Houston vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Houston San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2240
$4110
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5311
$8713
🏠 One person rent
$1275
$2867
🏘️ Family rent
$2042
$4681
🍽️ Food expenses
$591
$852
🚐 Transport expenses
$199
$178
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4580
$7086
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
100
97
😀 Quality of life
93
97
🏙️ Population
2.3M
874K

The cost of living in Houston is 45% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 1375th and 5th ($2240 vs $4110) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1186th and 3rd in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Houston compared to 1.7 months in San Francisco. Ranked 15th vs 3rd best cities to live in the United States, and 77th vs 20th among the best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Houston vs San Francisco infographic

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Prices in Houston vs San Francisco

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

Houston San Francisco
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$18.5
$25.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$72
$117
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.4
$13.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.31
$8.01
 Cappuccino
$5.42
$5.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.76
$3.33
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1397
$3192
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$997
$2524
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2394
$4937
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1614
$4262
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$133
$141
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$207
$216
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$65.4
$68.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.45%
6.33%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2608
$10657
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1961
$9554
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.24
$3.02
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$71
$90.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$21.5
$20.8
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.75
$1.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.93
$1.54
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.1
$4.86
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.58
$5.6
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.7
$7.07
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.5
$23.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.6
$14
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$17.1
$24.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.77
$6.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.51
$2.83
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.58
$5.24
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.71
$6.95
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.4
$3.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.44
$3.99
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.42
$1.86
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.3
$3.36
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.4
$18.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.01
$2.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.68
$14
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.36
$11.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.92
$8.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.88
$6.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.19
$2.46
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$41.6
$101
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15
$17.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$141
$149
💇 Haircut, simple
$22.5
$33.5
👖 Brand Jeans
$46
$68.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$98.4
$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1504
$1880
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$23708
$18564

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Houston

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Pasadena
$2240
25 km or 15 mi Pearland
$2177
25 km or 16 mi Missouri
$2216
27 km or 17 mi Deer Park
$2260
29 km or 18 mi Sugar Land
$2229
32 km or 20 mi Spring
$2094
33 km or 21 mi Friendswood
$2155
35 km or 22 mi La Porte
$2308
40 km or 25 mi Baytown
$2376
41 km or 25 mi League
$2110
42 km or 26 mi Alvin
$2095
47 km or 29 mi Rosenberg
$2209
48 km or 30 mi The Woodlands
$2730
59 km or 37 mi Texas City
$2067
62 km or 38 mi Conroe
$1828
76 km or 47 mi Galveston
$1948
81 km or 50 mi Lake Jackson
$2129
108 km or 67 mi Huntsville
$2020
126 km or 78 mi Beaumont
$1592
129 km or 80 mi College Station
$1900
138 km or 86 mi Bryan
$1993
140 km or 87 mi Port Arthur
$1881
186 km or 115 mi Lufkin
$1883
188 km or 117 mi Victoria
$2220
203 km or 126 mi Sulphur
$2029
215 km or 134 mi Lake Charles
$1975
217 km or 135 mi Nacogdoches
$1493
229 km or 142 mi Pflugerville
$2196
234 km or 145 mi Austin
$2416
236 km or 146 mi Round Rock
$2148
239 km or 149 mi Temple
$2136
242 km or 150 mi Kyle
$2222
242 km or 150 mi Georgetown
$2188
247 km or 153 mi San Marcos
$2215
249 km or 155 mi Cedar Park
$2221
250 km or 156 mi Seguin
$2210
254 km or 158 mi Leander
$2241
261 km or 162 mi Waco
$2279
262 km or 163 mi Harker Heights
$2075
264 km or 164 mi New Braunfels
$2233

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3223
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3227
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3255
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$3254
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$2961
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$3109
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3230
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$2998
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3218
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3026
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3285
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$3014
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3317
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$3071
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$3797
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3756
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2810
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3634
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2950
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2858
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3553
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2826
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$2957
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3382
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$3033
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3890
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2910
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$3818
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2838
38 km or 24 mi Union
$3045
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$2850
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2381
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3094
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2823
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2764
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3359
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3333
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3133
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3070
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3765