Moving to Texas from New Jersey
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from New Jersey to Texas — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from New Jersey to Texas, you would find that Texas is 24.0% cheaper than New Jersey. A $75,000 salary in New Jersey would need to be roughly $57,000 in Texas to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Houston averages 80°F vs 67°F in Newark, making it significantly warmer. Newark and Houston are about 1,400 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 New Jersey?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 5.6% less
Groceries
pay 23.4% less
Transportation
pay 16.4% less
Housing
pay 35.0% less
Childcare
pay 22.0% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 20.3% 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 → $57,000
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 21% less than cities in New Jersey.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How New Jersey and Texas stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New Jersey 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
New Jersey 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 generally does better on what about housing?, though New Jersey leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
New Jersey 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
New Jersey 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
New Jersey 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 New Jersey
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Newark | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/27°F (9°/-2°C) | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 76°/51°F (24°/11°C) | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/63°F (29°/17°C) | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 58°/36°F (14°/2°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) |
View all months
| Month | Newark | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/24°F (5.6°/-4.4°C) | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) |
| Feb | 46°/26°F (7.7°/-3.2°C) | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) |
| Mar | 55°/32°F (12.7°/0.2°C) | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) |
| Apr | 67°/42°F (19.4°/5.3°C) | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) |
| May | 76°/51°F (24.6°/10.7°C) | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) |
| Jun | 85°/61°F (29.5°/16.3°C) | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) |
| Jul | 88°/66°F (31.2°/18.8°C) | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) |
| Aug | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.1°C) | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) |
| Sep | 80°/57°F (26.5°/14.0°C) | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) |
| Oct | 69°/45°F (20.4°/7.3°C) | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) |
| Nov | 58°/36°F (14.2°/2.4°C) | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) |
| Dec | 46°/28°F (7.8°/-2.2°C) | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Texas than New Jersey?
Generally yes: Texas runs about 24% cheaper than New Jersey on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Texas?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $14,250 in Texas for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Texas safe?
New Jersey performs better than Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Texas compared to New Jersey?
New Jersey performs better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Texas compared to New Jersey?
The average high temperature in Houston is 80°F, compared to 67°F in Newark. Houston receives around 49.8 in of rainfall per year, while Newark gets 46.2 in.
