Houston cost of living, by the line.

The honest picture

Where Houston actually lands on the national cost-of-living curve

Houston sits just under the national average. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures what households pay for goods, services, and rent in every metro against a national level of 100. Its 2024 figure for the Houston metro is 98.6. New York is 112.6, Los Angeles is 113.6, and San Francisco is 115.6.

The metros people call affordable are not at Houston’s level either. Denver is 105.8, Boston is 108.3, Washington is 108.9, and Seattle is 111.1. Dallas-Fort Worth is 103.1 and Atlanta is 100.1. That index includes rent. It does not include the price of buying a house, and it does not include any tax, so those get their own lines below.

The Houston math does not come from one factor. It is the stack: no state income tax, a median sale price well under the coastal metros, and electricity and gasoline priced below the national average. The trade-offs are real. Summers are hot and humid, hurricane season runs June through November, homeowner’s insurance costs more than the national average, and property tax rates are high. I put those on the table in the pros-and-cons guide and in the line items below.

I’m Eddie Weir, a Top 1% REMAX Producer based in Houston. Here is how the line items compare, with the source named on every number.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024, all items, U.S. = 100. Released February 19, 2026.

Houston vs Dallas

Houston vs Dallas: compare your monthly budget

For a move between Houston and Dallas, compare the homes and work routes you would actually choose in each metro. Start with housing, property taxes, insurance, association charges, utilities and transportation. A difference in one line can be offset by another, so keep both budgets on the same basis and use actual quotes where possible.

Both cities are in Texas, so the state personal income-tax distinction used in a Chicago move does not separate these two options. Property taxes still depend on the address and taxing units. Check the commute from each home, including tolls and parking, before treating a less expensive home as the less expensive choice.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities compare price levels across metropolitan areas for a particular year. They can provide background for a relocation budget, but they are not a quote for a home or a promise about your personal spending. Keep the final decision tied to the same housing needs, income assumptions and travel routine in both places.

Beyond housing + tax

The line items most cost-of-living calculators miss

Electricity

Texas electricity is cheap per kilowatt-hour, and Houston homes use a lot of it. In June 2026 the average residential price was 15.94 cents in Texas, against 18.34 nationally, 29.49 in New York, 29.61 in Massachusetts, and 34.74 in California. But the average Texas home used 1,096 kilowatt-hours a month in 2024, about double a California or New York home, because the air conditioner carries the summer. The result: the average Texas electric bill was $163.72 a month. California was $160.86, Massachusetts was $167.20, New York was $139.53, and the national average was $142.26.

So do not budget a utility windfall. What mostly goes away is the northern winter heating bill, which is its own line in Boston or Chicago and a small one here. Those are statewide averages from the Energy Information Administration, not a quote for your house.

Gasoline

Houston is a driving city, so the pump price matters. For the week of September 14, 2026, regular gasoline averaged $3.74 a gallon in Houston. The national average was $4.32. Boston was $4.27, Denver $4.25, New York City $4.37, Chicago $4.42, Seattle $5.65, Los Angeles $5.81, and San Francisco $5.93. A household that burns 1,000 gallons a year saves about $630 against New York City prices and about $2,070 against Los Angeles prices at that week’s numbers. Prices move every week, so treat it as a snapshot.

Homeowner’s insurance (the trade-off line)

This is the line where Houston costs more, and I would rather you hear it from me. The most recent state averages from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners put the average Texas homeowner’s premium at $2,397 a year, third-highest in the country, against a national average of $1,569. Those are 2022 policies and a statewide figure, so treat them as a starting point, not a quote. Wind and hail coverage, the age of the roof, and the distance from the coast all move the number, and flood insurance is a separate policy. Get real quotes on the specific house during the option period, before you are committed.

Groceries, restaurants, services

The Bureau of Economic Analysis splits its index into goods, housing, and other services. For goods, which includes groceries, Houston is 100.6 against 110.3 in the New York metro and 108.5 in San Francisco. For services other than housing, Houston is 95.6 against 105.8 and 106.2. For rent, Houston is 104.5 against 148.6 and 194.7. Day to day, Houston prices run at or a little under the national level. Those two coastal metros run about 6 to 10 percent over it before you get to housing.

Commute + transit

Houston is a driving city, and I will not dress that up. Plan on a car for every working adult. If you are coming from New York, Boston, Chicago, or Washington and you live without one now, that is a new line in your budget: the car, the insurance, the gas, and in some districts the parking at work. The transit pass goes away. The car does not replace it one for one. Where you live relative to the job matters more here than in most metros, which is why I start every relocation search with the commute.

Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A (June 2026 residential prices) and 2024 Average Monthly Bill, Residential. EIA weekly retail gasoline prices, regular grade, week of September 14, 2026; the savings lines are arithmetic on those prices at 1,000 gallons a year. National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 2022 average homeowners premiums for the HO-3 policy, as published by the Insurance Information Institute. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

For sellers in expensive metros

The home-price gap is where the move changes your math

If you own in New York, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Boston, or Seattle, the biggest number in this move is not a tax. It is the gap between what the median home sells for there and here. Below is that gap at the median, using Redfin’s August 2026 metro figures, with Houston at $331,821.

That is a price gap, not your check. What you walk away with depends on your loan balance, your selling costs, and any tax on the gain, and that is a conversation for your CPA before you list. It also does not mean you will buy the median Houston house. Second-quarter medians from the Houston MLS: Katy $350,000, Pearland $385,000, Cypress $430,000, Sugar Land $485,000, The Woodlands $682,500, and Bellaire $1,320,000 on a small sample of 55 sales.

Some out-of-state buyers I work with put the difference into a paid-off house. Some keep a mortgage and invest the cash (see the Houston investor guide and portfolio scaling guide). Some go halfway. The right answer depends on your CPA conversation and your existing assets, not on a number a relocation calculator can produce.

Sources: Redfin, August 2026 metro-level median sale prices, published September 9, 2026. Houston Association of REALTORS® MLS, single-family homes that went under contract April 1 to June 30, 2026 and have since closed, pulled September 20, 2026.