Houston, TX vs Boulder, CO
Moving from Houston to Boulder? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $727,954 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Boulder 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 $100,882 in Boulder, CO (+$882).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Boulder, CO: 54 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 1,305 sqft in Boulder ($147 vs $383 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Boulder, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $27,084 | +$7,416 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,814 | −$271 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $4,050 | +$375 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,788 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,800 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $10,679 | +$3,280 |
| Total | $41,263 | $51,214 | +$9,952 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Boulder, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 100.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 4.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 3.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.72 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $727,954 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 7.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | -2.6% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $383 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $2,257 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |