Auckland vs Houston - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Auckland	Houston
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2156	$2265
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4802	$5394
🏠 One person rent	$1242	$1281
🏘️ Family rent	$1967	$2031
🍽️ Food expenses	$543	$603
🚐 Transport expenses	$242	$201
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3398	$4606
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	17 km
🎓 Higher education	32	100
😀 Quality of life	89	95
🏙️ Population	1.47M	2.3M

The cost of living in Auckland is 5% less expensive than in Houston. Cities ranked 1604th and 1354th ($2156 vs $2265) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1137th in New Zealand and the United States, respectively. Check New Zealand vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Auckland compared to 2 months in Houston. Auckland ranked 1st best city to live in New Zealand vs Houston ranked 1st in the United States, while ranked 240th and 16th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Auckland vs Houston

Prices for goods and services in Auckland and Houston are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Auckland	Houston
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$13.5	$18.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$71.5	$73.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.86	$10.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.14	$6.31
☕ Cappuccino	$3.63	$5.52
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.35	$2.74
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1205	$1411
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1071	$1003
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2099	$2380
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1689	$1609
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$94.7	$132
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$147	$204
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$49.2	$63.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.07%	6.39%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7507	$2542
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5316	$1944
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.91	$1.24
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$131	$71.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.4	$21.8
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.63	$0.72
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.75	$0.9
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.03	$3.19
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.77	$3.69
🥚 Eggs, x12	$6.66	$5.06
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.91	$11.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.8	$11.5
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.6	$16.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.05	$3.95
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.11	$1.67
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.3	$3.76
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.81	$2.92
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.8	$2.58
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.53	$2.6
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.79	$1.51
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.36	$3.17
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$11.4	$14.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.9	$3.31
🚬 Cigarette pack	$26.3	$9.24
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.7	$9.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.16	$8
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.55	$3.92
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.45	$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.7	$43.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.2	$14.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$41.1	$149
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.3	$22.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$75.6	$46.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$107	$101
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$988	$1729
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15607	$22380

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Auckland

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.4 mi	Waitakere	$1778
17 km or 11 mi	Manukau	$1646
28 km or 18 mi	Hibiscus Coast	$1782
40 km or 25 mi	Pukekohe	$1527
113 km or 70 mi	Hamilton	$1474
132 km or 82 mi	Whangarei	$1261
154 km or 96 mi	Tauranga	$1740
193 km or 120 mi	Rotorua	$1393
234 km or 146 mi	Taupo	$1523
253 km or 157 mi	New Plymouth	$1304
344 km or 214 mi	Whanganui	$1528
347 km or 216 mi	Napier	$1605
348 km or 217 mi	Gisborne	$1696
359 km or 223 mi	Hastings	$1518
396 km or 246 mi	Palmerston North	$1458
453 km or 281 mi	Paraparaumu	$1741
464 km or 288 mi	Masterton	$1359
476 km or 296 mi	Porirua	$1788
477 km or 296 mi	Upper Hutt	$1803
486 km or 302 mi	Lower Hutt	$1920
494 km or 307 mi	Wellington	$2037
512 km or 318 mi	Nelson	$1533
524 km or 326 mi	Blenheim	$1325
765 km or 475 mi	Christchurch	$1787
891 km or 553 mi	Timaru	$1894
995 km or 618 mi	Wanaka	$1623
1044 km or 649 mi	Queenstown	$2303
1064 km or 661 mi	Dunedin	$1579
1190 km or 740 mi	Invercargill	$1318
1809 km or 1124 mi	Noumea	$1928
1821 km or 1131 mi	Dumbea	$1865
1826 km or 1135 mi	Paita	$1865
1997 km or 1241 mi	Mua	$1033
1997 km or 1241 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
2097 km or 1303 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
2112 km or 1312 mi	Suva	$879
2120 km or 1317 mi	Nasinu	$857
2129 km or 1323 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172
2134 km or 1326 mi	Nadi	$1039
2140 km or 1330 mi	Newcastle	$1997

Cities near Houston

Distance	City	Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi	Pasadena	$2228
25 km or 15 mi	Pearland	$2150
25 km or 16 mi	Missouri	$2094
27 km or 17 mi	Deer Park	$2260
29 km or 18 mi	Sugar Land	$2071
32 km or 20 mi	Spring	$2112
33 km or 21 mi	Friendswood	$2136
35 km or 22 mi	La Porte	$2297
40 km or 25 mi	Baytown	$2386
41 km or 25 mi	League	$2102
42 km or 26 mi	Alvin	$2072
47 km or 29 mi	Rosenberg	$2114
48 km or 30 mi	The Woodlands	$2738
59 km or 37 mi	Texas City	$2048
62 km or 38 mi	Conroe	$1836
76 km or 47 mi	Galveston	$1897
81 km or 50 mi	Lake Jackson	$2112
108 km or 67 mi	Huntsville	$2022
126 km or 78 mi	Beaumont	$1605
129 km or 80 mi	College Station	$1913
138 km or 86 mi	Bryan	$2000
140 km or 87 mi	Port Arthur	$1900
186 km or 115 mi	Lufkin	$1887
188 km or 117 mi	Victoria	$2226
203 km or 126 mi	Sulphur	$1971
215 km or 134 mi	Lake Charles	$1904
217 km or 135 mi	Nacogdoches	$1510
229 km or 142 mi	Pflugerville	$2115
234 km or 145 mi	Austin	$2444
236 km or 146 mi	Round Rock	$2027
239 km or 149 mi	Temple	$2153
242 km or 150 mi	Kyle	$2237
242 km or 150 mi	Georgetown	$2125
247 km or 153 mi	San Marcos	$2229
249 km or 155 mi	Cedar Park	$2171
250 km or 156 mi	Seguin	$2200
254 km or 158 mi	Leander	$2187
261 km or 162 mi	Waco	$2285
262 km or 163 mi	Harker Heights	$2059
264 km or 164 mi	New Braunfels	$2221