Moving to Texas from Indiana
What to Expect
Considering a move from Indiana to Texas? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Indiana to Texas, you would find that Texas is 8.4% more expensive than Indiana. A $75,000 salary in Indiana would need to be roughly $81,300 in Texas to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Houston averages 80°F vs 62°F in Indianapolis, making it significantly warmer. Indianapolis and Houston are about 870 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 Indiana?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 10.6% more
Groceries
pay 3.4% more
Transportation
pay 12.9% more
Housing
pay 7.8% more
Childcare
pay 15.9% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.9% more
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 → $81,300
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 8% more than cities in Indiana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Texas compared to Indiana.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Indiana performs better than Texas 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
Indiana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Texas leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Indiana performs better than Texas across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Indiana generally does better on infrastructure, though Texas leads in internet access.
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
Indiana generally does better on employment & economy, though Texas leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Texas performs significantly better than Indiana 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 Indiana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Indianapolis | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 42°/26°F (6°/-3°C) | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/53°F (22°/12°C) | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 81°/63°F (27°/17°C) | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/35°F (11°/2°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) |
View all months
| Month | Indianapolis | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35°/21°F (1.7°/-6.1°C) | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) |
| Feb | 40°/24°F (4.4°/-4.4°C) | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) |
| Mar | 51°/33°F (10.8°/0.8°C) | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) |
| Apr | 63°/44°F (17.1°/6.4°C) | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) |
| May | 72°/53°F (22.5°/11.7°C) | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) |
| Jun | 81°/63°F (27.4°/17.4°C) | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) |
| Jul | 84°/67°F (28.8°/19.2°C) | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) |
| Aug | 83°/65°F (28.4°/18.3°C) | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) |
| Sep | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.9°C) | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) |
| Oct | 64°/45°F (18.0°/7.3°C) | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) |
| Nov | 52°/36°F (11.0°/2.3°C) | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) |
| Dec | 38°/25°F (3.6°/-3.9°C) | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Texas than Indiana?
On average Texas is around 8% pricier than Indiana, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Texas?
Budget about $20,325 for 3 months in Texas (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Texas safe?
Indiana performs better than Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Texas compared to Indiana?
Indiana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Texas leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Texas compared to Indiana?
The average high temperature in Houston is 80°F, compared to 62°F in Indianapolis. Houston receives around 49.8 in of rainfall per year, while Indianapolis gets 40.8 in.
