Cost of living comparison
compared to
Houston vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Houston is 22.8% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.6% less in Houston
- Groceries
-
pay 27.4% less in Houston
- Transportation
-
pay 9.0% less in Houston
- Housing
-
pay 18.1% less in Houston
- Childcare
-
pay 43.8% less in Houston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 26.8% less in Houston
- Clothing
-
pay 16.7% less in Houston
Expenses including childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Houston.
Houston vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Houston instead of Washington, you would:
pay 17.6% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.23
|
|
Washington vs. Houston - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.4% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.05
|
|
Washington vs. Houston - Cost of groceries
pay 9.0% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$2.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$14.39
|
|
Washington vs. Houston - Cost of transportation
pay 18.1% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,660.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,287.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$145.65
|
|
Washington vs. Houston - Cost of housing
pay 43.8% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,258.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Washington vs. Houston - Cost of childcare
pay 26.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.95
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$37.29
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.00
|
|
Washington vs. Houston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.7% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Houston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$116.43
|
|
Washington 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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