Houston vs Lilongwe - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Houston	Lilongwe
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2265	$591
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5394	$1409
🏠 One person rent	$1281	$250
🏘️ Family rent	$2031	$382
🍽️ Food expenses	$603	$241
🚐 Transport expenses	$201	$51.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4606	$121
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	17 km	22 km
🎓 Higher education	100	14
😀 Quality of life	95	30
🏙️ Population	2.3M	989K

The cost of living in Houston is 283% more expensive than in Lilongwe. Cities ranked 1354th and 8027th ($2265 vs $591) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1137th and 1st in the United States and Malawi, respectively. Check the United States vs Malawi comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Houston compared to 0.2 months in Lilongwe. Houston ranked 1st best city to live in the United States vs Lilongwe ranked 3rd in Malawi, while ranked 16th and 8837th 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 Lilongwe

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

	Houston	Lilongwe
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$18.7	$4.25
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$73.6	$24.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.8	$8.08
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.31	$1.54
☕ Cappuccino	$5.52	$2.31
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.74	$1.43
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1411	$373
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1003	$112
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2380	$601
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1609	$198
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$132	$34.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$204	$52.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$63.9	$50.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.39%	12.71%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2542	$9004
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1944	$506
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.24	$0.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$71.3	$11.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$21.8	$5.64
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.72	$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.9	$1.05
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.19	$1.09
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.69	$1.42
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.06	$2.28
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.4	$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.5	$3.28
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.1	$3.98
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.95	$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.67	$1.23
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.76	$1.49
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.92	$1.33
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.58	$1.25
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.6	$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.51	$0.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.17	$1.15
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14.5	$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.31	$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.24	$1.74
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.34	$2.1
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$8	$4.11
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.92	$0.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.21	$0.66
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$43.9	$28.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.9	$4.53
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$149	$17.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$22.6	$3.64
👖 Brand Jeans	$46.3	$22.9
👟 Brand Sneakers	$101	$48.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1729	$349
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$22380	$2330

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 Lilongwe

Distance	City	Cost of living
123 km or 76 mi	Monkey Bay	$521
134 km or 83 mi	Ntcheu	$495
169 km or 105 mi	Mangochi	$496
228 km or 142 mi	Zomba	$458
233 km or 145 mi	Mzimba	$530
240 km or 149 mi	Blantyre	$505
243 km or 151 mi	Tete	$828
283 km or 176 mi	Mzuzu	$527
293 km or 182 mi	Mulanje	$461
506 km or 314 mi	Kasama	$1002
518 km or 322 mi	Harare	$1024
524 km or 326 mi	Marondera	$768
533 km or 331 mi	Chitungwiza	$770
536 km or 333 mi	Chinhoyi	$639
545 km or 339 mi	Quelimane	$692
550 km or 342 mi	Kapiri Mposhi	$815
566 km or 352 mi	Mbeya	$469
567 km or 353 mi	Mutare	$764
568 km or 353 mi	Ndola	$613
572 km or 355 mi	Chimoio	$924
603 km or 375 mi	Nampula	$935
613 km or 381 mi	Lusaka	$686
616 km or 383 mi	Mansa	$1030
616 km or 383 mi	Kitwe	$1189
618 km or 384 mi	Mufulira	$1473
637 km or 396 mi	Kadoma	$754
660 km or 410 mi	Chingola	$1229
660 km or 410 mi	Beira	$1000
682 km or 424 mi	Kwekwe	$706
732 km or 455 mi	Lubumbashi	$1133
740 km or 460 mi	Pemba	$1521
741 km or 460 mi	Gweru	$577
744 km or 462 mi	Nacala	$1181
746 km or 464 mi	Masvingo	$861
795 km or 494 mi	Choma	$750
835 km or 519 mi	Likasi	$1039
883 km or 549 mi	Bulawayo	$630
886 km or 551 mi	Dodoma	$506
902 km or 560 mi	Morogoro	$408
949 km or 590 mi	Livingstone	$718