Cost of living comparison
compared to
Detroit vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
Detroit is 3.3% cheaper than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.4% less in Detroit
- Groceries
-
pay 16.2% more in Detroit
- Transportation
-
pay 0.6% more in Detroit
- Housing
-
pay 6.2% less in Detroit
- Childcare
-
pay 16.4% less in Detroit
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.8% less in Detroit
- Clothing
-
pay 2.1% less in Detroit
The cost of groceries and transportation in Detroit are more expensive than in Houston. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Detroit.
Detroit vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Detroit instead of Houston, you would:
pay 12.4% less for restaurants
|
Houston
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$2.59
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$1.82
|
|
Houston vs. Detroit - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.2% more for groceries
|
Houston
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$3.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.32
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$3.58
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$3.58
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.20
|
$5.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$2.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$2.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.13
|
|
Houston vs. Detroit - Cost of groceries
pay 0.6% more for transportation
|
Houston
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$3.40
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$66.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$13.68
|
|
Houston vs. Detroit - Cost of transportation
pay 6.2% less for housing
|
Houston
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.76
|
$52.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,660.33
|
$1,450.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,287.77
|
$1,058.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$145.65
|
$192.03
|
|
Houston vs. Detroit - Cost of housing
pay 16.4% less for childcare
|
Houston
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,258.33
|
$1,294.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,120.00
|
$16,800.00
|
|
Houston vs. Detroit - Cost of childcare
pay 2.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.41
|
$4.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.95
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.29
|
$43.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$12.50
|
|
Houston vs. Detroit - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.1% less for clothing
|
Houston
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.57
|
$59.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.00
|
$31.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.95
|
$97.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.43
|
$109.00
|
|
Houston vs. Detroit - 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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