurance costs in many neighborhoods.