Houston vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Houston San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2265
$3905
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5664
$8537
🏠 One person rent
$1305
$2719
🏘️ Family rent
$2467
$4421
🍽️ Food expenses
$581
$804
🚐 Transport expenses
$212
$177
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4390
$7528
😷 Air quality
Good
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
100
97
😀 Quality of life
91
96
🏙️ Population
2.3M
874K

The cost of living in Houston is 42% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 1229th and 7th ($2265 vs $3905) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1115th and 5th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Houston compared to 1.9 months in San Francisco. Ranked 14th vs 1st best cities to live in the United States, and 97th vs 16th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
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
$17.2
$22.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$76
$102
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.3
$11.9
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.88
$8.59
 Cappuccino
$5.4
$5.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.71
$3.07
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1390
$2797
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1037
$2467
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2766
$4615
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2058
$4053
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$132
$128
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$202
$198
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$65.6
$57.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.58%
6.52%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2714
$11255
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1949
$10091
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.25
$2.71
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$71.7
$92.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$23.9
$20.5
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.79
$1.32
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.92
$1.7
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3
$4.48
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.4
$5.7
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.07
$6.5
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.8
$24.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.4
$14.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.6
$22.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.29
$6.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.37
$3.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.95
$5.48
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.04
$6.96
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.73
$3.47
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.43
$3.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.34
$1.82
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.01
$3.61
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.6
$19.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.15
$3.32
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.62
$14
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.29
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.13
$7.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.64
$5.91
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.46
$2.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$37.8
$87.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.5
$17.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$127
$148
💇 Haircut, simple
$21.6
$26.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$50.4
$64.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$98.6
$109
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1470
$2824
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$18964
$20590

Cost of living in other countries

HoustonSan Francisco

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Houston

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Pasadena
$2182
25 km or 15 mi Pearland
$2108
25 km or 16 mi Missouri
$2087
27 km or 17 mi Deer Park
$2196
29 km or 18 mi Sugar Land
$2028
32 km or 20 mi Spring
$2093
33 km or 21 mi Friendswood
$2097
35 km or 22 mi La Porte
$2232
40 km or 25 mi Baytown
$2311
41 km or 25 mi League
$2065
42 km or 26 mi Alvin
$2056
47 km or 29 mi Rosenberg
$2107
48 km or 30 mi The Woodlands
$2698
59 km or 37 mi Texas City
$2014
62 km or 38 mi Conroe
$1799
76 km or 47 mi Galveston
$1855
81 km or 50 mi Lake Jackson
$2089
108 km or 67 mi Huntsville
$2089
126 km or 78 mi Beaumont
$1673
129 km or 80 mi College Station
$1853
138 km or 86 mi Bryan
$1944
140 km or 87 mi Port Arthur
$1907
186 km or 115 mi Lufkin
$1878
188 km or 117 mi Victoria
$2215
203 km or 126 mi Sulphur
$2037
215 km or 134 mi Lake Charles
$1986
217 km or 135 mi Nacogdoches
$1510
229 km or 142 mi Pflugerville
$2218
234 km or 145 mi Austin
$2455
236 km or 146 mi Round Rock
$2163
239 km or 149 mi Temple
$2134
242 km or 150 mi Kyle
$2223
242 km or 150 mi Georgetown
$2192
247 km or 153 mi San Marcos
$2224
249 km or 155 mi Cedar Park
$2244
250 km or 156 mi Seguin
$2182
254 km or 158 mi Leander
$2260
261 km or 162 mi Waco
$2230
262 km or 163 mi Harker Heights
$2044
264 km or 164 mi New Braunfels
$2182

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3190
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3185
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3364
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$2968
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$2888
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$2974
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3195
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$2929
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3183
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3004
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3226
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$2999
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3269
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$2963
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$3997
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3678
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2747
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3466
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2888
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2840
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3657
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2811
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$3041
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3344
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$2932
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3649
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2780
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$3785
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2816
38 km or 24 mi Union
$3002
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$3045
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2412
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3115
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2767
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2778
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3326
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3286
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3060
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3059
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3752