Houston, TX vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Houston to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Baltimore 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 Houston, TX, you'd need about $103,459 in Baltimore, MD (+$3,459).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($147 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $23,028 | +$3,360 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $5,075 | −$9 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,685 | +$10 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,388 | +$552 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,400 | −$2,200 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $11,584 | +$4,185 |
| Total | $41,263 | $47,160 | +$5,898 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $214 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $88 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 55.6 | 45.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 19.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 59% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |