Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. Miami Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 13.3% cheaper than Miami.
- Restaurants
-
pay 25.3% less in Houston
- Groceries
-
pay 17.2% less in Houston
- Transportation
-
pay 14.6% less in Houston
- Housing
-
pay 10.8% less in Houston
- Childcare
-
pay 6.7% less in Houston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.4% less in Houston
- Clothing
-
pay 4.3% less in Houston
Expenses including restaurants, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, and childcare are lower in Houston.
Houston vs. Miami Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of Miami, you would:
pay 25.3% less for restaurants
|
Miami
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.45
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.97
|
$2.23
|
|
Miami vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 17.2% less for groceries
|
Miami
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.95
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.71
|
$6.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.18
|
$4.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.65
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.28
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.95
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.14
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$1.05
|
|
Miami vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 14.6% less for transportation
|
Miami
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.29
|
$2.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$103.75
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,105.50
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.38
|
$14.39
|
|
Miami vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 10.8% less for housing
|
Miami
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.02
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,961.90
|
$1,660.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,080.77
|
$1,287.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$113.50
|
$145.65
|
|
Miami vs. Houston - Cost of housing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 6.7% less for childcare
|
Miami
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,504.55
|
$1,258.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,375.00
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Miami vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 14.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Miami
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$5.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.27
|
$37.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Miami vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 4.3% less for clothing
|
Miami
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.30
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.79
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$92.62
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.71
|
$116.43
|
|
Miami vs. Houston - Cost of clothing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
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 Miami. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.