Cost of Living in Houston (2024)

Houston, and the U.S.A. in general, has a much lower purchasing power than other countries :

https://gfmag.com/data/richest-countries-in-the-world/

@K O houston has lower COL and higher wages than toronto. It also has Rice Univ, which is better than all universities in toronto

there is also more hatred towards Chinese people in toronto due to Chinese investment in real estate, which has driven up toronto real estate prices.

Also, other canadians that moved to texas have stated than texans are nicer than people in toronto lol

To the commenter below. Houston doesn't have an unhealthy worship of right-wing politics; it's a blue city - don't apply Texas statements to one city. You're also making other sweeping generalizations with no data to back your bias.

I agree that you make a couple points, but going over the top with unfounded claims is just hard to read.

Houston will never compare to Toronto, known to be the most diverse city and the third-largest tech hub in the world.

Toronto: low crime rate, a reasonable amount of public transport, events like the Toronto International Film Festival, a strong appreciation for immigrants and global perspectives, polite and friendly, a city that is improving every day despite ongoing challenges, great 21st century economy

Houston: high crime rate, non-existent public transport, an unhealthy worship of guns and right-wing politics, a dislike towards outsiders (even from other states like California and New York!!!), low rates of education, rude and conceited for no reason, stagnant economy in favour of oil

Houston, diverse and worldly? Ha! It’s a glorified San Antonio.

I am from a third world country and Houston honestly reminded me of home, and that is NOT a good thing. There is so much poverty, rundown buildings, homeless people, gang violence, and jobs that don't even pay living wages. The public transportation is somehow even worse than in my home country, the roads are bumpy and full of potholes, and the city is poorly organized and everything highly spread out. Last year I left Houston for Boston, and I do not regret that decision one bit. Really, Houston is a perfect example of what a first world city shouldn't be.

I didn't leave a third world country to go to a third world city like Houston.

I came from California (Bay Area) to Texas back in 2017, first to Austin and now in Houston since last year. Austin wasn't as nice as the Bay Area but still okay. Houston has been a horrible experience so far. The cost of living is lower but so is the standard of living here. Jobs here pay only about half of what they do back in California, the traffic in Houston is a nightmare. I spend about an hour driving wo and from work and there isn't much public transportation. It is unbearably hot most of the year, there is more poverty and homelessness here than even in San Francisco, and the crime here is absolutely horrible.

If you are going to come to Texas for whatever reason, stay away from Houston! Austin is okay, but Houston is a nightmare!

The idea that Houston's economy is among the strongest is overrated. GDP per capita is either stagnant or declining. It's only recently that a few tech companies have expanded operations in Houston, so Houston is behind in that regard. The local economy is still at the mercy of Big Oil, even if there has been some diversification in the last 30 years. And the relatively lower cost of living doesn't necessarily mean better living standards, as Houston's income inequality is on par with New York and the San Francisco Bay Area, two areas that are notoriously expensive. Loads of people still struggle to make ends meet.

I wonder why people think Texas is a safe state, when Houston is pretty dangerous. The Houston murder rate may be lower than Chicago, but it is higher than New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Boston, not to mention a myriad of cities in the rest of the developed world. Also, robbery and car theft are rampant; the rate of these crimes are not even low in affluent parts of the city. And the road rage shootings are ridiculous. Does anyone remember when a toddler was in hospital because a motorist shot at a car with fireworks in it, and the little boy was inside the said car? Unfortunately, events like this aren't rare in Houston, and are all but treated as a fact of life.

Liberal and progressive place, are you kidding me? Aside from the lack of protections for the LGBTQ community (which every major city has already without a problem), it's still seemingly acceptable to wave the Confederate flag here in 2021. I think I saw the battle flag a few times this past year (on the road and in the store) when getting groceries. Conservative evangelical beliefs rule the way of life here. You still cannot buy liquor on Sunday. There are no radio stations for classical music or eclectic music, but there are several Christian radio stations all over the dial, both in English and Spanish. KTRH (home of Rush Limbaugh, Michael Berry, and Sean Hannity) is a wildly popular radio station, while the local NPR station (KUHF) is low in the ratings. Joel Osteen is still revered by large swaths of the population. And it's not like the residents of Alief, Sharpstown, Acres Homes, Energy Corridor, and Greenspoint are "liberal", given that they are still conservative when it comes to LGBTQ rights and reproductive rights. In fact, there are lots of Donald Trump supporters in Alief and Sharpstown (yes, it's true, look at a voting precinct map). Oh, and there's no train of any kind to IAH or any of the populous, "fast-growing" suburbs.

Seriously, it's going to take more than Cajun pho to fix all of this.

I have been living in Houston since 2014 and I can tell you from experience that while the overall cost of living is lower in Houston compared to many other US cities, the average wages are also lower, so it really doesn't matter. While the Houston economy is considered "strong" thanks to the energy industry, the quality of life here is pretty low. There is a lot of poverty, lots of homeless people, lots of violent crime (more than any other major city I have lived in), bad public transportation, poorly maintained roads, garbage on the streets and sidewalks, and many parts of the city have a horrible smell.

Overall, I would say that Houston is definitely not worth it. Both New York and Boston are far better options in my experience.