Houston, TX vs Lakeland, FL
Moving from Houston to Lakeland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $298,816 median home) and taxes.
Houston vs Lakeland 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 $97,994 in Lakeland, FL (−$2,006).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Lakeland, FL: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 3,096 sqft in Lakeland ($147 vs $162 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Lakeland, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $22,188 | +$2,520 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,813 | −$271 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $4,800 | +$1,125 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,656 | −$180 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $4,200 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $4,036 | −$3,363 |
| Total | $41,263 | $41,693 | +$431 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Lakeland, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 4.63% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 12.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $298,816 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | -3.2% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $162 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,849 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.73% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 55.6 | 51.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 59% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |