Cost of living comparison
compared to
Oakland vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
Oakland is 38.1% more expensive than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 27.6% more in Oakland
- Groceries
-
pay 67.7% more in Oakland
- Transportation
-
pay 26.9% more in Oakland
- Housing
-
pay 22.3% more in Oakland
- Childcare
-
pay 81.2% more in Oakland
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.9% more in Oakland
- Clothing
-
pay 24.4% more in Oakland
The cost of childcare, groceries, restaurants, transportation, clothing, and housing in Oakland are more expensive than in Houston. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Oakland.
Oakland vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Oakland instead of Houston, you would:
pay 27.6% more for restaurants
|
Houston
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$2.93
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$2.33
|
|
Houston vs. Oakland - Cost of restaurants
pay 67.7% more for groceries
|
Houston
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$5.27
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.32
|
$10.35
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$5.46
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$6.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.20
|
$6.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$3.53
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$2.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$2.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$2.04
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.55
|
|
Houston vs. Oakland - Cost of groceries
pay 26.9% more for transportation
|
Houston
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$4.79
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$85.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$23,894.01
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$22.70
|
|
Houston vs. Oakland - Cost of transportation
pay 22.3% more for housing
|
Houston
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.76
|
$63.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,660.33
|
$2,035.71
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,287.77
|
$1,883.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$145.65
|
$190.70
|
|
Houston vs. Oakland - Cost of housing
pay 81.2% more for childcare
|
Houston
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,258.33
|
$2,738.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,120.00
|
$37,770.00
|
|
Houston vs. Oakland - Cost of childcare
pay 16.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.41
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.95
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.29
|
$54.28
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$14.50
|
|
Houston vs. Oakland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.4% more for clothing
|
Houston
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.57
|
$72.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.00
|
$56.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.95
|
$103.17
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.43
|
$124.75
|
|
Houston vs. Oakland - 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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