Moving to Texas from California
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from California to Texas — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from California to Texas, you would find that Texas is 27.1% cheaper than California. A $75,000 salary in California would need to be roughly $54,700 in Texas to maintain the same lifestyle. Los Angeles and Houston are about 1,350 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Texas? Get a shortlist of towns in Texas that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Texas cheaper than California?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 15.8% less
Groceries
pay 22.6% less
Transportation
pay 17.0% less
Housing
pay 40.2% less
Childcare
pay 24.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 20.9% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Texas?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $54,700
To maintain the same standard of living in Texas
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Texas cost about 32% less than cities in California.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from California to Texas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Texas performs significantly better than California across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
California performs better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Texas performs significantly better than California across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
California generally does better on infrastructure, though Texas leads in average commute.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
California generally does better on employment & economy, though Texas leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
California performs better than Texas across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Texas vs California
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Los Angeles | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 69°/49°F (21°/10°C) | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 75°/57°F (24°/14°C) | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/64°F (29°/18°C) | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/53°F (23°/12°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) |
View all months
| Month | Los Angeles | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68°/48°F (20.1°/8.8°C) | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) |
| Feb | 69°/49°F (20.3°/9.6°C) | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) |
| Mar | 70°/51°F (21.2°/10.6°C) | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) |
| Apr | 73°/53°F (22.6°/11.9°C) | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) |
| May | 74°/57°F (23.6°/13.9°C) | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) |
| Jun | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) |
| Jul | 83°/64°F (28.4°/17.6°C) | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) |
| Aug | 84°/64°F (29.1°/17.8°C) | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) |
| Sep | 83°/63°F (28.4°/17.3°C) | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) |
| Oct | 78°/59°F (25.8°/14.8°C) | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) |
| Nov | 73°/52°F (22.7°/11.1°C) | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) |
| Dec | 68°/47°F (19.8°/8.6°C) | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Texas than California?
Yes — Texas is on average about 27% cheaper than California. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Texas?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $13,675 in Texas on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Texas safe?
Texas performs significantly better than California across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Texas compared to California?
California performs better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Texas compared to California?
The average high temperature in Houston is 80°F, compared to 75°F in Los Angeles. Houston receives around 49.8 in of rainfall per year, while Los Angeles gets 14.9 in.
