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Cost & Benefits

Cost of living in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas has about 2,328,253 people. Typical rent is $1,361 a month, including utilities, and a typical household earns $64,813 a year. Both figures are Census 2020–2024 medians, not a listing or your pay. This site does not approve or deny benefits. A missing figure stays blank. We do not guess it.

Ranked #360 in Texas on the 2026 Most Affordable Towns Index.

Simple answer

Typical rent is $1,361 a month.

Houston is a city in Texas. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $64,813 a year.

Is Houston affordable?See benefits in Houston
People
2,328,253
Census average, 2020–2024
Typical rent
$1,361
Median gross rent, includes utilities
Typical pay
$64,813
Median household income, yearly
Typical home
$277,800
Median home value
2-bedroom fair rent
$1,497
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX HUD Metro FMR Area

Houston, Texas has about 2,328,253 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $277,800.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Harris County is $1,497 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Houston. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

In the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area, prices sit at 98.6 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.

Texas does not tax wages. A typical combined sales tax is 8.2% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Houston's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical Texas home paid 15.88¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Houston's bill.

In 2025, all-grades gas in Texas averaged $2.76 a gallon. EIA prints this yearly price for only some states.

Among 885 places we list in Texas with a rent figure, 280 have higher typical rent than Houston.

Nearby places

EBT nearby

USDA has a live map of stores that take SNAP. We did not copy that store list here. The downloadable file is a history file for 2005 through 2025, so the live map is the one to use.

Find SNAP stores near HoustonWhat EBT can buy in Texas

Locator page updated 2026-09-11. Last checked 2026-10-16.

Food stamps (SNAP) tools in Texas

Bigger places in Texas

Census 2020-2024. HUD rents for October 2026–September 2027. BEA prices for 2024. Taxes as of January 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16. 15,000 places are in this guide.