Compare / Charlotte to Houston
Charlotte, NC vs Houston, TX
Simple answer
You'd likely save $288 a month in Houston.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $288: Charlotte is higher at $1,785 versus $1,497.
North Carolina taxes wages at a flat 3.99%. Texas has no tax on wages. Combined sales tax differs by 1.2 percentage points, higher in Texas. The effective property tax gap is 0.70 percentage points, higher in Texas.
After a move from North Carolina to Texas, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in Charlotte lines up with about $75,987 in Houston on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Charlotte
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,785
- HUD area
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,594
- All-items price parity
- 97.3
- Goods price parity
- 96.6
- Utilities price parity
- 89.2
- Mean commute
- 27.5 min
- Median household income
- $85,938
Houston
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,497
- HUD area
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,469
- All-items price parity
- 98.6
- Goods price parity
- 100.6
- Utilities price parity
- 95.3
- Mean commute
- 31.1 min
- Median household income
- $81,417
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$75,987
Salary in Houston that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$72,575
Gross salary in Houston whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$62,899
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | North Carolina | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | 3.99% flat | No wage tax |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 7.0% | 8.2% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.61% | 1.31% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $2,455 a year in North Carolina and $5,246 in Texas. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Texas
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in North Carolina and once in Texas. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
CharlotteLikely eligible
HoustonLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
CharlotteLikely eligible
HoustonLikely eligible
WIC
CharlotteLikely eligible
HoustonLikely eligible
School meals
CharlotteLikely eligible
HoustonLikely eligible
LIHEAP
CharlotteMaybe
HoustonMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
CharlotteLikely eligible
HoustonLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
CharlotteLikely eligible
HoustonLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
CharlotteUnlikely
HoustonLikely eligible
Lifeline phone and internet
CharlotteLikely eligible
HoustonLikely eligible
SSI
CharlotteUnlikely
HoustonUnlikely
| Program | Charlotte | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Likely eligible |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Charlotte the result is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” In Houston it is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” North Carolina expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From Charlotte
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Charlotte.
- Charlotte and San Francisco · rent gap $1,912
- Charlotte and San Jose · rent gap $1,487
- Charlotte and Boston · rent gap $1,223
- Charlotte and New York · rent gap $1,186
- Charlotte and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,179
- Charlotte and San Diego · rent gap $1,038
- Charlotte and Miami · rent gap $779
- Charlotte and McAllen · rent gap $768
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.