Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. Salt Lake City Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 4.0% more expensive than Salt Lake City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.4% more in Houston
- Groceries
-
pay 7.0% less in Houston
- Transportation
-
pay 5.1% less in Houston
- Housing
-
pay 2.3% less in Houston
- Childcare
-
pay 31.5% more in Houston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.9% more in Houston
- Clothing
-
pay 6.4% less in Houston
The cost of childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Houston are more expensive than in Salt Lake City. Expenses including groceries, clothing, transportation, and housing are lower in Houston.
Houston vs. Salt Lake City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of Salt Lake City, you would:
pay 11.4% more for restaurants
|
Salt Lake City
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.25
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.23
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.83
|
$2.23
|
|
Salt Lake City vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.0% less for groceries
|
Salt Lake City
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.43
|
$6.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.47
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.23
|
$4.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.60
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.05
|
|
Salt Lake City vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
pay 5.1% less for transportation
|
Salt Lake City
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.36
|
$2.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$85.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,677.84
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.93
|
$14.39
|
|
Salt Lake City vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
pay 2.3% less for housing
|
Salt Lake City
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$80.00
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,633.85
|
$1,660.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,392.27
|
$1,287.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.44
|
$145.65
|
|
Salt Lake City vs. Houston - Cost of housing
pay 31.5% more for childcare
|
Salt Lake City
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,044.00
|
$1,258.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,333.33
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Salt Lake City vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
pay 5.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Salt Lake City
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.19
|
$5.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.67
|
$37.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Salt Lake City vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.4% less for clothing
|
Salt Lake City
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.17
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.00
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$100.83
|
$116.43
|
|
Salt Lake City 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
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