Moving to Texas from New York
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from New York to Texas — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from New York to Texas, you would find that Texas is 20.9% cheaper than New York. A $75,000 salary in New York would need to be roughly $59,300 in Texas to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Houston averages 80°F vs 62°F in New York City, making it significantly warmer. New York City and Houston are about 1,400 mi apart.
Is Texas cheaper than New York?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 10.7% less
Groceries
pay 17.6% less
Transportation
pay 14.9% less
Housing
pay 29.9% less
Childcare
pay 26.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 20.2% 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 → $59,300
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 18% less than cities in New York.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from New York to Texas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New York 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 York 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 New York across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Texas performs significantly better than New York across all infrastructure metrics.
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 York 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 York 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 York
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | New York City | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 43°/30°F (6°/-1°C) | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 70°/54°F (21°/12°C) | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 81°/66°F (27°/19°C) | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 54°/41°F (12°/5°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) |
View all months
| Month | New York City | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38°/27°F (3.5°/-2.8°C) | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) |
| Feb | 42°/29°F (5.3°/-1.7°C) | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) |
| Mar | 50°/35°F (9.8°/1.8°C) | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) |
| Apr | 61°/45°F (16.2°/7.1°C) | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) |
| May | 71°/54°F (21.6°/12.2°C) | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) |
| Jun | 79°/64°F (26.3°/17.6°C) | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) |
| Jul | 84°/69°F (28.9°/20.4°C) | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) |
| Aug | 83°/68°F (28.1°/19.9°C) | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) |
| Sep | 75°/61°F (24.0°/16.0°C) | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) |
| Oct | 64°/50°F (17.7°/10.0°C) | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) |
| Nov | 54°/42°F (12.1°/5.3°C) | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) |
| Dec | 43°/32°F (6.1°/0.0°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 York?
Yes — Texas is on average about 21% cheaper than New York. 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 $14,825 in Texas on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Texas safe?
New York performs better than Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Texas compared to New York?
New York performs better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Texas compared to New York?
The average high temperature in Houston is 80°F, compared to 62°F in New York City. Houston receives around 49.8 in of rainfall per year, while New York City gets 49.9 in.
