Houston, TX vs Gulfport, MS
Moving from Houston to Gulfport? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $224,666 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Gulfport 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 $89,116 in Gulfport, MS (−$10,884).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Gulfport, MS: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 4,562 sqft in Gulfport ($147 vs $110 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Gulfport, MS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $17,076 | −$2,592 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,722 | −$362 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,410 | −$265 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,812 | −$24 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $3,100 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $8,466 | +$1,067 |
| Total | $41,263 | $38,586 | −$2,677 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Gulfport, MS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 88.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 8.04% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 7.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.06 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $224,666 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $110 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,423 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.07% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.70% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.73% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.42% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $3,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 16.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.90 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |