Houston, TX vs Harrisburg, PA
Moving from Houston to Harrisburg? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $312,126 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Harrisburg 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 $97,234 in Harrisburg, PA (−$2,766).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Harrisburg, PA: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 2,803 sqft in Harrisburg ($147 vs $178 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Harrisburg, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $17,844 | −$1,824 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,915 | −$169 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,440 | −$235 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,316 | +$480 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,200 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $8,331 | +$932 |
| Total | $41,263 | $38,046 | −$3,216 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Harrisburg, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 3.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 5.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 48 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $312,126 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $178 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,487 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 1.35% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |