Hartford, CT vs Houston, TX
Moving from Hartford to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($400,167 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Hartford vs Houston at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Hartford, CT, you'd need about $96,554 in Houston, TX (−$3,446).
Livability — Hartford, CT: 59 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,374 sqft in Hartford vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($211 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Hartford, CT | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,700 | $19,668 | −$4,032 |
| Groceries | $4,930 | $5,085 | +$155 |
| Transportation | $3,720 | $3,675 | −$45 |
| Utilities | $3,480 | $1,836 | −$1,644 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $3,600 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $15,460 | $7,399 | −$8,060 |
| Total | $52,890 | $41,263 | −$11,627 |
Side by side
| Metric | Hartford, CT | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.3 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.42% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 63 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.88 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $400,167 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.2% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $211 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,975 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.4% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.35% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.99% | None |
| Property tax rate | 2.16% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.07% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 32.2 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 150 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |