Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. Tampa Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 1.5% cheaper than Tampa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.5% less in Houston
- Groceries
-
pay 20.3% less in Houston
- Transportation
-
pay 5.5% less in Houston
- Housing
-
pay 14.3% less in Houston
- Childcare
-
pay 39.8% more in Houston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.3% more in Houston
- Clothing
-
pay 0.9% less in Houston
The cost of childcare and entertainment and sports in Houston are more expensive than in Tampa. Expenses including groceries, housing, restaurants, transportation, and clothing are lower in Houston.
Houston vs. Tampa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of Tampa, you would:
pay 10.5% less for restaurants
|
Tampa
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.98
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.25
|
$2.23
|
|
Tampa vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.3% less for groceries
|
Tampa
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.06
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.15
|
$6.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.66
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.65
|
$4.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.42
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.67
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.13
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.37
|
$1.05
|
|
Tampa vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
pay 5.5% less for transportation
|
Tampa
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.35
|
$2.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,050.00
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$14.39
|
|
Tampa vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
pay 14.3% less for housing
|
Tampa
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.88
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,112.68
|
$1,660.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,612.18
|
$1,287.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$172.81
|
$145.65
|
|
Tampa vs. Houston - Cost of housing
pay 39.8% more for childcare
|
Tampa
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,281.67
|
$1,258.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,400.00
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Tampa vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
pay 1.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Tampa
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.78
|
$5.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.00
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.71
|
$37.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Tampa vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.9% less for clothing
|
Tampa
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.43
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.33
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$92.12
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$128.78
|
$116.43
|
|
Tampa 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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