Moving to New York from Texas
What to Expect
Considering a move from Texas to New York? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Texas to New York, you would find that New York is 26.4% more expensive than Texas. A $75,000 salary in Texas would need to be roughly $94,800 in New York to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — New York City averages 62°F vs 80°F in Houston, making it significantly cooler. Houston and New York City are about 1,400 mi apart.
Is New York cheaper than Texas?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 11.9% more
Groceries
pay 21.4% more
Transportation
pay 17.6% more
Housing
pay 42.6% more
Childcare
pay 35.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 25.3% 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 New York?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $94,800
To maintain the same standard of living in New York
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 New York cost about 21% more than cities in Texas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in New York compared to Texas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New York performs significantly 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 significantly 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 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 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
Texas generally does better on employment & economy, though New York 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
New York performs significantly 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 New York vs Texas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Houston | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) | 43°/30°F (6°/-1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) | 70°/54°F (21°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) | 81°/66°F (27°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) | 54°/41°F (12°/5°C) |
View all months
| Month | Houston | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) | 38°/27°F (3.5°/-2.8°C) |
| Feb | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) | 42°/29°F (5.3°/-1.7°C) |
| Mar | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) | 50°/35°F (9.8°/1.8°C) |
| Apr | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) | 61°/45°F (16.2°/7.1°C) |
| May | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) | 71°/54°F (21.6°/12.2°C) |
| Jun | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) | 79°/64°F (26.3°/17.6°C) |
| Jul | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) | 84°/69°F (28.9°/20.4°C) |
| Aug | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) | 83°/68°F (28.1°/19.9°C) |
| Sep | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) | 75°/61°F (24.0°/16.0°C) |
| Oct | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) | 64°/50°F (17.7°/10.0°C) |
| Nov | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) | 54°/42°F (12.1°/5.3°C) |
| Dec | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) | 43°/32°F (6.1°/0.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in New York than Texas?
On average New York is around 26% pricier than Texas, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to New York?
Budget about $23,700 for 3 months in New York (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is New York safe?
New York performs significantly better than Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in New York compared to Texas?
New York performs significantly better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in New York compared to Texas?
The average high temperature in New York City is 62°F, compared to 80°F in Houston. New York City receives around 49.9 in of rainfall per year, while Houston gets 49.8 in.
