Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. District of Columbia Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 22.8% cheaper than District of Columbia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.6% less in Houston
- Groceries
-
pay 27.4% less in Houston
- Transportation
-
pay 9.0% less in Houston
- Housing
-
pay 18.1% less in Houston
- Childcare
-
pay 43.8% less in Houston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 26.8% less in Houston
- Clothing
-
pay 16.7% less in Houston
Expenses including childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Houston.
Houston vs. District of Columbia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of District of Columbia, you would:
pay 17.6% less for restaurants
|
District of Columbia
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.23
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.4% less for groceries
|
District of Columbia
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.05
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
pay 9.0% less for transportation
|
District of Columbia
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$2.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$14.39
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
pay 18.1% less for housing
|
District of Columbia
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,660.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,287.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$145.65
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Houston - Cost of housing
pay 43.8% less for childcare
|
District of Columbia
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,258.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$26,120.00
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
pay 26.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
District of Columbia
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$37.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.00
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.7% less for clothing
|
District of Columbia
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$116.43
|
|
District of Columbia 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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