Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. Arkansas Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 16.5% more expensive than Arkansas.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.7% more in Houston
- Groceries
-
pay 4.3% more in Houston
- Transportation
-
pay 34.7% more in Houston
- Housing
-
pay 18.7% more in Houston
- Childcare
-
pay 27.2% more in Houston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.5% more in Houston
- Clothing
-
pay 11.1% more in Houston
The cost of transportation, childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants in Houston are more expensive than in Arkansas.
Houston vs. Arkansas Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of Arkansas, you would:
pay 7.7% more for restaurants
|
Arkansas
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.64
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.93
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.51
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
|
$2.23
|
|
Arkansas vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.3% more for groceries
|
Arkansas
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.50
|
$6.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.55
|
$4.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.65
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.62
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.07
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.07
|
$1.05
|
|
Arkansas vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
pay 34.7% more for transportation
|
Arkansas
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.79
|
$2.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.67
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,285.97
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.84
|
$14.39
|
|
Arkansas vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
pay 18.7% more for housing
|
Arkansas
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.56
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,168.77
|
$1,660.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$935.60
|
$1,287.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$161.48
|
$145.65
|
|
Arkansas vs. Houston - Cost of housing
pay 27.2% more for childcare
|
Arkansas
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,014.29
|
$1,258.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,052.00
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Arkansas vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
pay 11.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Arkansas
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.21
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.04
|
$5.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.05
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.35
|
$37.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.86
|
$15.00
|
|
Arkansas vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.1% more for clothing
|
Arkansas
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.00
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.19
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.86
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.24
|
$116.43
|
|
Arkansas vs. Houston - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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