Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 38.1% more expensive than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.5% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 45.7% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 10.9% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 28.9% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 82.2% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.2% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 24.1% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, clothing, and restaurants in Washington are more expensive than in Houston. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Houston, you would:
pay 21.5% more for restaurants
|
Houston
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$2.79
|
|
Houston vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 45.7% more for groceries
|
Houston
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.32
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.20
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.64
|
|
Houston vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 10.9% more for transportation
|
Houston
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,278.39
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$16.73
|
|
Houston vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 28.9% more for housing
|
Houston
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.76
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,660.33
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,287.77
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$145.65
|
$146.54
|
|
Houston vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 82.2% more for childcare
|
Houston
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,258.33
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,120.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Houston vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 53.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.41
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.95
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.29
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.75
|
|
Houston vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.1% more for clothing
|
Houston
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.57
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.00
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.95
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$116.43
|
$133.22
|
|
Houston vs. Washington - 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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