Houston, TX vs Eugene, OR
Moving from Houston to Eugene? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $459,366 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Eugene 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 $103,820 in Eugene, OR (+$3,820).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Eugene, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 1,850 sqft in Eugene ($147 vs $270 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Eugene, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $21,360 | +$1,692 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $5,239 | +$154 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,680 | +$5 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,704 | −$132 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $900 | −$2,700 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $13,148 | +$5,749 |
| Total | $41,263 | $46,031 | +$4,768 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Eugene, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 103.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 6.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.89 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $459,366 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 7.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $270 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,780 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.89% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 55.6 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 59% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |