Hickory, NC vs Houston, TX
Moving from Hickory to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($271,739 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Hickory 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 Hickory, NC, you'd need about $111,592 in Houston, TX (+$11,592).
Livability — Hickory, NC: 73 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,679 sqft in Hickory vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($136 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Hickory, NC | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,952 | $19,668 | +$1,716 |
| Groceries | $4,840 | $5,085 | +$245 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,675 | +$545 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,836 | +$84 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $3,600 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $7,879 | $7,399 | −$480 |
| Total | $37,553 | $41,263 | +$3,710 |
Side by side
| Metric | Hickory, NC | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.4 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.52% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 46 | 63 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $271,739 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.7× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.3% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $136 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,496 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.69% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |