What is Houston's cost-of-living index?

Houston's composite cost-of-living index is roughly 96, where the US national average is set to 100. That means living in Houston costs about 4% less than the typical US metro overall, driven mainly by relatively affordable housing.

Which categories are cheapest in Houston?

Housing is Houston's strongest advantage, typically well below the national average thanks to abundant land and no zoning. Groceries and healthcare sit near average, while utilities can run slightly higher because of summer air conditioning demand.

How do I use the index to compare salaries?

Multiply a salary by the ratio of the two indices. To match a $100,000 national-average lifestyle in Houston you need about $96,000, because Houston's index is 96 versus 100 nationally.

Does the index include taxes?

Cost-of-living indices focus on consumer prices for housing, food, transport, utilities, and healthcare, not income tax. Texas has no state income tax, which improves take-home pay separately from the price index shown here.

How accurate is a single composite index?

It is a useful headline but smooths over big differences. A renter in an expensive neighborhood and a homeowner in the suburbs experience very different costs, so treat 96 as a metro-wide average and adjust for your situation.

Houston Cost-of-Living Index

A Houston cost-of-living index tool that translates money between the national baseline and Houston. Cost-of-living indices set the US average to 100; Houston’s composite sits at about 96, meaning the metro is roughly 4% cheaper than the typical American city overall. This calculator uses that index to convert salaries and budgets in either direction and shows where Houston’s savings actually come from.

How it works

Each spending category carries its own index relative to the national average of 100. Houston’s largest advantage is housing, which sits well below 100; groceries and healthcare hover near average; and utilities can edge slightly above because of heavy summer cooling. The composite index of 96 is a weighted blend of those categories.

To convert a dollar amount you scale by the ratio of the indices:

Houston equivalent = US amount x (96 / 100), and the reverse is US equivalent = Houston amount x (100 / 96).

So a budget that buys a national-average lifestyle costs about 4% less in Houston, and a Houston budget needs about 4% more to buy the same lifestyle nationally. The tool applies this per category so you can see, for example, how much of the savings is housing versus everything else.

Example and notes

A $100,000 national-average lifestyle is reproduced in Houston for about $96,000. Because most of that gap is housing, a renter or buyer captures more of the saving than someone whose budget is mostly groceries and utilities.

Notes: indices are metro-wide averages and move over time as housing markets shift, so treat 96 as a benchmark, not a precise quote for your address. The index measures consumer prices only — Texas’s lack of state income tax is a separate boost to take-home pay. All calculations run locally in your browser.