Cost of living comparison
compared to
New Jersey vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
New Jersey is 21.3% more expensive than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.3% more in New Jersey
- Groceries
-
pay 42.2% more in New Jersey
- Transportation
-
pay 24.5% more in New Jersey
- Housing
-
pay 14.8% more in New Jersey
- Childcare
-
pay 32.6% more in New Jersey
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.5% more in New Jersey
- Clothing
-
pay 14.1% more in New Jersey
The cost of groceries, childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in New Jersey are more expensive than in Houston.
New Jersey vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New Jersey instead of Houston, you would:
pay 2.3% more for restaurants
|
Houston
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$19.95
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.40
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$2.60
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$2.04
|
|
Houston vs. New Jersey - Cost of restaurants
pay 42.2% more for groceries
|
Houston
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$4.17
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.32
|
$8.09
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$5.24
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.20
|
$5.96
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.98
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$2.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$1.44
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.60
|
|
Houston vs. New Jersey - Cost of groceries
pay 24.5% more for transportation
|
Houston
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$3.24
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$116.02
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$32,841.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$19.75
|
|
Houston vs. New Jersey - Cost of transportation
pay 14.8% more for housing
|
Houston
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.76
|
$62.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,660.33
|
$2,279.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,287.77
|
$1,885.98
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$145.65
|
$126.74
|
|
Houston vs. New Jersey - Cost of housing
pay 32.6% more for childcare
|
Houston
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,258.33
|
$2,023.96
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,120.00
|
$27,267.62
|
|
Houston vs. New Jersey - Cost of childcare
pay 18.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$6.95
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.41
|
$5.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.95
|
$12.79
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.29
|
$52.90
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.52
|
|
Houston vs. New Jersey - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.1% more for clothing
|
Houston
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.57
|
$57.64
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.00
|
$49.26
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.95
|
$99.28
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.43
|
$136.81
|
|
Houston vs. New Jersey - 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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