Houston vs Johannesburg - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Houston	Johannesburg
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2265	$1171
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5394	$2754
🏠 One person rent	$1281	$522
🏘️ Family rent	$2031	$894
🍽️ Food expenses	$603	$337
🚐 Transport expenses	$201	$216
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4606	$1761
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	17 km	12 km
🎓 Higher education	100	73
😀 Quality of life	95	65
🏙️ Population	2.3M	4.8M

The cost of living in Houston is 93% more expensive than in Johannesburg. Cities ranked 1354th and 4839th ($2265 vs $1171) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1137th and 4th in the United States and South Africa, respectively. Check the United States vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Houston compared to 1.5 months in Johannesburg. Houston ranked 1st best city to live in the United States vs Johannesburg ranked 1st in South Africa, while ranked 16th and 5190th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Houston vs Johannesburg

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

	Houston	Johannesburg
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$18.7	$11.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$73.6	$43.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.8	$5.73
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.31	$2.81
☕ Cappuccino	$5.52	$2.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.74	$1.16
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1411	$448
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1003	$377
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2380	$804
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1609	$689
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$132	$91
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$204	$142
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$63.9	$40
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.39%	11.13%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2542	$1058
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1944	$785
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.24	$2.12
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$71.3	$88.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$21.8	$9.88
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.72	$1.4
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.9	$1.43
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.19	$1.16
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.69	$1.66
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.06	$2.52
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.4	$9.48
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.5	$5.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.1	$7.91
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.95	$1.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.67	$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.76	$1.87
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.92	$1.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.58	$1.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.6	$1.75
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.51	$0.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.17	$1.62
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14.5	$6.21
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.31	$1.66
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.24	$3.47
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.34	$5.83
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$8	$4.49
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.92	$2.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.21	$1.41
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$43.9	$38.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.9	$8.38
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$149	$32.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$22.6	$7.19
👖 Brand Jeans	$46.3	$59
👟 Brand Sneakers	$101	$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1729	$229
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$22380	$5808

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi	Sandton	$1089
13 km or 8 mi	Randburg	$958
19 km or 12 mi	Soweto	$1057
28 km or 17 mi	Benoni	$892
40 km or 25 mi	Springs	$792
41 km or 25 mi	Centurion	$967
53 km or 33 mi	Pretoria	$1049
53 km or 33 mi	Vereeniging	$765
59 km or 36 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
71 km or 44 mi	Brits	$950
101 km or 62 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
109 km or 68 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
143 km or 89 mi	Bethal	$910
152 km or 94 mi	Middelburg	$899
155 km or 97 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
179 km or 111 mi	Kroonstad	$875
237 km or 147 mi	Welkom	$826
244 km or 152 mi	Mmabatho	$901
262 km or 163 mi	Lobatse	$697
275 km or 171 mi	Gaborone	$731
287 km or 179 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
302 km or 188 mi	Kanye	$694
311 km or 193 mi	Mbabane	$652
323 km or 201 mi	Vryheid	$912
325 km or 202 mi	Molepolole	$662
329 km or 204 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
333 km or 207 mi	Manzini	$511
350 km or 217 mi	Maseru	$681
366 km or 228 mi	Mahalapye	$628
369 km or 229 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
409 km or 254 mi	Mafeteng	$630
417 km or 259 mi	Palapye	$551
429 km or 267 mi	Kimberley	$927
442 km or 275 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$716
443 km or 275 mi	Matola	$916
446 km or 277 mi	Serowe	$583
454 km or 282 mi	Maputo	$966
501 km or 311 mi	Durban	$948
562 km or 349 mi	Francistown	$633
577 km or 358 mi	Xai-Xai	$950