Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. Los Angeles Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 17.4% cheaper than Los Angeles.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.8% less in Houston
- Groceries
-
pay 27.3% less in Houston
- Transportation
-
pay 17.6% less in Houston
- Housing
-
pay 20.1% less in Houston
- Childcare
-
pay 16.0% less in Houston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.5% less in Houston
- Clothing
-
pay 12.3% less in Houston
Expenses including groceries, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, childcare, and clothing are lower in Houston.
Houston vs. Los Angeles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of Los Angeles, you would:
pay 11.8% less for restaurants
|
Los Angeles
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$2.23
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.3% less for groceries
|
Los Angeles
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.52
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$6.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.43
|
$4.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.55
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.05
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
pay 17.6% less for transportation
|
Los Angeles
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$2.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$93.48
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$14.39
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
pay 20.1% less for housing
|
Los Angeles
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.01
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,536.54
|
$1,660.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,984.71
|
$1,287.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$145.65
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Houston - Cost of housing
pay 16.0% less for childcare
|
Los Angeles
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$1,258.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,000.00
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
pay 16.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Los Angeles
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.76
|
$5.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$47.45
|
$37.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.3% less for clothing
|
Los Angeles
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$116.43
|
|
Los Angeles 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
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Houston or Los Angeles. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.