Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. North Carolina Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 4.3% more expensive than North Carolina.
Houston vs. North Carolina Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of North Carolina, you would:
pay 9.1% more for restaurants
|
North Carolina
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.13
|
$20.38
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.72
|
$10.14
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.89
|
$2.32
|
|
North Carolina vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.9% less for groceries
|
North Carolina
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.91
|
$3.33
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.07
|
$5.66
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.68
|
$3.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$3.48
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.37
|
$5.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.40
|
$1.82
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.80
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$1.38
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.33
|
$1.71
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.79
|
$1.24
|
|
North Carolina vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
pay 5.2% more for transportation
|
North Carolina
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.48
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$58.44
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,285.88
|
$36,232.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.96
|
$14.39
|
|
North Carolina vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
pay 17.7% more for housing
|
North Carolina
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.72
|
$74.61
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,476.83
|
$1,678.93
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,144.24
|
$1,381.10
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$131.34
|
$160.23
|
|
North Carolina vs. Houston - Cost of housing
pay 34.9% more for childcare
|
North Carolina
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,224.94
|
$2,193.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$21,882.53
|
$22,233.33
|
|
North Carolina vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
pay 0.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
North Carolina
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.39
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
|
$5.27
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.25
|
$9.73
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.42
|
$40.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.30
|
$15.00
|
|
North Carolina vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.3% more for clothing
|
North Carolina
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.53
|
$49.91
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.74
|
$47.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.04
|
$104.92
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.84
|
$94.80
|
|
North Carolina vs. Houston - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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